Monographs Details:
Authority:

Renner, Susanne S. & Hausner, Gerlinde. 2005. Siparunaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 95: 1--247 pp. (Published by NYBG Press)
Family:

Monimiaceae
Synonyms:

Citriosma gesnerioides Kunth, Siparuna paralleloneura Perkins, Siparuna tetraceroides Perkins, Siparuna patelliformis Perkins, Siparuna griseo-flavescens Perkins, Siparuna chrysothrix Perkins, Siparuna coriacea Perkins, Siparuna pectinata A.C.Sm., Siparuna fosbergii A.C.Sm., Siparuna idroboi A.C.Sm., Siparuna austromexicana Lorence, Siparuna scandens Lorence
Description:

Species Description - Dioecious shrub or treelet, 2-10 m tall and reaching a dbh of 6 cm, sometimes a sprawling vine; branchlets terete, densely pubescent with yellowish or golden tufted hairs. Leaves opposite, sometimes in whorls of three, the petioles (0.5-)2-5 cm long and densely tomentose; lamina above drying brown or olive green, below yellowish brown, obovate, elliptic, oblanceolate, or lanceolate, 10-28 X 5-13 cm, the base rounded, cordate, or obtuse, rarely acute, the apex acute or acuminate, the tip to 2 cm long, rarely obtuse, both surfaces usually densely pubescent and velvety to the touch, with (8-) 10-14 pairs of secondary veins, these flat above, moderately raised below, often accentuated by the yellow pubescence, the margin denticulate or doubly dentate-serrate, drying flat. Cymes 1.5-2(-5) cm long, tomentose or more or less densely stellate-pubescent, with 5-20 flowers. Fresh flowers yellow or orange to pink; male floral cup subglobose or obconical, 1.5-2.7 mm in diam., 1.5-2.6 mm high, tomentose or covered with yellowish stellate or tufted hairs, the floral roof distinctly raised, glabrous, rarely with a few stellate hairs, the 4-7 te-pals broadly rounded, up to 1.4 mm long, or forming a wavy rim, on the adaxial side glabrous except for a few hairs along the margin; stamens 6(-9), the four outer ones exserted at anthesis and with their tips (pollen sacs) bent backwards, rarely their filaments laterally fused; female floral cup subglobose, 2.5-3.5 mm in diam., 2-2.7 mm high, the tepals broadly rounded, up to 1.5 mm long or fused to a shallowly lobed rim, the floral roof more or less raised and sheathing the styles; styles 5-8(-13). Fruiting receptacle globose and crowned by the persistent tepals, ca. 1 cm in diam. when dry (fresh to 2.5 cm in diam.), immature green with light spots, mature red and with a strong lemon smell, the drupelets gray or yellowish, each with a red stylar aril.

Discussion:

Siparuna gesnerioides is characterized by velvety-pubescent leaves (alluded to by the epithet Gesneria-like) and symmetrically arranged stamens with outward turned yellow anther flaps (in fully anthetic flowers). The anther valves undoubtedly also inspired Perkins’s epithet “tetraceroides” (with four horns). Occasionally, the filaments of the four outer stamens are laterally fused, but this is not a consistent character as it is in S. sessiliflora.

As indicated by the many names here synonymized, Siparuna gesnerioides is variable and not always easy to recognize. Thus, it can be difficult to distinguish from S. sessiliflora and S. conica, both of which occur in the same areas and, apparently, habitats. The leaves of S. conica are much less pubescent than those of S. gesnerioides, and the tepals at anthesis are distinctly longer and more acutely triangular, while those of S. gesnerioides are shorter and rounded. The velvety indumentum of young branch-lets of S. gesnerioides also rubs off in a characteristic way (never seen in S. conica), leaving bare patches. This character is easily observed in herbarium material, including the types of S. scandens and S. austro-mexicana, which have the velvety S. gesnerioides branchlets and characteristic bald patches. From S. sessiliflora, S. gesnerioides differs in having a distinctly lobed tepal rim, (normally) a glabrous floral roof and free stamens, adaxially often yellow-pubescent secondary veins, and more conspicuously denticulate or doubly dentate leaf margins.

Perkins described several morphotypes of Siparuna gesnerioides as species and then had trouble distinguishing them. Thus, her monograph cites Linden 1140 as S. gesnerioides, but the Brussels duplicate of this collection is annotated as S. patelliformis. Tonduz 12426 and Pittier 16144 are cited under S. tetraceroides (Perkins, 1911a: 52), but she identified duplicates as S. patelliformis. She also noted that S. chry-sothrix was very close to S. tetraceroides, only differing in leaf margin and leaf pubescence. The name apparently was never used other than on the type material. Duke (1962), one of the few botanists to closely analyze Perkins’s Central American species concepts in light of modem material, concluded that S. griseo-flavescens and S. patelliformis “would seem to be very closely allied indeed.” We agree with him and here synonymize these names.

The type of Siparuna coriacea differs from S. gesnerioides in having smaller, somewhat bullate leaves, the upper surface of which is rough-pubescent, instead of velvety-pubescent. Only 16 collections of Siparuna are available from Norte de Santander, which is severely undercollected. None of them match the type of S. coriacea, and there is thus no modem material that would link this small-leaved collection to larger-leaved material of S. gesnerioides from adjacent Departments. The flowers of S. coriacea, however, are indistinguishable from those of S. gesnerioides, and we therefore decided that S. coriacea is merely a small-leaved collection of S. gesnerioides. Yet another morph with relatively small leaves is S. pectinata from adjacent Santander. It differs from S. coriacea in having densely pubescent floral roofs, rather than glabrous ones, but both morphs fall within the range of leaf shape and pubescence seen in S. gesnerioides. The same is true of S. fosbergii and S. idroboi, which have rather pubescent floral roofs and narrowly elliptic to lanceolate leaves.

Another entity here included is Siparuna paralleloneura from the province of Cartago in Costa Rica. This has relatively small and stiff leaves not unlike those of S. coriacea, but with striking, parallel secondary veins. Its inflorescences and flowers, however, do not differ from those of S. gesnerioides.
Distribution:

Norte de Santander Colombia South America| Chiapas Mexico North America| Guerrero Mexico North America| Oaxaca Mexico North America| Veracruz Mexico North America| Alajuela Costa Rica Central America| Cartago Costa Rica Central America| Guanacaste Costa Rica Central America| Heredia Costa Rica Central America| Limón Costa Rica Central America| Puntarenas Costa Rica Central America| San José Costa Rica Central America| Bocas del Toro Panamá Central America| Coclé Panamá Central America| Darién Panamá Central America| Panamá Panama Central America| San Blás Panamá Central America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Boyacá Colombia South America| Chocó Colombia South America| Huila Colombia South America| Meta Colombia South America| Quindío Colombia South America| Tolima Colombia South America| Distrito Federal Venezuela South America| Portuguesa Venezuela South America| Chiriquí Panamá Central America|

Common Names:

chanchantucuy, tzantzatucy, limoncillo, limoncillo