Monographs Details:
Authority:
Maguire, Bassett. 1965. The Botany of the Guayana Highland. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 12 (3): 1-285.
Maguire, Bassett. 1965. The Botany of the Guayana Highland. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 12 (3): 1-285.
Family:
Rubiaceae
Rubiaceae
Discussion:
In the original description of the genus, Weddell described the aestivation of the corolla as imbricate. Actually, it is contorted, and all later authors have confirmed that the contorted aestivation is characteristic of the genus. The genus is composed of several closely related species, except for E . magniflora Steyerm. of Venezuela. This species is known thus far only from flowering material and possesses characters—truncate large calyx, large corolla, and elongated pedicels—not found in the other species of the genus. The contorted corolla lobes, which it possesses, are characteristic of the rest of the genus. A number of species, described from fruit only under the genus Elaeagia, prove to belong to members of the genera Chimarrhis and Bathysa, in which the dehiscence of the fruits is septicidal to distinguish them from the loeulicidally dehiscent fruits of Elaeagia. Moreover, it has been found that the large leaves common to Elaeagia, Chimarrhis, and Bathysa, with a similar shape, have led to indiscriminate misidentifications with Elaeagia instead of Chimarrhis or Bathysa. A resinous exudate on the stipules is characteristic of the genus.
In the original description of the genus, Weddell described the aestivation of the corolla as imbricate. Actually, it is contorted, and all later authors have confirmed that the contorted aestivation is characteristic of the genus. The genus is composed of several closely related species, except for E . magniflora Steyerm. of Venezuela. This species is known thus far only from flowering material and possesses characters—truncate large calyx, large corolla, and elongated pedicels—not found in the other species of the genus. The contorted corolla lobes, which it possesses, are characteristic of the rest of the genus. A number of species, described from fruit only under the genus Elaeagia, prove to belong to members of the genera Chimarrhis and Bathysa, in which the dehiscence of the fruits is septicidal to distinguish them from the loeulicidally dehiscent fruits of Elaeagia. Moreover, it has been found that the large leaves common to Elaeagia, Chimarrhis, and Bathysa, with a similar shape, have led to indiscriminate misidentifications with Elaeagia instead of Chimarrhis or Bathysa. A resinous exudate on the stipules is characteristic of the genus.