Nectandra krugii Mez

  • Authority

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

  • Family

    Lauraceae

  • Scientific Name

    Nectandra krugii Mez

  • Type

    Type. Dominica. Without locality, Imray 214 (lectotype, GOET, here designated; isolectotype, K).

  • Synonyms

    Ocotea krugii (Mez) R.A.Howard

  • Description

    Species Description - Trees, to 25 m. Branchlets 5 cm below terminal bud 23-4 mm in diam., initially irregularly flattened but usually soon becoming terete, with a moderately dense to dense cover of predominantly long (0.3-1 mm), ± erect, p.p. curled yellow hairs at the tip, later becoming greyish and largely wearing off; terminal buds ± elongate, 5.5-11 mm long, 2.5-4 mm thick, densely covered with long, light reddish-brown, ± spreading hairs. Petioles 10-18(-24) mm long, 1.8-3 mm thick, irregularly roundish below, ± flat or slightly convex above, often slightly ridged, indument below ± as on twigs, denser above. Leaves alternate, lanceolate to lanceolate-elliptic, widest 1/5-3/5 from the base, 8-26 cm long, 2.8-10 cm wide, (2.5-)2.8-3.8(-4.2) times longer than wide, tip ± long acuminate, base acute to almost truncate (often ± cuneately narrowed towards the base and then abruptly obtuse), margin at the base distinctly recurved, occasionally almost revolute but not reaching the petiole, rarely flat, midrib slightly impressed above and, at least in the middle of the lamina, ± convex in its impression, very prominent below, secondary veins ± slightly impressed and occasionally slightly convex above, prominent below, (6-)7-10 pairs, diverging at (35-)40-55(-60)°, in mid-lamina running at an angle of (20-)25-35° to the midrib, the distal ones mostly loop-connected, tertiary venation scalariform, very slightly raised to slightly impressed above, often ± level and rather inconspic- uous, distinctly raised below. Indument consisting of short, appressed to ascending hairs mainly in the intercostal area, and longer (0.3-0.1 mm), ± erect, ± curled hairs mainly but not exclusively on the veins, sometimes only the latter type present above, initially the short hairs moderately dense to absent above, the long ones ± moderately sparse on lamina and dense on veins, initially the short hairs moderately dense to sparse below, often less dense than above, the long ones (moderately) sparse on lamina, ± moderately dense on veins, sometimes somewhat aggregated in the axils of the secondary veins, mature leaves glabrescent above, indument becoming sparse below. Gland dots moderately distinct only in the youngest leaves, not visible in mature leaves. Inflorescences in the axils of foliage leaves on recent growth, 1.1-2 mm in diam. at the base, on a twig of 2.5-4 mm diam., 4-12.5 cm long, reaching ca. 1/5-2/3 the length of the subtending leaf; peduncle 2-7 cm long, i.e., 2/5-3/5 the length of the inflorescence, lateral branches 2-6 below the terminal cyme, branched 1-3 times, indument on peduncle ± as on twigs, sparse to moderately dense, becoming very dense closer to the flowers. Pedicels 4-8.5 mm long, 0.50.8 mm thick. Flowers 7.5-11.5 mm in diam., tepals ± elliptic, 3.2-4.5 mm long and 2.3-4 mm wide, heavily papillose on the inside surface. Stamens ca. 1.2-2 mm long including a short filament of up to 0.2 mm, anthers heavily papillose, in the first whorl ± ovate to roundish-pentagonal with an obtuse to parabolic tip, in the second whorl ± trullate with a ± acute tip, in the third whorl ioundish-obtrapeziform to almost elliptic with an obtuse to truncate tip. Staminodes reaching ca. 2/5-1/2 the length of the stamens, thick, slightly clavate, densely papillose and sometimes with a few hairs, united with the inner stamens at the base. Pistil ca. 2.5-2.8 mm long, ovary ± ellipsoid, glabrous, style slightly shorter than the ovary, slightly papillose. Receptacle ± urceolate, glabrous or rarely with very few appressed hairs inside. Berry elliptic, ca. 18 mm long and 11 mm in diam., cupule deeply bowlshaped to hemispherical, ca. 6-9 mm high and ca. 10-14 mm in diam., margin entire or (more frequently) slightly lobed (sometimes both forms in one collection), pedicel relatively slightly but increasingly thickened.

  • Discussion

    Uses. Duss states on a label as early as 1896 that the species has become rare due to excessive exploitation of its wood.

    Nectandra krugii is easily recognized by the spreading yellowish indument on the young twigs and the flowers. In the Antilles it is the species with the largest flowers. Indument type, venation pattern, flower structure, and especially the often slightly lobed cupules suggest that it is related to the group of N. acutifolia. It is also similar to some populations of N. reticulata. In that species, however, the receptacle is densely filled with hairs.

    Although Nectandra krugii cannot be confused with any other Antillean species, Duss 221 is a mixtum compositum. The NY specimen represents N. membranacea with monstrous fruits, whereas on the sheet in US a flowering specimen of N. hihua and a fruiting specimen of N. krugii are mounted together. Of these three species, only N. membranacea is documented from Martinique by more than this one collection. Therefore, it is questionable whether N. krugii occurs in Martinique, especially since Duss states on a different collection “pas trouvé a la Martinique”.

    An additional source of confusion in the Duss collections is the fact that often several numbers appear on one label (see p. 57).

    In the original publication, Nectandra krugii is based on four syntypes, of which Sintenis 1984 would appear most appropriate as a lectotype. Mez, however, gives a reference to the pseudosynonym “Nectandra discolor Gris, (nec Nees) Fl. Br. W. I. Isl. p. 282.” In this latter publication only the Imray collection is cited, and therefore it should be treated as the type of the species.

    To a limited extent, Nectandra krugii seems to hybridize with N. hihua. This at least is the only explanation that I have for two collections from Puerto Rico, Hansen 9323 (MO, NY) and Heller 6199 (F, MO, NY, US), which are intermediate in several characters between these otherwise perfectly distinct species.

  • Common Names

    laurel canelón, bois doux avocat, bois doux jaune, laurier gland

  • Distribution

    Antilles, known from Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Antigua, Sint Eustatius, Guadeloupe, and Dominica, and possibly from Martinique (see discussion), growing in forest between 200 and 1100 m elevation. Flowering material has been collected in June, August, September, November, and December, fruiting material in December, March, and April.

    Dominican Republic South America| Barahona Dominican Republic South America| Puerto Rico South America| Antigua and Barbuda South America| Sint Eustatius South America| Guadeloupe South America| Dominica South America| Martinique South America|