Psammisia ulbrichiana Hoerold
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Family
Ericaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type: Ecuador. Pichincha: Volcán Pululahua, Sodiro 92/4 (holotype, B?, photos ACS neg. 154 and F neg. 4703). Luteyn (1996) refrained from designating a neotype until the taxonomy of this and related species is better known.
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Description
Species Description - Terrestrial or epiphytic shrub, sometimes scandent with vine-like branches to 5 m long; stem terete to subterete, slightly puberulous when young, glabrate. Leaves thick-coriaceous, coarse, ovate, elliptic, or oblong-lanceolate, (15-)18-40 x 6-13(-17.5) cm, base cuneate to rounded, apex tapering and long-acuminate, margin subentire, lamina glabrous, but also bearing minute, glandular fimbriae; 5-7-plinerved from above the base, midrib and lateral nerves joined for 1-4(-6) cm above base, impressed above and prominent beneath, reticulate veinlets plane or slightly rainsed on both surfaces; petiole winged above, rugose, stout, 8-19 mm long, glabrous. Inflorescence short-racemose but corymbiform by elongation of lower pedicels, glabrous in all parts, although often scaley when young and then covered with a whitish exudate which may persist to anthesis, 10-20(-35)-flowered; rachis subterete, stout, 0.7-2 cm long; floral bract subcoriaceous, persistent and becoming reflexed after anthesis, broadly ovate to oblong, acute,ca. 3 mm long, marginally deciduously glandular-fimbriate; pedicel terete, rather stout, striate, 20-60 mm long, elongating to 71 mm post-anthesis; bracteoles located below middle, triangular, acute, ca. 1.8-2 mm long, marginally glandular-fimbriate. Flowers with calyx 6.5-8 mm long; hypanthium campanulate, 2.5-4 mm long and 4-6 mm diam., broader than long, the base broadly rounded; limb subcoriaceous, campanulate-spreading, ca. 4 mm long; lobes ovate, rounded, apiculate, ca. 2-3 mm long, margins appearing torn; sinuses acute; corolla carnose, subcylindric, swollen but ± cylindric in the basal 1/3 to 1/2, once-constricted above the base, distally cylindric to lobes, (18-)25-38 mm long and 5-6 mm diam. when dry, glandular-fimbriate distally, dark rose-red in basal swollen part and lighter rose-red distally, the lobes spreading, narrowly triangular to oblong, acute, 2-3 mm long; stamen 9-15 mm long; filaments distinct or slightly connate at base, 3-6 mm long, sparsely pilose at margins distally with hairs ca. 0.3 mm long, the connectives lacking spurs; anthers 10-13 mm long; thecae 4-7 mm long; tubules sometimes laterally connate in basal half, 3-5.5 mm long; style long-exserted. Berry spherical, at least 13 mm diam., crowned by persistent brownish calyx limb, green to green speckled with brown, the top of the ovary brownish.
Distribution and Ecology - Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru (?); rainforest, premontane wet forest, lower montane wet forest, to montane wet forest, at 100-3100 m altitude. Cultivated ABG, E, NCSC, NY.
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Discussion
Uses: Flowers eaten as vitamins. Pollinated by the White-whiskered Hummingbird.
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Common Names
chuquilullu, gualicón, quinllullo