Tococa caquetana Sprague

  • Family

    Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)

  • Scientific Name

    Tococa caquetana Sprague

  • Primary Citation

    Trans. & Proc. Bot. Soc. Edinburgh 22: 432. 1905

  • Description

    Description Author and Date: Fabian A. Michelangeli, January 2010, based on Michelangeli, F. A. (2005). Tococa (Melastomataceae). Flora Neotropica Monographs 98: 1-114.

    Type: Colombia. Putumayo: San José, Río Putumayo, Sprague 604 (holotype US; isotypes BM, K[3]).

    Description: Shrub, up to 0.5-2.0 (-2.5) m tall. Stems with a mix of sparsely glandular and non glandular, persistent, trichomes 1.5-3.0 mm long, with a dense cover or stellulate hairs underneath, the nodes glabrous. Petioles 0.7-1.5 cm long, pubescence as in the stems. Leaves slightly to moderately anisophyllous, elliptic, 15-35 x 7-13 cm, apex shortly to blunt acuminate, base acute to obtuse, adaxial side sparsely glandular pubescent, abaxial side sparsely glandular pubescent, light green, with 2 pairs of secondary veins, basally nervate, but the inner-most pair of secondary veins often running closely parallel to the primary vein for 1.0-2.0 cm above the leaf base, membranaceous, ciliate crenulate; domatia present, free from the leaf blade, ovoid, 1.0-2.0 cm x 0.7-1.2 cm. Inflorescence a terminal panicle, 3-9 cm long, with 3-10 flowers, the axis red to crimson, terete; flower pedicels 3.0-5.5 mm long; bracts caducous, lanceolate, less than 0.5 mm long; hypanthium conical, with a truncate base, 3.0-3.5 mm long, with a mix of adpressed and stellate trichomes; sepals partly fused, 1.0-2.0 mm long, the terminal ovate lobes up to 0.5 mm long, calyx teeth narrowly deltoid, lying over the sepals, projecting up to 1.5 mm above the sepals, glandular setulose, ocassionaly terminated in a long setula up to 2 mm long; the ring inside the torus glabrous. Petals 5, obovate, entire, 2.5-3.5 x 2.0-2.5 mm, smooth, glabrous, white. Stamens all of the same size, the filaments 2.5-3.0 mm long, glabrous; anthers yellow; the connective with a dorsal-basal blunt tooth and distinctly dorso-elevated into a orbicular gland up to 1 mm wide; thecae 2.5-3.0 mm long, opening by a dorsally inclined, to upright pore. Ovary 3 (rarely 4)-locular, 2/3 inferior, the superior portion terete, the apex glabrous, very rarely with minute glandular trichmes; style glabrous, 4.5-6.0 mm long; stigma slightly infundibuliform, 0.5 mm wide. Fruits globose, 4-5 mm long, black, sparsely adpressed setose. The seeds not evident through the pericarp, truncate-obovate, 0.5-0.6 mm long, without capitate trichomes in the raphal area, with sculpturing, anticlinal walls s-shaped, periclinal walls flat, boundaries between periclinal walls flat. Chromosome number n= unknown.

    Habitat and Distribution: Growing in the understory of primary and disturbed forests up to 1000 m in S Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and W Brazil.

    Taxonomy and Systematics: For a detailed discussion of the systematic placement and affinities of T. caquetana, see commentaries under T. parviflora.

  • Floras and Monographs

    Tococa caquetana Sprague: [Article] Michelangeli, Fabián A. 2005. (Melastomataceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 98: 1-114.