Coussapoa villosa Poepp. & Endl.

  • Authority

    Berg, Cornelius C., et al. 1990. Cecropiaceae: Coussapoa and Pourouma, with an introduction to the family. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 51: 1-208. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Urticaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Coussapoa villosa Poepp. & Endl.

  • Type

    Type. Peru. Huanuco: Casapi (fide Macbride, 1937) (male and female ?) Poeppig s.n. (holotype, W, destroyed; isotypes (3), B, OXF).

  • Synonyms

    Coussapoa vellerea Klotzsch, Coussapoa martiana Miq., Coussapoa subincana Miq., Coussapoa panamensis Pittier, Coussapoa donnell-smithii Mildbr., Coussapoa grandiceps Killip ex J.F.Macbr., Coussapoa standleyi J.F.Macbr., Coussapoa araneosa Standl., Coussapoa boliviana Standl., Coussapoa eggersii Standl., Coussapoa embirana Standl., Coussapoa lawrancei Standl., Coussapoa lehmannii Standl., Coussapoa subcrenata Standl., Coussapoa danielis Cuatrec., Coussapoa macarenensis Cuatrec., Coussapoa macarenensis var. antioquiensis Cuatrec., Coussapoa mutisii Killip & Cuatrec., Coussapoa planitiensis Cuatrec.

  • Description

    Species Description - Tree or shrub, hemi-epiphytic or terrestrial, up to 35 m tall. Leafy twigs 5-15 mm thick, sparsely to densely white (to brown) puberulous to hirtellous to (sub)hirsute to (sub)villous. Lamina coriaceous, broadly ovate to subovate, sometimes to elliptic, occasionally to obovate, 6-60 × 5-40 cm, apex obtuse to acute, sometimes rounded to emarginate, base obtuse to cordate (sometimes deeply cordate with overlapping lobes), margin entire to subcrenate; upper surface glabrous, lower surface sparsely to densely minutely puberulous in the areoles and mostly also on the reticulum, hirtellous to hispidulous on the (parallel) tertiary venation, sometimes puberulous to (sub)hirsute, on the midrib and the lateral veins sparsely, sometimes rather densely, puberulous to hirtellous or to (sub)hirsute, the whole surface covered with sparse to dense whitish to brownish subpersistent arachnoid hairs; lateral veins (7-)9-24, straight or slightly curved, main basal pair branched, reaching the margin below the middle of the lamina, in large leaves sometimes also with other lateral veins poorly branched (furcate); intercostal venation more or less prominent; petiole (2-)3-20 cm long, white (to yellowish) puberulous to hirtellous to (sub)hirsute or to (sub)villous; stipules 3-20 cm long, puberulous to hirtellous to strigose to hirsute, mostly also with dense (moniliform) reddish-brown pluricellular hairs and sometimes arachnoid hairs. Staminate inflorescence branched, occasionally unbranched; heads (1-)2-30(-ca. 50), often partly fused, (sub)globose to ovoid to oblate, often more or less irregular in shape and dimensions, ca. 5-10(-20) mm diam.; common peduncle 2-6 cm long, densely to sparsely puberulous to hirtellous to shortly velutinous or to (sub)hirsute, often also with reddish-brown pluricellular hairs and sometimes arachnoid hairs; perianth ca. 1 mm high, densely, minutely puberulous; stamens two, (rather) far exceeding the perianth. Pistillate inflorescence mostly unbranched, sometimes poorly branched; heads 1(-4), free or occasionally partly fused, (sub)globose, ca. 5-10 mm, in fruit up to 40 mm diam.; (common) peduncle (1-)2-13 cm long, 1-4 mm thick, densely to sparsely puberulous to hirtellous to shortly velutinous or to (sub)hirsute, often also with reddish-brown pluricellular hairs and sometimes arachnoid hairs; perianth ca. 1-2mm high, densely minutely white to brownish puberulous; fruiting perianth at the apex green, below the apex orange. Interfloral bracts (sub)spathulate to subpeltate, white to brownish puberulous at the apex.

  • Discussion

    Coussapoa villosa is a widespread species (like C. asperifolia) and is extremely variable in many characters. Although the occurrence of some of the features is associated with certain parts of the species area, e.g., branched pistillate inflorescences in Central America and brown arachnoid hairs in Colombia and adjacent parts of Ecuador, infraspecific taxa cannot readily be recognized. Some specimens from the periphery of the species area and/or with features near the extreme of the variation must be mentioned. Barclay et al. 3593 (Colombia) has staminate inflorescences with extremely numerous (ca. 50) heads; Gentry et al. 23713 (Colombia) has pistillate inflorescences with very short (less than 2 cm long) peduncles (in this respect it forms a transition to C. duquei); Prance et al. 26402 (Brazil, Para) is peculiar in that the head of the pistillate inflorescence is lobed and obliquely attached to the peduncle. This last collection matches some more or less aberrant collection of C. tessmannii (see p. 95) in the dense covering of dark brown moniliform pluricellular (=granular) hairs on the peduncle, leafy twig, and petiole.

    Typification of C. villosa: It is unknown whether the destroyed type material in W consisted of a pistillate and a staminate specimen as the drawing in Poeppig & Endlicher (1838) suggests. The specimens in B and OXF which could replace the holotype material are staminate.

    Typification of C. eggersii: Eggers made several collections under number 14165-staminate and pistillate ones from different localities in Ecuador (El Recreo and Baloa)-at several dates. These collections have been mixed up. The specimen in F on which C. eggersii is based is staminate and possibly from El Recreo. In the original description the specimen is wrongly described as pistillate.

  • Distribution

    Central America (from Guatemala to Panamá), the Andean region (Ecuador to Venezuela), extending to the coastal mountain range of Venezuela, and wide-spread (especially) in the (Upper) Amazon Basin; in upland, riverine, and mountain forest, up to 2400 m; often in secondary vegetation.

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