Authority:

Luteyn, James L., et al. 1995. Ericaceae, Part II. The Superior-Ovaried Genera (Monotropoideae, Pyroloideae, Rhododendroideae, and Vaccinioideae P.P.). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 66: 560. (Published by NYBG Press)

Family:

Ericaceae

Synonyms:

Gaultheria congesta B.Fedtsch. & Basil., Gaultheria bolivari Cuatrec., Brossea foliolosa (Benth.) Kuntze

Description:

Species Description - Erect shrub (0.2-)1-3 m to small tree 10 m tall × 15 cm dbh; mature stems terete, striate, hispid with basally swollen, eglandular, straight to ± crisped hairs to 2.5 mm long; bark grayish- or reddish-brown, cracking longitudinally; twigs terete to subterete, striate, commonly white puberulent (or not) and also strigose or more often densely hispid as stems; buds ovate, complanate, scales 2, ciliate, otherwise glabrous. Leaves spreading, perpendicular to stems or often completely reflexed, elliptic, ovate, or somewhat obovate, smooth or wrinkled when dry, (0.5-)0.8-1.0(-1.5) × (0.3-)0.4-0.7(-1) cm, base rounded or broadly cuneate-attenuate, apex acute and obtusely callose-apiculate, margin obscurely serrate, revolute over entire length causing leaves to be concave (strongly revolute, or flat), basically glabrous above or puberulent at base along midvein, strigose or rarely glabrous beneath with basally swollen hairs to 2 mm long; midrib plane to slightly raised or slightly impressed above, raised and conspicuously thickened at base beneath, lateral nerves (2-3 per side) plane to slightly raised or impressed above and slightly raised beneath, reticulate veinlets slightly raised but inconspicuous on both surfaces; petiole subterete, flattened above, 1-2 mm long, puberulent above and usually hispid beneath. Inflorescence with flowers solitary in the axils of normal or slightly reduced leaves and then congested at tips of new growth; pedicels terete, striate, (4-)6-10 mm long, longer than subtending leaves, puberulent (sometimes not) and also hirsute with straight to crisped, eglandular hairs to 1 mm long (also mixed with short, glandular-setose hairs ca. 0.2 mm long); bracteoles 2-3, basal or with one midway along pedicel, broadly ovate, 2-3 × ca. 2 mm long, acute, ciliate (also sparsely hirsute or glandular-fimbriate); floral bract similar to bracteoles. Flowers with calyx (3-)3.5-4.5 mm long, lobes ovate or triangular, 2.2-2.6 × 1.5-2 mm, acute to short-acuminate, ciliate otherwise glabrous without (sparsely short-pilose or short-strigose), but short-pilose within; corolla cylindric-urceolate, rarely appearing campanulate when dry, (3-)5-6 × 3-3.5(-6) mm, glabrous within and without, white when fresh, lobes oblong, obtuse; stamens 2.5-3 mm long; filaments 1.5-2.2 mm long, glabrous; anthers 1-1.4 mm long, conspicuously awned; ovary densely short-pilose with somewhat cinereous hairs; style 2-4 mm long, glabrous or basally short-pilose. Fruiting calyx globose when fresh but often turbinate when dry, 6-8 mm diam., glabrous, white to white flushed with pink, or turning blue-black.

Discussion:

Gaultheria foliolosa is characterized by small, wrinkled, concave leaves which are conspicuously spreading to reflexed and are separated by very short internodes; solitary, axillary flowers congested near the branch tips; often short, glandular-setose pedicels; and white or blue-black fruits. The leaves are almost always concave in shape with the margins usually strongly revolute throughout, sometimes so strongly distally that the leaves appear obovate-truncate to subrotund. Sometimes at very high elevations (above 3300 m) the leaves are glabrous. Variation in the indumentum on the pedicels does not correlate with that of other characters. All specimens have puberulent pedicels; in addition, about half have eglandular-hirsute hairs, while the other half have a mixture of eglandular hairs and glandular setae. Both white and black fruiting calyces in the same species are unusual in Gaultheria, but this species has them.

I have seen them on plants without any other differences growing within the same population. In Loja, at Cerro Toledo, at ca. 2700 m altitude, plants of this species are small trees 10 m tall with a diameter at breast height of 15 cm; they are a conspicuous element in the forest.

Broad (ca. 1 cm), flat-leaved specimens of G. foliolosa from Páramo Frontino (Dept. Antioquia, Colombia) bear an initial similarity to G. buxifolia var. buxifolia. Narrow, hardly concave-leaved specimens of G. foliolosa often appear similar to G. anastomosans, which is probably its closest relative.

Distribution:

Colombia South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Caldas Colombia South America| Cauca Colombia South America| Caquetá Colombia South America| Huila Colombia South America| Nariño Colombia South America| Putumayo Colombia South America| Risaralda Colombia South America| Tolima Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America| Ecuador South America| Azuay Ecuador South America| Cañar Ecuador South America| Carchi Ecuador South America| Chimborazo Ecuador South America| Cotopaxi Ecuador South America| Imbabura Ecuador South America| Loja Ecuador South America| Morona-Santiago Ecuador South America| Napo Ecuador South America| Pichincha Ecuador South America| Sucumbíos Ecuador South America| Tungurahua Ecuador South America| Zamora-Chinchipe Ecuador South America| Peru South America| Cusco Peru South America| Huánuco Peru South America|

Common Names:

mortiño del árbol, takshi