Clavija venosa Stahl

  • Authority

    Ståhl, Bertil. 2010. Theophrastaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 105: 1-160. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Theophrastaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Clavija venosa Stahl

  • Type

    Type. Ecuador. Pastaza: Lorocachi, 200 m, 75°58'W, 01°38'N, 21 May 1980, J. Jaramillo et al. 30771 (holotype, AAU; isotype, GB).

  • Description

    Species Description - Shrub to 0.5(-1) m tall, young shoots glabrous or sparsely puberulous. Leaf blade oblanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, 18-30 x 3.8-5.5 cm, herbaceous or subcoriaceous, 0.12-0.16 mm thick, glabrous, base attenuate, apex acuminate with acumen 1-2.5 cm long, or sometimes acute, margins entire, lateral veins conspicuous and somewhat impressed above, surfaces between veinlets smooth or very sparsely striate beneath, finely striate above; extraxylary sclerenchyma arranged in bundles 3-9 cells thick, abaxial bundles usually separated from epidermis and somewhat immersed in parenchyma, adaxial bundles adjacent to epidermis, hypoderm lacking; petiole 1-3.5 cm long, 1-1.5 mm thick, glabrous. Racemes in bisexual and male plants to 11 cm long with 15-25 flowers, in female plants to 1 cm long with up to ca. 8 flowers; rachis 0.5-1.2 mm thick; pedicels (1.5-)3-5 mm long; bracts 0.5-1 mm long, inserted at nodes or decurrent on lower half of pedicel. Flowers 5-merous; calyx lobes very broadly ovate, (1.2-)1.5-1.7 x (1.2-)2 mm, glabrous; corolla yellow to yellow-orange, tube (1.5-)2 mm long, lobes (2.2-)3.2-4 x (2.2-)4-4.5 mm. Stamen filaments glabrous, in bisexual and male flowers fused into a tube 0.7-1.5 mm long, in female flowers united at base only, free parts ca. 0.7 mm long. Pistil in male flowers sublinear, rudimentary, or absent, in bisexual flowers narrowly ovoid with up to ca. 4 ovules, in female flowers ovoid with up to ca. 7 ovules in 1 or 2 rows; stigma in male and bisexual flowers indistinctly 2-lobed, in female flowers ± flattened and irregularly 5-lobed. Fruits yellow or orange-yellow, 1.2-2.5 cm diam., pericarp ca. 0.3 mm thick, surface smooth; seeds 1-6, 8-10 mm long.

    Distribution and Ecology - E Ecuador and Peru (Fig. 37) in lowland and premontane forests usually in rather moist sites but not temporarily inundated soils to 1100 m. Flowering Mar-Jul; fruiting Dec-Sep.

  • Discussion

    Flowers worn as a corona by both sexes at festivals because of their pleasant scent (Fluaorani; W. Davis et al. 1055).

    Clavija venosa is an easily recognized species by virtue of its small, narrow leaves with well-demarcated, lateral veins. It is also distinguished by its small size, which, however, makes it easily overlooked in the field.

  • Common Names

    yampák, yampáki, yaubacu, wanbaqui, namontaki

  • Distribution

    Morona-Santiago Ecuador South America| Napo Ecuador South America| Orellana Ecuador South America| Pastaza Ecuador South America| Sucumbíos Ecuador South America| Amazonas Peru South America| Pasco Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| Ucayali Peru South America|