Helicostylis tomentosa (Poepp. & Endl.) Rusby

  • Authority

    Berg, Cornelius C. 1972. Olmedieae, Brosimeae (Moraceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 7: 1-229. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Moraceae

  • Scientific Name

    Helicostylis tomentosa (Poepp. & Endl.) Rusby

  • Type

    Type. Poeppig sn (or 2797) [male] (W, destroyed; replaced by P) near Ega (=Teffe), Amazonas, Brazil.

  • Synonyms

    Olmedia tomentosa Poepp. & Endl., Olmedia poeppigiana Mart., Helicostylis poeppigiana (Mart.) Trécul, Greeneina poeppigiana Kuntze, Helicostylis poeppigiana (Mart.) Trécul, Helicostylis affinis Miq., Greeneina affinis Kuntze, Helicostylis obtusifolia Standl., Olmedia polycephala Pittier, Helicostylis podogyne Ducke, Helicostylis duckei A.D.Hawkes, Olmedia asperula Standl., Trymatococcus guanabarinus Duarte

  • Description

    Description - Dioecious or sometimes monoecious trees up to 30 m tall; latex yellowish. Leafy twigs 1-7 mm thick, yellow to brownish puberulous, tomentellous, tomentose, velutinous or hirtellous. Leaves (elliptic to) oblong to lanceolate, sometimes broadest near the upper end, ca inequilateral, 5-32 cm long, 2-15 cm broad, chartaceous to coriaceous, acuminate to mucronate (to acute), acute to obtuse (to truncate or emarginate) at the base, entire to faintly repand, or rarely denticulate near the apex, except for the costa glabrescent, sometimes scabridulous above, sparsely to densely puberulous to tomentellous to tomentose to hirtellous beneath; veins nearly plane above, prominent beneath, 8-17 pairs of secondary veins, often many parallel tertiary veins; petioles 4-17 mm long; stipules 3-10 mm long, subsericeous. Staminate inflorescences up to 15 together, 3-9 mm in diameter; peduncle 3-18 mm long, puberulous to tomentellous; involucre with deltoid to ovate, acute, velutinous bracts in ca 4 series; perianth 1-2 mm high, (3-)4(~5)-lobed to (3-) 4(-5)-parted, densely puberulous towards the tip; stamens 4, rarely 2 staminodial or wanting, filaments 1.3-4.5 mm long, those of the outer stamens often shorter than those of the inner ones, anthers 0.2-0.9 mm long, o.2-0.5 mm broad, apiculate or not, connectives narrow or broad, anthers of the outer whorl as a rule longer and narrower than those of the inner whorl and distinctly apiculate. Pistillate inflorescences solitary or sometimes accompanied by 1 or 2 staminate ones, hemispherical to subglobose (to globose), 5-8 mm in diameter, sessile to pedunculate; peduncle up to 10 mm long, puberulous to tomentellous; involucre with reniform to ovate to subulate, acute, brownish velutinous bracts in 4-8 series; flowers (3-) 5-15; perianth 2-2.5 mm high, 4-par ted, brownish velutinous; style 0.7-1.7 mm long, lateral, hairy at the upper end, stigmas vittiform, 2.5-5 mm long, often strongly twisted. Infructescences subglobose to globose, 2.5-5 cm in diameter; fruiting perianth yellowish to brownish velutinous; fruit 6-7 × ca 5 mm; seed ca 5 × ca 4 mm. Flowering mostly from August to February.

  • Discussion

    The type of H. obtusifolia consists of leafless twigs with staminate inflorescences and a twig with detached leaves which probably does not belong to a Moracea.

    Helicostylis tomentosa is variable in several characters, especially in the indument of the twigs and leaves. It may be puberulous, tomentellous, hirtellous, or tomentose, and sparse or dense on the leaves beneath. Intermediate forms between all kinds of indument are met with. The shape of the leaves is also rather variable. The pistillate inflorescences are sessile or often distinctly pedunculate. The dimensions and shape of the stamens are very diverse. Most collections from the one region are usually quite similar, but they may also be quite different. The differences in the shape and indument of the leaves seem to be partly caused by the age of the trees. The variation patterns of several characters, like the indument and the length of the peduncles of the pistillate inflorescences, are reticulate. Obvious local or regional phenetic discontinuities could not be found.

    The collections Cardenas 1997 from Tumupasa (Bolivia), Ducke 1468 from Manáos (Brazil), and Krukoff 8859 from São de Paulo Olivença, (Brazil) differ from the other collections in their large, densely tomentose leaves.

  • Distribution

    (Fig 29). Northern South America east of the Andes and the coastal region of Brazil North of Rio de Janeiro; in rain forests up to 1600 m altitude.

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