Cecropia herthae Diels
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Authority
Berg, Cornelius C. & Franco Rosselli, Pilar. 2005. Cecropia. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 94: 1--230. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Urticaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. Ecuador. Pastaza: Mera, ca. 1100 m, 3 Dec 1938 ([female]) Schultze-Rhonhof 3072(holotype: B, destroyed, duplicates not traced); here replaced by: Ecuador. Napo: Reserva Biologica Jatun Sacha, 8 km E of Mishualli, 25 Dec 1990 ([female]), Neill & Berg 9743 (neotype: QCNE; isoneotypes: BG, GB, MO, NY).
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Synonyms
Cecropia congesta Cuatrec.
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Description
Species Description - Tree, to 30 m tall. Leafy twigs 2-8 cm thick, initially dark green with large pinkish lenticels, the older parts often blackish, hispidulous. Lamina coriaceous to subcoriaceous, ca. 60 × 60 cm to 80 × 80 cm (to 100 × 100 cm), the segments (10-)14-16, oblanceolate, the incisions down to 1-2 cm from the petiole or down to the petiole (and subpetiolulate); apices (sub)acuminate to acute; upper surface scabrous to scabridulous and hispidulous or smooth and subglabrous to sparsely puberulous (to hirtellous); lower surface puberulous (with uncinate and straight hairs) or partly subhirtellous, with arachnoid indumentum confined to the areoles; lateral veins in the free part of the midsegment ca. 30-40 pairs, marginally loop-connected, unbranched (or faintly branched); petiole ca. 50-75(-110) cm long, puberulous (or adaxially partly hirtellous) or also with sparse to rather dense arachnoid indumentum; trichilia fused (slightly sunken into the base of the petiole), only with brown pluricellular hairs; stipules 20-30 cm long, pink to pale dull red, caducous or subpersistent, puberulous and with sparse short arachnoid indumentum outside, glabrous inside. Staminate inflorescences in pairs, the peduncle erect, the spikes erect to ± deflexed; peduncle 3.5-9 cm long, hispidulous and with sparse arachnoid indumentum; spathe (not mature) 6-7 cm long, sparsely minutely puberulous outside, glabrous inside; spikes ca. 50-100, (4-)8-14 × 0.2-0.4 cm, with stipes 0.3-1 cm long and glabrous or puberulous; rachis hairy. Staminate flowers: perianth tubular, ca. 1-1.2 mm long, glabrous, the apex slightly convex, sparsely muriculate; filaments flat; anthers ca. 0.4 mm long, appendiculate, detached at anthesis (?). Pistillate inflorescences in pairs, erect (to ± spreading); peduncle 3-4 cm long, hispidulous to hirtellous and with sparse arachnoid indumentum; spathe ca. 7-8 cm long, the indumentum as in the staminate inflorescence; spikes (7-)9-12, (in fruit) 5-12 × 1.5-2 cm, sessile or with stipes to 0.5 cm long and puberulous; rachis glabrous. Pistillate flowers: perianth ca. 2 mm long, with arachnoid indumentum below the apex, also below the style channel inside, the apex convex, dome-shaped, smooth or muriculate, the aperture slitshaped; style short; stigma comose. Fruit oblongoid, ca. 4 mm long, almost smooth, pink.
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Discussion
The present description of the vegetative parts largely matches the description of this species by Diels (1941) and is in accordance with his comment that Cecropia herthae resembles C. sciadophylla. However, there is a discrepancy between the present description of the pistillate inflorescence and Diels’s description of the peduncle as 12-15 cm long, hispidulous to hirtellous; spikes 5, 10-13 cm long; perianth with arachnoid indumentum below the apex; stigma penicillate. At least the difference in the length of the peduncle cannot be easily explained, if one does not assume that the type collection was a mixed collection. This species is, at first sight, very similar to C. sciadophylla, in particular to the type with non-petiolate leaf segments. However, C. herthae is clearly distinct in the presence of trichilia. Both species are also ecologically similar; they can become tall trees and can be found side by side.
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Common Names
guarumo negro
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Distribution
Northern Amazonian Ecuador and adjacent Colombia (Putumayo) and Peru (Loreto), in forest, at low elevations.
Loreto Peru South America| Morona-Santiago Ecuador South America| Napo Ecuador South America| Pastaza Ecuador South America| Sucumbíos Ecuador South America| Amazonas Colombia South America| Putumayo Colombia South America|