Declieuxia cordigera Mart. & Zucc. ex Schult. & Schult.f.

  • Authority

    Kirkbride, Joseph H., Jr. 1976. A revision of the genus Declieuxia (Rubiaceae). Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 28 (4): 1-87.

  • Family

    Rubiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Declieuxia cordigera Mart. & Zucc. ex Schult. & Schult.f.

  • Description

    Species Description - Perennial herb (8-)13-25(-37) cm tall with 1 to many erect fastigiate rarely branched stems, the stems terete, puberulous to rarely glabrate, the internodes (0.2-)0.5-3.5(-4.5) cm long. Stipules reduced to a ridge with 1-5 conical glands or sometimes unidentate, narrowly triangular to narrowly oblong to rarely linear, acute and glandular at apex, 0.3-1.3(-7) mm long, glabrous or puberulous to sparsely so, not decurrent or very rarely, very weakly decurrent not reaching the next node. Leaves opposite or ternate or rarely quaternate, sessile, decurrent; blade coriaceous to subcoriaceous, ovate to broadly ovate or rarely narrowly ovate or rarely depressed ovate or elliptic to narrowly so or to broadly so, acuminate to sometimes acute or obtuse and rarely weakly mucronate at apex, cordate to truncate to acute or obtuse to cuneate to narrowly so or to broadly so at base, 6-28(-47) x (1-)4-25 mm, (0.7-)0.9-6(-9) times longer than wide, with 2-7(-8) arcuate anastomosing lateral veins on each side, the subprominent or prominulous midrib and lateral veins and intercostal areas scabrous to glabrous or puberulous to sparsely so above, the prominent midrib, prominulous-prominent lateral veins, and intercostal areas scabrous to glabrous or puberulous to sparsely so beneath, the tertiary venation closed reticulate or obscure. Inflorescences modified terminal and axillary cymes at the upper nodes, pedunculate, 0.6-4(-6.5) x 0.3-2.2(-5) cm, with 10-80(-300) flowers, with (1-)2-12(-16) axes, the axes terete, 2-16(-30) mm long, puberulous to sparsely so; peduncle terete, (1.2-)2.5-17(-21.5) mm long, puberulous to rarely glabrous, with 2-3 dichasial or larger bracts at apex, the larger bracts narrowly elliptic or sometimes narrowly ovate or linear, acute at apex, 2.3-6(-8) x 0.3-1(-3) mm, glabrous or sometimes glabrate to puberulous. Flowers heterostylous, subpedicellate with the pedicels terete, 0.1-0.4 mm long, glabrous, dichasial bracts narrowly oblong or narrowly elliptic or sometimes narrowly triangular or linear to linear-subulate, acute to narrowly so at apex, narrowly triangular or linear to linear-subulate, acute to narrowly so at apex, 0.9-2.5 x 0.1 -0.6 mm, glabrous and sometimes irregularly and minutely ciliate; hypanthium transversely broadly to transverse elliptic or broadly to depressed obovate in outline, 0.4-0.9 x 0.6-1.3 mm, glabrous; calyx lobes triangular to oblong or narrowly so, acute or sometimes obtuse at apex, 0.2-0.9 x 0.1 -0.4 mm, glabrous; corolla blue, salverform or rarely salver-funnelform, the tube 2.8-5.7 mm long, orifice 0.9-1.8 mm in diam, 0.4-0.8 mm at base, exterior glabrous, the lobes oblong to narrowly so or ovate to subovate or triangular to narrowly so or elliptic or ovate, acute or sometimes narrowly or broadly so at apex, 1.2-2.8 x 0.7-2 mm, glabrous outside; stamens with the filaments 0.1-1.7 mm long, glabrous, the anthers 0.6-1.2(-2.1) mm long, glabrous; style 2-7 mm long, glabrous; uniovulate or rarely biovulate per locule. Fruit with the emargination 0.2-0.8 mm, subpedicellate with the pedicel 0.1-0.6 mm long, glabrous to glabrate, the mericarps broadly elliptic to sometimes elliptic in outline, 1.3-1.9 x (1-) 1.2-1.6(-1.7) mm, 0.5-0.8 mm thick, glabrous to glabrate or papillate or sparsely puberulous, rugose to slightly so.

  • Discussion

    7. Declieuxia cordigera Martius & Zuccarini ex Schultes & Schultes, Mantissa . . . Syst. Veg. 3: 112, 1827.