Hirtella stipitadenia Rusby

  • Authority

    Rusby, Henry H. 1927. Descriptions of New Genera and Species of Plants Collected on the Mulford Biological Exploration of the Amazon Valley 1921-1922. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 7: 205-387.

  • Family

    Chrysobalanaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Hirtella stipitadenia Rusby

  • Description

    Species Description - Tomentellate and more or less stipitate-glandular. Stipules deciduous, not seen. Petioles 5 mm. long, and almost equally thick, the base spongy-thickened. Blades to nearly 2 dm. long and a third as wide, oblong or oval, with rounded or subcordate base, short-acuminate and acute or obtusish summit, and entire revolute margin, coriaceous, very rugose, the upper surface slightly shining, nearly glabrous, with the midrib prominent and all the smaller venation strongly impressed, beneath densely rough-hairy, all the venation strongly and sharply prominent and strongly anastomosing, the secondaries 12 to 14 on each side, widely spreading and strongly falcate toward the ends. Racemes more or less panicled at the ends of the stout branchlets, sometimes 3 dm. long, stout, densely short-tomentose, lightferruginous, loosely flowered. Bracts deciduous, 5 mm. long, narrowly subulate, acute. Pedicels about as long as the bracts, thick, shaggy, bearing a variable number of stipitate glands, often 5 mm. long, the stipes slightly thickened upward, the glands capitate, small. Flowers not present. Sepals persistent at the base of the fruit, 5 mm. long and half as wide, ovate, obtuse. Fruit black, smooth or with a few bristly hairs, 1 cm. long and half as wide, oval, 3-sulcate or 3-lobed, the summit truncate or lightly 3-lobed.

  • Discussion

    A large shrub, the agreeable edible fruit known locally as "Urura." Species very near H. silicia Griseb.

  • Distribution

    Rurrenabaque, 1,000 feet, H. H. Rusby, October 4, 1921 (no. 768).

    Bolivia South America|