Abarema nipensis (Britton) Barneby & J.W.Grimes

  • Authors

    Rupert C. Barneby

  • Authority

    Barneby, Rupert C. & Grimes, James W. 1996. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part I. Abarema, Albizia, and allies. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74: 1-292.

  • Family

    Mimosaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Abarema nipensis (Britton) Barneby & J.W.Grimes

  • Type

    "Mountains of northern Oriente [Cuba]. Type from near Woodfred, Sierra Nipe, 450-550 m altitude, Dec. 20, 1909 [fr.], ([J. A.] Shafer 3220)."  Holotypus, NY!; isotypus, US 792379!

  • Synonyms

    Jupunba nipensis (Britton) Britton & Rose

  • Description

    Species Description - Arborescent shrubs, flowering first as shrubs as small as 1.2 m, but attaining 9 m, closely related to A. oppositifolia and resembling it in indumentum and in subsessile, strongly bicolored lfts, but differing in smaller lvs, in smaller, dorsally 1-nerved lfts, in smaller slender-pedicellate fls, and in many fewer stamens. Lf-formula iv—vi/( 13—) 15— 18; lf-stks 2-4 cm, the petiole 2.5-6 mm, the longer interpinnal segments 1-2 mm; first nectary of lf-stk <1 mm diam, sometimes lacking; lf-rachis 2-3.5(-4) cm, and the longer interfoliolar segments 1-2 mm; larger lfts 3-5 x 1.3-1.8 mm. Pedicels of proximal fls 4—6 x 0.2-0.3 mm; calyx turbinate-campanulate ±2.4—2.5 x 1.3-1.4 mm, the obtusely deltate teeth ±0.5 mm; corolla ±5.5 mm, the narrowly ovate lobes 2-2.2 x 0.9-1.3 mm; androecium 18-24-merous, the stemonozone ±1 mm, the tube 3-3.5 mm, the longest filaments ±16-19 mm. Pods and seeds essentially like those of A. oppositifolia.

    Distribution and Ecology - In open pine woods, thickets, and on rocky ridges on stream banks, probably always on serpentine bedrock, ±450-800 m, known only from Sas de Nipe and Moa and vicinity in E prov. Oriente, Cuba. — Map 30. — Fl. V-X (-?).

  • Discussion

    Abarema nipensis may be derived, like A. abbottii, from A. oppositifolia or an immediate precursor, but it is adapted to serpentine, not calcareous, bedrock. In terms of the characters used in the cladistic analysis, it is identical to A. oppositifolia but has tiny one-nerved leaflets, smaller flowers borne on longer pedicels, and only half as many stamens to the androecium.

  • Distribution

    Oriente Cuba South America|