Nectandra reticulata (Ruiz & Pav.) Mez

  • Authority

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

  • Family

    Lauraceae

  • Scientific Name

    Nectandra reticulata (Ruiz & Pav.) Mez

  • Type

    Type. Peru. Huánuco:  ad Cuchero, Chinchao et Pozuzo, Ruiz & Pavón s.n. (lectotype, MA (photo seen), here designated; isotypes, B, BM, F, G, P).

  • Synonyms

    Laurus reticulata Ruiz & Pav., Ocotea mollis Humb., Bonpl. & Kunth, Persea mollis (Knuth) Spreng., Laurus aestivalis Vell., Persea incana Schott, Nectandra villosa Nees & Mart., Nectandra mollis (Kunth) Nees, Nectandra villosa var. venosa Nees, Nectandra discolor var. subvenosa Meisn., Nectandra mollis var. attenuata Meisn., Nectandra mollis var. intermedia Meisn., Nectandra mollis var. villosa (Nees & C.Mart.) Meisn., Nectandra mollis var. venosa (Nees) Meisn., Nectandra pittieri Lasser

  • Description

    Species Description - Trees to 40 m (but mostly collected from much smaller individuals). Branchlets 5 cm below terminal bud ca. 2-8 mm in diam., irregularly angular, the younger parts covered with a dense indument of usually mixed short to long (up to 1.5mm), ± erect, straight to somewhat curled hairs, mostly ± persistent, but sometimes quickly becoming moderately sparse; terminal buds ± ovoid to elongate, 7-22 mm long, 2.5-7 mm thick, densely hairy (hairs variable in length and structure; mostly ± reddish). Petioles 7-26 mm long, 1.5-5 mm thick, often flattened, ± roundish below, often slightly ridged, nearly flat or sometimes shallowly canaliculate with ridges along the central furrow above, indument ± as on twigs, usually denser above. Leaves alternate (rarely some of them subopposite), shape variable, mostly (ob)lanceolate to elliptic or oblong, widest 2/5 to 2/3 from the base, (9-)14-35(—43) cm long, (3-)4.5-11(-17) cm wide, 2-4(-5) times longer than wide, tip ± acuminate (acumen variable from long and narrow to minute), base variable, from narrowly attenuate to cordate, margin at the base mostly forming conspicuous reflexed lobes, sometimes revolute or only narrowly recurved, rarely even flat, midrib and secondary veins above ± clearly impressed but at least the midrib often convex, very prominent below, secondary veins 8-14(-17) pairs, diverging at 3560°, in mid-lamina running at an angle of 20-50° to the midrib, tertiary venation scalariform to percurrent, ± slightly impressed above, prominent below, finer venation usually distinct. Indument rather variable, short and strongly curled to long and ± straight (up to ca. 1.2 mm) above, initially dense to moderately sparse, persistent to glabrescent, mostly consisting of two types of hairs below, i.e., short, irregularly appressed hairs and much longer, ± erect hairs, the former dense to absent, the latter moderately dense to sparse, usually dominating the aspect, somewhat denser on veins, even in young leaves epidermis usually visible between the hairs (if completely concealed, then either difference between the short, tightly appressed hairs and long, straight, erect hairs very pronounced, or leaf base with large reflexed lobes), in older leaves indument almost unchanged to very sparse. Gland dots mostly not visible, rarely ± distinct in young leaves above. Inflorescences in the axils of distal leaves, 1-3.5(-5.5) mm in diam. at the base, on a twig of 2-9 mm diam., (3.5-)6-20(-26) cm long, reaching ca. 1/3 the length to slightly more than the length of the subtending leaf; peduncle (1.5-) 3-11(-14) cm long, i.e., 1/3 to 2/3 the length of the inflorescence, lateral branches (0-)2-6(-8) below terminal cluster of cymes, branched 1-5 (-6) times, indument rather variable, at least on the flowers dense. Pedicels almost absent (flowers clustered) or up to 8 mm long, 0.5-1.2 mm thick. Flowers (6.5-)8-14(-16) mm in diam., tepals ± elliptic to elongate-obovate, (2.8-)3.3-5.8(-7.5) mm long and 2.2-4(-6) mm wide, papillosity ± dense and ± thick, occasionally with some hairs mixed in. Stamens ca. (1-) 1.2-2 mm long including the (very) short but distinct filament, anthers heavily papillose, in the first whorl ± ovate to almost rectangular, with an acute to truncate tip, in the second whorl ovate to trullate with an acute to parabolic tip, in the third whorl ± roundish-rectangular with an obtuse to truncate tip. Staminodes triangular, thickish, papillose and often hairy on abaxial side, mostly with a small glandular patch on adaxial side, united with the inner stamens at the very base. Pistil ca. (1.9-)2.2-3 mm long, ovary ellipsoid to spheroidal, mostly glabrous but with all intermediates ranging from glabrous to densely hairy, style ca. as long as the ovary or slightly longer, mostly papillose, sometimes hairy, less often glabrous. Receptacle hemispherical to deeply urceolate (almost closed by stamens and staminodes above), usually densely filled with relatively long, straight hairs (in the collections from Surinam glabrous). Berry ellipsoid, ca. 9-20 mm long, and ca. 6-11 mm in diam., cupule deeply bowl- or cup-shaped, ca. 6-11 mm deep and 7-14 mm in diam., on a relatively slightly thickened pedicel.

  • Discussion

    Uses. Nectandra reticulata is frequently grown as a shade tree for coffee (Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru) or cocoa (Ecuador, Bahia), its wood is used in construction.

    Nectandra reticulata is the central entity of a complex including N. bartlettiana, N. dasystyla, N. discolor, N. laurel, and N. oppositifolia. Considering its great geographic range, it is not surprising that N. reticulata is a rather variable species. Most of this variation, however, is found in the Andean region above 1500 m altitude, where N. reticulata intergrades with N. discolor and N. laurel (see p. 291, 293).

    In most cases, Nectandra reticulata is easily recognized by a pair of conspicuous reflexed lobes at the leaf base, but unfortunately this character is far from being constant. More reliable is the presence of hairs completely filling the receptacle. However, this condition is not easily distinguishable from the one found in most specimens of N. discolor and of N. laurel, nor is it entirely constant: the specimens from Surinam that I have seen are typical in every other character, but their receptacles are glabrous inside. A third character separating most collections of N. reticulata from the other members of its group is found in the indument of the leaves. In N. reticulata the indument on the lower leaf surface is usually differentiated into very short, ± appressed hairs and (often ± straight) long, erect hairs, or it consists of the latter type only, leaving most of the epidermis visible between the hairs. In the other species of this group, both the shorter and the longer hairs are usually strongly curled, concealing the epidermis completely, and the two are mostly intergrading. But this is also not without exception.

    indument, and in Minas Gerais oppositifolia often has (almost) exclusively erect hairs on the lower leaf surface, with much of the epidermis visible between them. Conversely, some collections of N. reticulata from the Andes show strongly curled hairs.

    Because of the reticulate variation within the Nectandra reticulata complex, Bernardi (1962) and Allen (ined.) decided to reduce all the taxa involved to a single species. Such an approach is certainly justified considering the presence of intermediate forms in practically all characters, but on the other hand the typical forms are far more frequent than the intermediates, and we do not know anything yet about their breeding systems. Therefore, I prefer to keep the recognizable entities separate for the time being.

    In the Andean region, Nectandra reticulata sometimes shows a revolute leaf base, similar to N. acutifolia. Fruiting collections can be difficult to distinguish, but in flowering material N. acutifolia is easily recognized by the (almost) glabrous inner face of its receptacle (but see p. 270).

    A glabrous receptacular tube is also found in the collection A. Gentry & Shupp 26577 (HBG, MO) from Ecuador. In this character and in its flat leaf base it comes close to some Ecuadorean populations of N. laurel, but the indument on its leaves is much more in accordance with N. reticulata.

    It is not entirely certain yet whether the species discussed here should be called Nectandra reticulata or Nectandra mollis. In an earlier treatment (Rohwer, 1986) I adopted the latter name, because the text of part 4 of the Flora Peruviana et Chilensis had not been validly published before 1955. However, the plates were distributed between 1804 and 1830 (see Taxonomic History), and they include sufficient details to constitute a valid publication. Within this period, two further names had been published forthis species, Ocotea mollis in 1818 and Persea incana in 1827. Thus O. mollis may have priority over Laurus reticulata, but as long as this cannot be ascertained, I decided to follow the traditional usage.

    Nectandra villosa var. venosa was originally based on three very similar syntypes, of which only one is provided with a collector’s number (Poeppig 1237). Therefore this collection should be treated as the lectotype.

    Of the four syntypes of Nectandra mollis var. intermedia, I could not find Pohl 5613. There, however, is a Pohl specimen without number in M that has been annotated by Meissner as this variety. It very likely represents a duplicate of this syntype, but as the second syntype, an unnumbered Blanchet collection, it cannot be identified with certainty. Poeppig, addenda 162 is not only a syntype of this variety, but it is probably the same collection as the unnumbered Poeppig syntype of N. villosa var. venosa. Thus Gardner 5154 remains as the most appropriate lectotype.

    Distribution and Ecology: One of the most wide ranging species in the genus, disjunct, with its major (continuous ?) range extending from the state of Veracruz, Mexico to northern and western South America, reaching central Bolivia in the south. The second major range is in southeastern Brazil, from Bahia to Parana, and (isolated ?) populations occur in the Guianas and on the slopes of the Neblina. Nectandra reticulata grows in a variety of habitats, from tropical wet forest to a region described as semi-desert, from lowland forest ca. 2700 m altitude

  • Common Names

    aguacatillo, laurel, laurelillo, laurelillo de monte, lida, moco, tepeaguacate, chualá, laurel, tepeaguacate, aguacatillo, aguacatillo, canelo, sweetwood, jigua negra, laurel negro lanoso, laurel amarillo, laurel margon, grootbladige pisie, canelo, figua amarilla, suirtinchi, chinchi, chinchii, guabo, moena, muena, roble amarillo, roble negro, roble playa, tinchi, canela, Canela babenta, Canela cabulluda, Canela jacú, canelo

  • Distribution

    Mexico North America| Chiapas Mexico North America| Oaxaca Mexico North America| Tabasco Mexico North America| Veracruz Mexico North America| Guatemala Central America| Alta Verapaz Guatemala Central America| Petén Guatemala Central America| Quezaltenango Guatemala Central America| Quiché Guatemala Central America| San Marcos Guatemala Central America| Suchitepéquez Guatemala Central America| Honduras Central America| Nicaragua Central America| Zelaya Nicaragua Central America| Costa Rica South 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| Panama Central America| Bocas del Toro Panamá Central America| Canal Zone Panamá Central America| Veraguas Panama Central America| Colombia South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Cauca Colombia South America| Chocó Colombia South America| Cundinamarca Colombia South America| Norte de Santander Colombia South America| Putumayo Colombia South America| Tolima Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Anzoátegui Venezuela South America| Aragua Venezuela South America| Mérida Venezuela South America| Táchira Venezuela South America| Zulia Venezuela South America| Suriname South America| French Guiana South America| Ecuador South America| El Oro Ecuador South America| Esmeraldas Ecuador South America| Imbabura Ecuador South America| Loja Ecuador South America| Los Ríos Ecuador South America| Morona-Santiago Ecuador South America| Napo Ecuador South America| Pichincha Ecuador South America| Zamora-Chinchipe Ecuador South America| Peru South America| Amazonas Peru South America| Cajamarca Peru South America| Cusco Peru South America| Huánuco Peru South America| Junín Peru South America| Lambayeque Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| Madre de Dios Peru South America| Pasco Peru South America| San Martín Peru South America| Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Bahia Brazil South America| Ceará Brazil South America| Espirito Santo Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Paraná Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America| Bolivia South America| Beni Bolivia South America| Cochabamba Bolivia South America| La Paz Bolivia South America|