Chiococca alba (L.) Hitchc. subsp. alba
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Authority
Maguire, Bassett. 1972. The botany of the Guayana Highland--part IX. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 23: 1-832.
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Family
Rubiaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Distribution and Ecology - Distribution. West Indies, Central America and Mexico, and South America. The exact limits of distribution in Central America, Mexico, and southern South America remain to be worked out in detail. Specimens from the West Indies have been examined from Cuba, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Hayti, Barbados, Antigua, St. Bemy, St. Thomas, Saba, Grenada, Guadeloupe, St. Croix, Trinidad, and Tobago. From South America typical C. alba subsp alba has been seen from British Guiana, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia. Specimens from southern Brazil need additional study.
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Discussion
Chiococca alba (L.) Hitchc., Rep. Missouri Bot. Gard. 4: 94. 1893.
Chiococca racemosa L., Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 917. 1759.
Chiococca racemosa var a H.B.K., Nov. Gen. 3: 352. 1818.
Chiococca brachiata R. & P., Fl. Peruv. 2: 67. pl. 219. 1799.
Type. Jamaica and Barbados, West Indies.
The microfilm photo of the Linnaean type (“233.1”) shows a many-flowered inflorescence as long as or longer than the leaves and on a long peduncle. Although Linnaeus states that the racemes are simple, the type photo in the Linnaean Herbarium shows some of the racemes with the lowest part of the inflorescence bearing lateral branches. This branching is evidenced also by specimens collected in both Jamaica and Barbados, with both simple and compound racemes (with the lowest nodes bearing lateral branches) present, such as manifest in Freeman 463 from Pine Estate, St. Michael. Jamaican specimens, such as Harris 8598, 9611, and Crosby, Hespenheide & Anderson 157, have simple racemose inflorescences, whereas Britton 681, Wright 116, Maxon & Killip 1502, Crawford 661, and Harris 12102 have compound racemose inflorescences. Linnaeus, in his Species Plantarum (175. 1753), referred to the works of Hortus Cliffortianus, Dillenius, and Sloane. These early works of Sloane (Hist. Jam. 2: 97. pl. 188, fig. 3. 1725) and Dillenius (Hort. Eltham. 306. pl. 228. 1732) and that of Jacquin (Sel. Stirp. Am. pl. 69. 1780) show a simple type of inflorescence with large leaves and racemes with 7-17 flowers. Jacquin’s plate, showing 17 flowers for the most part, is based, as is the description, upon plants collected from the island of Santo Domingo.
The inflorescences in the Barbados specimens (Freeman 463) vary from 5-7.5 cm long, the peduncles 15-37 mm long, the numbers of flowers per inflorescence from 10-12 in the more simple racemes to 13-23 in the ones more branched, and with pedicels 4-7 mm long. In the Jamaica specimens a similar variation occurs, the inflorescences 4-12 cm long, the peduncles 12-35 mm long, the numbers of flowers per inflorescence 7-15 in the simple types of racemes to 22-39 in the more branched types with two to four or more lateral branches, and with pedicels 2-7 mm long. The corolla lobes of the Barbados specimens are 3.5-4 mm long, the corolla length 8-9 mm; in the Jamaica specimens the corolla lobes vary from 2-3.5 mm long and the corollas 6-9 mm.
Most of the material examined from Peru, where C. brachiata R. & P. originated, shows no difference fundamentally from that of the West Indies. The branches of the inflorescences of the Peruvian plants are sometimes branched, sometimes simple, as in Klug 4107 from Dept. San Martin. Most of the specimens from Peru have glabrous inflorescences. Under C. brachiata Schumann [Mart. Fl. Bras. 6(5): 50-54. 1881] recognized 17 varieties, nearly all limited to southern or central Brazil.
In the present treatment, in addition to typical C. alba subsp alba, I have recognized an additional subspecies, parvifolia, previously considered by authors in the specific category, with variations in leaf size, pubescence of ovary, and size of inflorescence.
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Distribution
Distribution. West Indies, Central America and Mexico, and South America. The exact limits of distribution in Central America, Mexico, and southern South America remain to be worked out in detail. Specimens from the West Indies have been examined from Cuba, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Hayti, Barbados, Antigua, St. Bemy, St. Thomas, Saba, Grenada, Guadeloupe, St. Croix, Trinidad, and Tobago. From South America typical C. alba subsp alba has been seen from British Guiana, Ven
West Indies| Central America| Mexico North America| South America| Mexico North America| Cuba South America| Bahamas South America| Jamaica South America| Puerto Rico South America| Dominican Republic South America| Haiti South America| Barbados South America| Antigua and Barbuda South America| Saint Barthélemy South America| Saba South America| Grenada South America| Guadeloupe South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America| Guyana South America| Venezuela South America|