Hedyosmum cuatrecazanum Occhioni

  • Authority

    Todzia, Carol A. 1988. Chloranthaceae: Hedyosmum. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 48: 1-138. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Chloranthaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Hedyosmum cuatrecazanum Occhioni

  • Type

    Based on H. crassifolium Cuatrecasas, which is a latter homonym. Type. Colombia. Cauca: Cordillera Central, W slopes, headwaters of the Río Palo, Quebrada de Santo Domingo, 2950-3150 m, 13 Dec 1944 (pist), Cuatrecasas 19277 (holotype, COL; isotypes, A, DUKE).

  • Synonyms

    Hedyosmum crassifolium Cuatrec.

  • Description

    Species Description - Dioecious, aromatic, columnar trees with narrow crowns 5-30 m tall; trunks 15-40 cm dbh, with or without prop roots; bark gray; wood weak, white but turning orange when exposed to air; young stems quadrate, purple, smooth, glabrous, exuding mucilage when cut; older stems terete, smooth, glabrous, with leaf bases disintegrating and leaving encircling scars; internodes 1.3-3.3 cm long; nodes swollen. Leaves obovate, narrowly obovate, to narrowly elliptic, (5-)8-17(-19.2) x (1.7-)3-6.5(-8) cm, with acuminate, rounded, non-dentate tips 2-3(-9) mm long, cuneate to obliquely cuneate at base, margins crenate to serrate with teeth 2-5 (-9) mm distant beginning one-fourth to one-third distance from base, fleshy to coriaceous, smooth, glabrous, shiny or dull, dark green above, pale green beneath when fresh, drying chartaceous to coriaceous, smooth, light to dark brown above and beneath; midveins impressed above, raised and glabrous beneath; larger lateral veins 11-16, 6-7 mm distant, straight, leaving midvein at a 70°-90° angle, with smaller intersecondary veins visible or obscure and extending one-half to three-fourths distance to margin; free portions of petioles 0.3-0.9 cm long, smooth, glabrous to scurfy, narrowly winged; petiolar sheaths smooth to verrucose, glabrous to scurfy, 0.7-2.7 x 0.4-0.9 cm at apex, notably inflated, terete, with distal margin chartaceous and without stipular appendages, extending 1-2 mm beyond free portion of petioles. Staminate inflorescences terminal or axillary, 4.3-7.5 cm long, composed of 1-3 spikes on a short rachis 1-2.2 cm long; subtending bracts linear, small, 2-4 x ca. 1 mm; mature spikes 3.3-6.5 x 6-10 mm, with ca. 150 stamens, on short peduncles 2-7 mm long; stamens congested but becoming ca. 0.5 mm distant; rachis ca. 3 mm thick, with or without an irregularly margined basal annulus; anthers yellowish green, 1.5-2.5 x ca. 1.5 mm; connectives extended 0.3-0.5 mm beyond thecae, flattened at apex. Pistillate inflorescences axillary or terminal, 1.5-3.2 cm long, composed of 1-3 cymules on a short rachis 1-2.4 cm long; bracts at base of inflorescences lanceolate, obovate to narrowly elliptic, 3-10 x 1-2 mm, entire or wanting; cymules yellowish green, globose, (3-)5-7(-10)-flowered, (0.6-)0.8-1.3 cm in diam., borne on short peduncles 0.6-1.8 cm long; subtending floral bracts fused into a bract matrix enclosing flowers completely except for exserted stigmas. Pistillate flowers trigonous, 4-4.5 x 1.5-2.5 mm, with a pore on each face of ovary; perianth lobes 1-1.5 mm long, united in ca. lower three-fourths, with free portions acute; stigmas white or brown, 1.5-3 mm long, linear, terete, persistent, with very short papillae. Fruiting cymules purplish black, globose, 1-1.5 cm in diam. Seeds trigonous, ca. 4 x ca. 2 mm, white or brown, smooth.

  • Discussion

    An infusion of the leaves is used as a medicinal tea (fide Acosta Solis 14190). In Peru H. cuatrecazanum is used for firewood.

    Hedyosmum cuatrecazanum is a widely ranging, fairly common species that is often overlooked because of its large stature (up to 30 m). It is poorly represented in herbaria; of the 30 collections available to me, nearly half were sterile.

    Hedyosmum cuatrecazanum is distinguished by the following combination of characters: 1) glabrous, usually obovate leaves (5-)8-17(-19.2) cm long with acuminate rounded tips; 2) petiolar sheaths that extend ca. 2 mm beyond free portion of petioles; and 3) pistillate inflorescences that have 1-3 pedunculate cymules with (3-)5-7(-10) flowers that turn purplish black at maturity. It is most closely related to H. luteynii and H. peruvianum,; their differences are listed in the key.

    Several geographic morphological variants are found in H. cuatrecazanum. Plants in the southern end of the range, from central Peru (Dept. Junín) to Bolivia, are different in having white or brown scales on the midvein. Plants from Azuay, Ecuador [Camp E-4613 (NY, S), Camp E-4806 (NY, S), Camp E-5115 (NY, S), and Todzia & Grimes 2505 (F, MO, NY, QCA, QCNE, TEX, US)] have distinctive leaves that are thicker than usual with the lateral veins obscure. Garcia Barriga 7862 (COL, US) from Putumayo, Colombia is unusual because it is a shrub 2 m tall with small leaves 3-7.5 cm long with scaly midveins.

    Hedyosmum cuatrecazanum occurs together with H. sprucei, H. goudotianum, H. scabrum, H. spectabile, H. peruvianum, and H. translucidum.

  • Common Names

    majua, malibú morado, cari guayusa, guayusa, tarqui, aitacopa

  • Distribution

    Northern Colombia to central Bolivia in wet montane and cloud forest at elevations of 1770-2600 m in association with Drimys, Brunellia, and Weinmannia. Flowering and fruiting appear to occur sporadically throughout the year.

    Colombia South America| Boyacá Colombia South America| Cauca Colombia South America| Cundinamarca Colombia South America| Magdalena Colombia South America| Putumayo Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America| Ecuador South America| Azuay Ecuador South America| Bolívar Ecuador South America| Carchi Ecuador South America| Imbabura Ecuador South America| Napo Ecuador South America| Tungurahua Ecuador South America| Peru South America| Cusco Peru South America| Huánuco Peru South America| Junín Peru South America| Pasco Peru South America| San Martín Peru South America| Bolivia South America| La Paz Bolivia South America|