Nectandra coriacea (Sw.) Griseb.

  • Authority

    Rohwer, Jens G. 1993. Lauraceae: . Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 60: 1-332. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Lauraceae

  • Scientific Name

    Nectandra coriacea (Sw.) Griseb.

  • Type

    Type. Jamaica. Without locality, Swartz s.n. (holotype, S; isotypes, BM, G-DC).

  • Synonyms

    Laurus coriacea Sw., Laurus catesbyana Michx., Gymnobalanus catesbyanus Nees, Nectandra willdenoviana Nees, Oreodaphne coriacea (Sw.) Nees, Damburneya maritima Raf., Nectandra neesii D.Dietr., Nectandra anonyma Steud., Nectandra boniato A.Rich., Nectandra cigua Rich., Nectandra willdenoviana var. latifolia Meisn., Nectandra willdenoviana var. obliterata Meisn., Nectandra catesbyana (Michx.) Sarg., Ocotea catesbyana (Michx.) Sarg., Ocotea coriacea (Sw.) Britton, Ocotea lundellii Standl.

  • Description

    Species Description - Shrubs or mostly small trees, rarely exceeding 10 m height (largest trees ca. 18 m tall; already flowering when only ca. 1 m tall). Branchlets 5 cm below terminal bud ca. 1-2.5(-3) mm in diam., initially ± irregularly ridged, later becoming ± roundish, either glabrous from the beginning or mostly with ± short (up to 0.2 mm), ± appressed hairs, moderately dense or sparser immediately below terminal bud, very quickly (sub)glabrescent; terminal buds narrowly elongate, minute or up to 8 mm long and ca. 1.2 mm thick, mostly ± covered with ± short, appressed, white hairs, rarely glabrous. Petioles 4-l2(-l6) mm long, 0.8-2 mm thick, irregularly ridged to roundish below, ± flat to narrowly canaliculate above, glabrous or initially with some short, appressed hairs below. Leaves alternate, lanceolate to elliptic or ovate, widest 1/3-1/2 from the base, (4-)5.5-14.5(-17.5) cm long, (1.2-)1.7-6(-7) cm wide, (1.7-)1.9-4(-4.5) times longer than wide, tip ± acuminate (occasionally rather indistinct), base attenuate to obtuse, rarely rounded, margin flat to minutely recurved, midrib above almost flat to strongly convex, occasionally in a slight impression, at the base sometimes concave or with a central furrow, broadly convex to prominent below, secondary veins above ± raised to almost prominent, rarely almost level, slightly raised to slightly prominent below, (4-)5-8(-9) pairs (often inconspicuous), diverging at (30-) 45-65(-70)°, in mid-lamina running at an angle of (20-)25-60(-70)° to the midrib, tertiary venation mixed, ± reticulate, sometimes predominantly lineate, on both sides distinctly raised to level. Indument either absent or consisting of a few short appressed hairs on the lower surface, quickly (sub)glabrescent, axils of secondary veins mostly glabrous, rarely (in Puerto Rico often) with short or moderately long (up to ca. 0.6 mm), ± erect hairs. Gland dots in mature leaves not visible to distinct. Inflorescences in the axils of cataphylls, usually crowded below the terminal bud and on axillary brachyblasts, occasionally at the base of the new growth when the vegetative buds are sprouting during anthesis (if apparently in the axils of foliage leaves, then with several cataphylls at their base), ca. 0.4-1(-1.5) mm in diam. at the base, on a twig of 0.9-2.2 mm diam., 1.5-10(-12) cm long, reaching ca. 1/4 the length of the closest foliage leaf to slightly more than its length; peduncle extremely short or up to 5 cm long, i.e., up to 2/3 the length of the inflorescence, lateral branches (0-)2-6(-9) below the terminal cyme, branched 0-2(-3) times (very small inflorescences often botryoid), indument consisting of ± short, appressed to ± ascending hairs, moderately sparse to absent, on pedicels and receptacle occasionally up to moderately dense. Pedicels 1-5.5(-10) mm long, 0.2-0.5 mm thick. Flowers 4-8(-10) mm in diam., tepals ± elongate, ca. (1.5-)2-4(-5) mm long and ca. (0.7-)0.9-2 mm wide, ± densely covered with fine, long papillae on the inside surface, towards the base also hairy. Stamens ca. 0.5-0.8 mm long including a hairy filament of 0.1-0.3 mm, anthers sometimes papillose at the tip, often with hairs and/or papillae on back side, in the outer whorls ± transverse-elliptic to roundish-squarish, broadly rounded to slightly emarginate at the tip, in the third whorl roundish-rectangular to almost hexagonal or trapeziform, ± truncate to slightly emarginate at the tip. Staminodes reaching ca. 1/2-2/3 the length of the stamens, with a ± hairy filament and a mostly distinct glandular head. Pistil ca. 1-1.3 mm long, glabrous, ovary ± ellipsoid to pyriform, style very short, reaching not more than 1/3 of length of the ovary. Receptacle shallowly bowl-shaped, glabrous or with some hairs inside. Berry ± ellipsoid, ca. 9-18 mm long and 7-11 mm in diam., cupule variable, shallowly bowl-shaped, trumpet-shaped, obconical, or knob-like, occasionally slightly lobed, up to 4 mm high and ca. 4-7 mm in diam., pedicel scarcely thickened to swollen and gradually merging into the cupule.

  • Discussion

    Uses. Use of the wood has been reported only twice (from Martinique and Canouan). Considering the fact that N. coriacea is the most frequently collected species in the genus, this indicates a rather low quality wood.

    Nectandra coriacea is recognized by its clustered inflorescences, its ± elongate, distinctly papillose tepals, its small anthers, and by its (almost) glabrous leaves. The upper leaf surfaces and the upper sides of the petioles are invariably entirely glabrous, whereas on the lower surface there are mostly a few short appressed hairs, at least in young leaves. Erect hairs in the axils of the secondary veins do also occur, but this character is frequent only in Puerto Rico. In Central America the absence of such hairs can almost be used as a diagnostic character against the closely related N. salicifolia, in which they are usually present (see also p. 74).

    In the Antilles, Nectandra coriacea is probably the most common species in the family. Sterile and even fruiting material is sometimes not easily separable from N. patens, which can be recognized in flower by more elliptic, less papillose tepals, by longer filaments, and by having its inflorescences mostly inserted in the axils of foliage leaves. I have found only one collection that could be considered intermediate, Maxon 1503 (F, NY, US) from Jamaica. In this collection the inflorescences and flowers suggest N. coriacea, but the brownish hairs on the young twig and on the upper side of the petiole indicate N. patens.

    In Central America, it is less easy to separate Nectandra coriacea from its closest relatives, especially from N. salicifolia. The variational range of the latter species includes all characteristics of N. coriacea, but nevertheless the two appear almost perfectly distinct to the trained eye. The best diagnostic character seems to be the arrangement of the inflorescences. In N. coriacea they come exclusively from the axils of cataphylls, whereas in Af. salicifolia usually at least a few inflorescences come from the axils of foliage leaves. Unfortunately, there are some specimens of N. salicifolia in which the inflorescences are arranged as in N. coriacea, but these can usually be recognized by hairs on the upper side of the petiole, by hairs in the axils of the secondary veins (see above), by more hairy twigs, and/or by a pronounced difference between the upper and the lower leaf surfaces.

    Two further groups that will key out with Nectandra coriacea may deserve specific status, but due to uncertainties in their definition I refrained from describing them. The first group is represented by one collection only, Breedlove & Dressier 29698 (NY), from the state of Chiapas, Mexico. It is notable for its very long petioles (15-30 mm), and for its relatively short and broad tepals. With only one specimen at hand, however, the diagnostic value of these characters cannot be ascertained. The second group looks far more distinctive, and it is represented by several collections, Dorantes 4165 (MO), M. Vazquez 1575 (F, MO), Wendt 3657 (MO), and Wendt 3805 (MO), all from the state of Veracruz, Mexico, plus Tun 2164 (BM, F, US) from Guatemala. Its main features include glabrous vegetative parts (except for occasional erect hairs in the axils of the secondary veins), relatively wide (4-6.5 cm), light green drying leaves, with few (3-5) lateral veins, and reddish-brown, much-branched inflorescences with a very short, erect indument. Initially I intended to describe it as a new species, but then I found that all of its characters occur in various combinations in N. coriacea on the Yucatán peninsula, and thus I cannot draw a sharp line between the two groups. Nonetheless, I believe that the Veracruz specimens do represent a distinct species, but a formal description should wait until its delimitation is worked out.

    The typification of Nectandra cigua is tentative. In the original description Richard states that the species is very common, so he must have seen several collections. At least the specimens annotated as N. cigua in Richard’s private herbarium, Linden 1715 and an unnumbered Sagra collection, should therefore be treated as syntypes. The Sagra specimen seems to be the same as Sagra 235 “ex hb. Rich.” in NY, and in G and K there are further Sagra collections that may be syntypes. I have selected Linden 1715 as the lectotype because (a) it is certain that Richard has seen it, (b) because it is good flowering material, and (c) because it can be identified by its number without any possibility of confusion.

    Nectandra willdenoviana var. latifolia is a heterogeneous taxon. The syntype Ruiz & Pavón s.n. represents N. coriacea, but the other syntype, Sieber 312, seems to be N. patens with only some characters of N. coriacea (cf. p. 56). The short description suits both syntypes equally well, and therefore I decided to follow the precedent by Mez (1889), who had placed N. willdenoviana var. latifolia in the synonymy of N. coriacea.

  • Common Names

    camphor tree, lance-wood, laurel, palo de gas, laurel, laurel, sweet torch-wood, boniato prieto, cigua, laurel, sigua, cap-berry sweetwood, small-leaved sweetwood, sweetwood, laurier, cigua, sigua, avespilla, laurel avispillo, sweetwood, bois fourmi, bois négresse, laurier, bois négresse, laurier, laurier fine

  • Distribution

    Florida, Antilles, and Yucatan Peninsula, in usually dry, open, mostly partly deciduous forests on calcareous soil, from sea level to 1500 m altitude. Flowering material has been collected throughout the year, but the main flowering time, throughout the range of the species, seems to be March to June. Fruiting material has been collected less often, mostly from July through September.

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