Hamelia cuprea Griseb.
-
Authority
Elias, Thomas S. 1976. A monograph of the genus Hamelia (Rubiaceae). Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 26: 81-144.
-
Family
Rubiaceae
-
Scientific Name
-
Description
Species Description - Shrub or small tree to 5 m tall; bark light gray; branches terete, glabrous; lenticels narrow, sparse, often protruding, the branchlets terete to subangulate, ±swollen at the nodes, often coarsely striate, glabrous to sparsely puberulent. Leaves ternate, occasionally opposite; petioles terete, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, 0.8-2.4 cm long; lamina narrowly elliptic to ovate-elliptic, short-acuminate to acuminate at apex, rounded to short-attenuate at base, 6-13 cm long, 2-4.5 cm broad, chartaceous to submembranous, glabrous, usually with conspicuous raphides beneath, the lateral veins 5-8 pairs, arcuate 35° to 45°, conspicuously anastomosing beneath; stipules ovate to triangular, narrowly acuminate at apex, 1-2 mm long, 1-1.5 mm broad at base, usually glabrous or sparsely pubescent. Inflorescences terminal, of reduced, few-flowered dichasia, often appearing as scorpioid cymes, 8-18(-22)-flowered; peduncles terete, glabrous to sparsely puberulent, 0.6-2.7 cm long; floral axes 2.5-4 cm long, 3-6-flowered, glabrous to sparsely puberulent; bracts ovate, acute at apex, ca. 0.5 mm long, sparsely puberulent, early caducous. Flowers secund, 2.8-4.1 cm long, pedicellate, the pedicel (3-)4-9 mm long, floral tube broadly campanulate to globose, 2.5-3.5 mm long, glabrous to sparsely puberulent at base, with conspicuous raphides, calyx lobes often inconspicuous, transversely ovate, apiculate at apex, to 1.2 mm long, the apiculum usually persistent after anthesis; corolla infundibular, expanding toward the apex, chrome yehow, 2.5-3.8 cm long, tube 6-10 mm broad, lobes broadly ovate to subrotund, 2.5-4 mm long, 2-3 mm broad at base, slightly onstricted at base, shortacute at apex, flaring, each lobe with an inconspicuous darkened band running from each lobe to the base of the coroha tube; stamens included, filaments 6-10 mm long, anthers 1.5-2.1 cm long, the connective forming an ovate apical appendage to 1.5 mm long; gynoecium included, 2.2-3.4 cm long, stigma oblong, 8-12 mm long, with 5 vascular traces, style cylindrical, ovary 5-locular. Berries globose, 7-9 mm long, the persistent ovarian disc often protruding slightly, green turning black with maturity; seeds lustrous, foveolate, 1-1.5 mm long.
-
Discussion
H. cuprea var. haitiensis Urb, Ark. Bot. 17(7): 57. 1921 (holotype, Urban 293, B?). Type. Jamaica. Without exact locality, August 1857, Wilson 197 (lectotype, GOET). The only large-flowered species of section Amphituba to occur on several of the islands of the Greater Antilles, Hamelia cuprea is closely related to both H. papillosa and H. ventricosa. Although some overlapping occurs in Jamaica, H. cuprea is generally restricted to lower altitudes and to more coastal habitats than either the scabrousleaved H. papillosa or the larger-flowered H. ventricosa. Hamelia cuprea has often been confused with the apparently sympatric H. ventricosa. A comparison of the pertinent characters can be found in the discussion of H. ventricosa. When Grisebach first described H. cuprea, three collections were cited. Of the three, M'Nab, Wilson, and March, only Wilson's is now present in the herbarium at Gottingen. The Wilson collection was annotated by Grisebach, and since Grisebach wrote his Flora of the British West Indian Islands at Gottingen, I do not hesitate to select Wilson i 97 as the lectotype for this species.
-
Distribution
Mainly a lowland species of rocky coastal thickets, H cuprea occurs at altitudes up to 800 m in Jamaica, southwestern Cuba, and the Massif de la Hotte region of Haiti and on Grand Cayman Island. Flowering occurs from April through September, while fruiting is most prevalent from August through January.
Jamaica South America| Cuba South America| Haiti South America| Cayman Islands South America|