Siparuna reginae (Tul.) A.DC.

  • Authority

    Renner, Susanne S. & Hausner, Gerlinde. 2005. Siparunaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 95: 1--247 pp. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Monimiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Siparuna reginae (Tul.) A.DC.

  • Type

    Type: Brazil: Without exact locality and collector, labeled  Herbier du Brésil envoyé à l'Impératrice Joséphine by Ventenat (holotype, G, F photo neg. 27577; isotype, F frag, ex G).

  • Synonyms

    Siparuna micrantha A.DC., Siparuna bahiensis Tolm., Siparuna plana J.F.Macbr., Siparuna surinamensis Lanj., Siparuna sancheziana Steyerm., Siparuna manaosensis Jangoux, Siparuna rionegrensis Jangoux, Siparuna tupinambarum Jangoux

  • Description

    Species Description - Monoecious treelet or tree, 5-22(-40) m tall and reaching a dbh of up to 70 cm; young branchlets terete, flattened below the nodes, densely or loosely reddish brown or yellow pubescent with hairs up to 3 mm long. Leaves opposite; petioles 0.5-2.2 cm long; lamina drying brown, chartaceous, elliptic, broadly elliptic, or lanceolate, 13-30 X 4-15 cm, the base acute or obtuse, the apex acuminate, the tip 0.6-2.3 cm long, above glabrous or with few simple or few-branched spreading hairs especially on the midrib, below densely or sparsely covered with longer and more branched hairs, with 10-14 pairs of secondary veins, these flat above, distinctly raised below, the margin entire. Cymes bifid, 3.5-6.5 cm long, with stellate to tufted reddish brown or yellowish brown hairs, with 30-80 regularly spaced flowers, the female flowers inserted proximally, the more numerous male flowers distally; pedicels of the male flowers becoming up to 4 mm long during anthesis. Fresh flowers yellowish; male flowers subglobose, ovate, cup-shaped, or urceolate, 1.2-3.3 mm in diam., 1-2.8 mm high, covered with minute tubercles (sometimes hardly visible between the indumentum), the tepals forming a densely tomentose rim, the floral roof an inconspicuous membranaceous cylinder surrounding the large pore, glabrous; stamens 6-20, short and fleshy, sometimes arranged in a rosette; female flowers ovate to subglobose, 1.5-3.5 mm in diam., 2-2.8 mm high, densely tomentose and with minute tubercles, the tepals minute, upright and often tightly appressed to the floral roof, the roof glabrous or tomentose, conical and tightly surrounding the 5-8 styles; styles free or forming a column shorter than 0.2 mm. Fruiting receptacle globose, about 1.5 cm in diam., with fleshy, tomentose or glabrous spines or tubercles, when fresh and mature tinged dull rose to dark red and with a strong astringent smell; drupelets 4-6, lacking a stylar aril.

  • Discussion

    Ecuadorian Waorani boil the leaves and bark of S. reginae in water to prepare a fever-lowering bath.

    Siparuna reginae is among the relatively few species of Siparuna to attain a considerable height and girth. In the herbarium, the species can be recognized by its bifid inflorescences, spiny or tuberculate fruits (Fig. 36B), and distinctive leaf venation in which the secondary veins anastomose several millimeters from the margin. The only species with which it can be confused is S. bifida from which it differs in the leaf venation, the more densely pubescent lower leaf surfaces, the larger dimensions of inflorescences, flowers, and fruits, and in being monoecious. It is difficult to understand why this distinct species was described nine times, and indeed, each of the authors who named a new species mentioned its similarity to one of the previously described ones. Thus, Tolmatchew pointed out that S. bahiensis was close to S. reginae, and Lanjouw in the discussion of S. surinamensis said that it was close to S. bahiensis. Next, Steyermark in the protologue of S. sancheziana indicated that it was similar to S. surinamensis except for longer rays in the stellate hairs. He also compared S. sancheziana to S. bahiensis but thought that S. sancheziana had larger leaves. More recently, Jangoux (1991 and personal communication) recognized that S. surinamensis and S. plana were the same and that both were close to S. reginae and S. bahiensis. Yet he described S. manaosensis based on a collection from Manaus (Ducke s.n. = RB 25634) that in our view also represents S. reginae. The type of S. rionegrensis Jangoux, another name here synonymized, could not be found during a visit to IAN in 1996. However, the second collection cited in the protologue, Rodrigues 824, may come from the same tree (Jangoux, 1991) and was located. It is typical of S. reginae in all aspects, such as the loose, relatively long pubescence on the lower leaf surface, the distinctive venation (see Fig. 36A), and the long pedicels. Siparuna tupinambarum, finally, was based on a single collection from Bahía that judging from the photograph and description provided by Jangoux has especially well developed large flowers. It is clearly the same as the earlier S. bahiensis Tolmatchew and is an excellent representative of S. reginae.

    The most problematic entity here synonymized is Siparuna micrantha. The type collection and other collections from the upper Rio Negro in Brazil and adjacent Venezuela are much less pubescent than most material of S. reginae. These collections also have rather narrow leaves and small, glabrous flower receptacles. Otherwise they fit S. reginae in leaf venation, cyme branching, and the tuberculate fruiting receptacles. What convinces us to sink this material into S. reginae are transitional collections from the Ducke forest reserve near Manaus (J. L. Santos & Lima 845, Sothers & Pereira 642, Sothers & Pereira 645, Vicentini & Silva 1085) and from the Rio Javarí basin (e.g., Prance et al. 24118). These collections have the same narrow leaves as the type of S. micrantha, but collectively show all stages of S. reginae pubescence, from dense to subglabrous.

  • Common Names

    palo paripari, tojokato, jara kopie, nonagoncahue, nanancoe, muhinkac, asna huayo, picho huayo, isula caspi, isula huayo, isula micuna

  • Distribution

    Siparuna reginae occurs in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam (it is expected in French Guiana), Ecuador, Peru, and Amazonian and coastal Brazil. It is a tree of Amazonian primary and secondary forests, usually on sandy soils along stream banks or in white sand areas; 80 to 1200 m elevation.

    Caquetá Colombia South America| Guainía Colombia South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Bolívar Venezuela South America| Guyana South America| Suriname South America| Sucumbíos Ecuador South America| Amazonas Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| Madre de Dios Peru South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Ceará Brazil South America| Espirito Santo Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| Roraima Brazil South America|