Cecropia saxatilis Snethl.
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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. Brazil. Syntypes. Brazil, Piuaí, Serra Branca, Jan 1907 ([male]), Ule 7174 (B, destroyed, K, only an inflorescence), ([female]) Ule 7174 (B, destroyed), specimen with pistillate inflorescence(s) at K here designated as lectotype (K; isolectotype: G).
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Description
Species Description - Tree, to 10 m tall. Leafy twigs 2-4 cm thick, hirtellous with curved to uncinate hairs or also with sparse to rather dense arachnoid indumentum. Lamina subcoriaceous to coriaceous, ca. 15 × 15 cm to 50 × 50 cm, the segments 6-10, the free parts of the upper ones (broadly) obovate, the incisions down to ca. 5/ 10-7/10; apices rounded; upper surface scabrous to almost smooth, sparsely to densely hispidulous or subvelutinous, sometimes with (rather dense) arachnoid indumentum; lower surface on the (main) veins subtomentose to hirtellous, with arachnoid indumentum almost confined to the areoles or extended to the main veins; lateral veins in the free part of the midsegment 8-10 pairs, submarginally to marginally loop-connected, branched; petiole 10-35 cm long, reddish, puberulous and with sparse to dense arachnoid indumentum; trichilia fused, the brown indumentum intermixed with short and rather long (± bristle-like) white hairs; stipules 8-15 cm long, reddish, with ± dense arachnoid indumentum and hirtellous outside, sparsely hairy inside. Staminate inflorescences in pairs, erect or the peduncle erect and the spikes pendulous (?); peduncle 3-9 cm long, sub-hispidulous to hirtellous and with arachnoid indumentum; spathe 8-18 cm long, red to purplish, sparsely puberulous to densely hirtellous and with sparse to dense arachnoid indumentum outside, glabrous inside; spikes 4-8, 7-17 × 0.3-0.8 cm, with stipes 0.4-1.5 cm long and puberulous and/or with arachnoid indumentum; rachis (sub)glabrous. Staminate flowers: perianth tubular, ca. 1.5 mm long, with dense arachnoid indumentum below the apex, the apex muriculate to smooth, the aperture surrounded by a low rim; filaments flat; anthers 0.8-1.2 mm long, appendiculate, detached at anthesis but remaining attached to the filament by stretched spiral thickenings. Pistillate inflorescences in pairs, erect to pendulous (?); peduncle 4-23 cm long, subhispidulous to hirtellous and with arachnoid indumentum or glabrous; spathe 6-8 cm, the color and indumentum as in the staminate inflorescence; spikes 4,6-15 × 0.5-0.8 cm, to 28 × 1.5 cm in fruit, (sub)sessile; rachis glabrous. Pistillate flowers: perianth ca. 1.5 mm long, with arachnoid indumentum below the apex outside, also in the style channel inside, the apex slightly convex, muriculate to smooth; style short; stigma penicillate. Fruit oblongoid to subovoid, ca. 2.5 mm long, tuberculate, dark brown.
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Discussion
The leaves of Cecropia saxatilis resemble those of C. obtusa, but the lateral veins in the free parts of the leaf segments are branched, whereas they are mostly unbranched in C. obtusa. The pistillate inflorescences of the two species are also quite similar. However, the staminate flowers are very different. Those of C. obtusa have anthers of the most common type, but those f C. saxatilis have anthers of the less usual type with long anthers remaining after abscission attached to the filament by spiral thickenings, as found in C. glaziovii, C. palmata, and C. sciadophylla. Anderson 9258 differs from all other collections by the relatively narrow and subobovate free parts of the lamina segments in which the lateral veins are not much branched.
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Common Names
imbaúba branca
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Distribution
Central Brazil and eastern Bolivia (Santa Cruz), in cerrado areas, usually on sandstone or limestone rocks, in Bolivia in grassy savanna, at elevations to 1400 m.
Distrito Federal Brazil South America| Goiás Brazil South America| Mato Grosso Brazil South America| Bahia Brazil South America| Piauí Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Santa Cruz Bolivia South America|