Taxon Details: Tococa parviflora Spruce ex Triana
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Family:
Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)
Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)
Scientific Name:
Tococa parviflora Spruce ex Triana
Tococa parviflora Spruce ex Triana
Primary Citation:
Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. 28: 132. 1871
Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. 28: 132. 1871
Accepted Name:
This name is currently accepted.
This name is currently accepted.
Common Names:
Chinchaki
Chinchaki
Description:
Description Author and Date: Fabian A. Michelangeli, January 2010, based on Michelangeli, F. A. (2005). Tococa (Melastomataceae). Flora Neotropica Monographs 98: 1-114.
Type: Peru. Tarapoto: Río Mayo, JUL-AUG 1856, Spruce 4617 (holotype K; isotypes B [destroyed, photos F, NY), BM, BR[2], K[2], P).
Description: Shrub, up to 1-3 m tall. Stems with a mix of persistent, sparsely glandular and non glandular trichomes 1.5-3.0 mm long, with a dense cover or stellulate hairs underneath, the nodes glabrous. Petioles 0.5-2.0 cm long, pubescence as in the stems. Leaves anisophyllous, elliptic to oblong-elliptic, the larger ones (9-) 15-28 x (5-) 7-15 cm, the smaller ones 7-15 x 3-6 cm, apex abrubtly acuminate, base acute to obtuse, adaxial side sparsely glandular pubescent, abaxial side sparsely glandular pubescent, light green, with 1-2 pairs of secondary veins, basally nervate, membranaceous, ciliate serrulate; domatia present in the larger leaf of each pair, free from the leaf blade, ovoid to narrowly ovoid, 1.0-2.0 x 0.7-1.1 cm. Inflorescence a terminal panicle, ocassionally becoming axillary by overgrowth of the axillary meristem, very lax and with 3 or 4 degrees of branching, 5-20 cm long, with 6-10 (-16) flowers, the axis red to crimson, terete; flower pedicels 3.0-5.5 mm long; bracts caducous, lanceolate, less than 0.5 mm long; hypanthium conical, with a truncate base, 3.0-4.0 mm long, mostly glabrous, but ocassionally sparsely glandular pubescent in the area near the torus; sepals 1.5-2.2 mm long, partly fused, the terminal ovate lobes up to 1 mm long, calyx teeth narrowly deltoid, lying over the sepals, projecting up to 1.5 mm above the sepals, glandular setulose, terminated in a long setula up to 2 mm long; the ring inside the torus glabrous. Petals 4, obovate, entire, 3.5-5.5 x 2.5-3.5 mm, smooth, glabrous, white. Stamens all of the same size, the filaments 3.0-3.5 mm long, glabrous; anthers yellow; the connective with a dorsal-basal blunt tooth and distinctly dorso-elevated into a orbicular gland up to 1 mm wide; thecae 3.5 mm long, opening by a dorsally inclined, to upright pore. Ovary 3-locular, 2/3 inferior, the superior portion terete, the apex glabrous; style glabrous, 5.0-6.5 mm long; stigma slightly infundibuliform, 0.5 mm wide. Fruits globose, 5-6 mm long, black, glabrous. The seeds not evident through the pericarp, truncate-obovate, 0.5-0.6 mm long, without capitate trichomes in the raphal area, with sculpturing, anticlinal walls s-shaped, periclinal walls flat, boundaries between periclinal walls flat. Chromosome number n= unknown.
Habitat and Distribution: Growing in forest undestories in Venezuela, W Brazil, Ecuador and Peru from 200 to 800 m.
Phenology: Flowering year round, but mostly in September.
Taxonomy and Systematics: Tococa parviflora is closely related to T. caquetana. Both species share an orbicular gland on the dorsal portion of the connective, which is not found in any other species of Tococa. Both species have been traditionally considered part of Tococa due to their anther morphology and the presence of ant domatia. However, they lack emarginate petals and the anatomy of the cell of the seed testa does not correspond to that of the Tococa sensu stricto. Additionally, the inflorecences are very lax and 4 or even 5 branched, characacters usually not seen in Tococa sensu stricto. The interspecific variation in vegetative and hypanthium pubescence does not warrant the differentiation of T. tetramera and T. parviflora var. mansenrichensis as separate taxa. Tococa caquetana has been considered to be a form of T. parviflora with 4-merous flowers. These two species grow sympatrically in some areas, in which other vegetative characters that can be used to distinguish them are highly variable. However, since no specimen with both 4 and 5-merous flowers has been seen, they are treated here as separate species. There 3 collections from northern Amazonas state in Venezuela (Sanoja et al 2920, 3013 and Fernández et al 6121) can be assigned to T. parviflora, but aspects of pubescence and ovary shape do not match the type specimen. The localities where these specimens were collected are at considerable distance from the remaining known populations of this species. These specimens are tentatively determined as T. parviflora, but this Venezuelan population should be re-examined if more material becomes available.
Description Author and Date: Fabian A. Michelangeli, January 2010, based on Michelangeli, F. A. (2005). Tococa (Melastomataceae). Flora Neotropica Monographs 98: 1-114.
Type: Peru. Tarapoto: Río Mayo, JUL-AUG 1856, Spruce 4617 (holotype K; isotypes B [destroyed, photos F, NY), BM, BR[2], K[2], P).
Description: Shrub, up to 1-3 m tall. Stems with a mix of persistent, sparsely glandular and non glandular trichomes 1.5-3.0 mm long, with a dense cover or stellulate hairs underneath, the nodes glabrous. Petioles 0.5-2.0 cm long, pubescence as in the stems. Leaves anisophyllous, elliptic to oblong-elliptic, the larger ones (9-) 15-28 x (5-) 7-15 cm, the smaller ones 7-15 x 3-6 cm, apex abrubtly acuminate, base acute to obtuse, adaxial side sparsely glandular pubescent, abaxial side sparsely glandular pubescent, light green, with 1-2 pairs of secondary veins, basally nervate, membranaceous, ciliate serrulate; domatia present in the larger leaf of each pair, free from the leaf blade, ovoid to narrowly ovoid, 1.0-2.0 x 0.7-1.1 cm. Inflorescence a terminal panicle, ocassionally becoming axillary by overgrowth of the axillary meristem, very lax and with 3 or 4 degrees of branching, 5-20 cm long, with 6-10 (-16) flowers, the axis red to crimson, terete; flower pedicels 3.0-5.5 mm long; bracts caducous, lanceolate, less than 0.5 mm long; hypanthium conical, with a truncate base, 3.0-4.0 mm long, mostly glabrous, but ocassionally sparsely glandular pubescent in the area near the torus; sepals 1.5-2.2 mm long, partly fused, the terminal ovate lobes up to 1 mm long, calyx teeth narrowly deltoid, lying over the sepals, projecting up to 1.5 mm above the sepals, glandular setulose, terminated in a long setula up to 2 mm long; the ring inside the torus glabrous. Petals 4, obovate, entire, 3.5-5.5 x 2.5-3.5 mm, smooth, glabrous, white. Stamens all of the same size, the filaments 3.0-3.5 mm long, glabrous; anthers yellow; the connective with a dorsal-basal blunt tooth and distinctly dorso-elevated into a orbicular gland up to 1 mm wide; thecae 3.5 mm long, opening by a dorsally inclined, to upright pore. Ovary 3-locular, 2/3 inferior, the superior portion terete, the apex glabrous; style glabrous, 5.0-6.5 mm long; stigma slightly infundibuliform, 0.5 mm wide. Fruits globose, 5-6 mm long, black, glabrous. The seeds not evident through the pericarp, truncate-obovate, 0.5-0.6 mm long, without capitate trichomes in the raphal area, with sculpturing, anticlinal walls s-shaped, periclinal walls flat, boundaries between periclinal walls flat. Chromosome number n= unknown.
Habitat and Distribution: Growing in forest undestories in Venezuela, W Brazil, Ecuador and Peru from 200 to 800 m.
Phenology: Flowering year round, but mostly in September.
Taxonomy and Systematics: Tococa parviflora is closely related to T. caquetana. Both species share an orbicular gland on the dorsal portion of the connective, which is not found in any other species of Tococa. Both species have been traditionally considered part of Tococa due to their anther morphology and the presence of ant domatia. However, they lack emarginate petals and the anatomy of the cell of the seed testa does not correspond to that of the Tococa sensu stricto. Additionally, the inflorecences are very lax and 4 or even 5 branched, characacters usually not seen in Tococa sensu stricto. The interspecific variation in vegetative and hypanthium pubescence does not warrant the differentiation of T. tetramera and T. parviflora var. mansenrichensis as separate taxa. Tococa caquetana has been considered to be a form of T. parviflora with 4-merous flowers. These two species grow sympatrically in some areas, in which other vegetative characters that can be used to distinguish them are highly variable. However, since no specimen with both 4 and 5-merous flowers has been seen, they are treated here as separate species. There 3 collections from northern Amazonas state in Venezuela (Sanoja et al 2920, 3013 and Fernández et al 6121) can be assigned to T. parviflora, but aspects of pubescence and ovary shape do not match the type specimen. The localities where these specimens were collected are at considerable distance from the remaining known populations of this species. These specimens are tentatively determined as T. parviflora, but this Venezuelan population should be re-examined if more material becomes available.
Flora and Monograph Treatment(s):
Tococa parviflora Spruce ex Triana: [Article] Michelangeli, Fabián A. 2005. (Melastomataceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 98: 1-114.
Tococa parviflora Spruce ex Triana: [Article] Michelangeli, Fabián A. 2005.
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