Agonandra racemosa (DC.) Standl.

  • Authority

    Hiepko, Paul H. 2000. Opiliaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 82: i-iv + 1-53. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Opiliaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Agonandra racemosa (DC.) Standl.

  • Type

    Type. Mexico (holotype: "Schweinizia racemosa," unpublished illustration, Sesse & Mocino, at Hunt Inst, for Botanical Documentation, copies at G, photo IDC 713, vol. 1, tab. V).

  • Synonyms

    Schaefferia racemosa DC., Loranthus anomalus M.E.Jones

  • Description

    Species Description - Small tree or shrub (rarely vinelike), 2.5-10(-15) m tall; branches drooping, brittle, glabrous; trunk to 25(-100?) cm diam.; bark brown-black, slightly corky and fissured. Leaves chartaceous to coriaceous, narrowly ovate to narrowly elliptic, rarely broadly ovate or elliptic, 4-8(-10.5) × (l-)2-3(-4.5) cm, the apex acute to shortly acuminate, the base cuneate to rounded; midrib flat above, slightly prominent beneath; lateral veins 4-6 per side, curved-ascending, mostly slightly prominulous on both sides, sometimes hardly visible; petioles 5-10(-12) mm long. Racemes terminal or axillary, 1 per axil; [male] and [female] racemes 1.5-4(-5.5) cm long (terminal inflorescences often with racemes instead of flowers in the basal part thus forming a double raceme); rachis glabrous, in dry state longitudinally ridged, 3, 2, or 1 flowers per bract in the same raceme; bracts broadly cordate, 1 × 1 mm, acute, glabrous; bracteoles linear, very small, at the base of the pedicels of the lateral flowers. Pedicels and flowers glabrous, [male] flowers: pedicels 1.53 mm long; tepals oblong, acute, ca. 2 mm long; stamens 2.5-3 mm long; anthers oval, ca. 0.5 mm long; disk lobes thinly fleshy, 1 mm long, sometimes more or less fused at the base (up to 1/4 of their length), the apex irregularly toothed; rudimentary pistil thinly cylindric with capitate stigma, not exceeding the disk lobes. [female] flowers: pedicels 1.5-3 mm long in flower, 5-10(-12) mm long in fruit; tepals ca. 1 mm long; disk annular, thinly fleshy, 0.5 mm high, often with some higher lobes, which are sometimes as long as the pistil; pistil ovoidal, ca. 1 mm long; stigma cushion-shaped, shallowly 3-4-lobed. Drupe ellipsoid (sometimes more or less globular), yellow to whitish with purple, (7-) 9-11 × 6-8 mm. Chromosome number: n = 10 (Seavey, 1975).

  • Discussion

    Fruits eaten by magpie jays (Sonora). "Triturated with sugar taken as physic" (Hinton 3124, Mexico). In Guerrero used to treat fractures ("Se usa para curar fractura de huesos.") (Martínez S. 3658).

    Agonandra racemosa is characterized by its glabrous inflorescences with a rather variable number of flowers per bract: in the axils of the basal bracts usually three flowers are borne, but in the upper part of the racemes this number is reduced to two or even one. In this species, terminal inflorescences are often found which usually show smaller racemes instead of flowers in the lower part thus forming double racemes. The drupes of A. racemosa are relatively small. In one specimen from Sinaloa (Goldman 313, US), a [female] inflorescence with two young fruits is found in addition to several racemes with [male] flowers on the same branch (cf. Standley, 1920).

    This species is often described by collectors as a beautiful tree with pendulous branches. Once it was described as liana (Boege 659: "enredadera"). It is typical of old deciduous forest or riparian forest, and in the dry season the trees are very conspicuous because only that species is evergreen in this type of vegetation (Breedlove, pers. comm.).

  • Common Names

    Chilillo, chicharroncillo, limoncillo, malo muchacho, margarita, muligo, palo del golpe, pega hueso, peinecillo, suelda, suelda con suelda, ciprés silvestre, pino silvestre

  • Distribution

    Western Mexico and Central America: from Sonora and Chihuahua to Chiapas; Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador; in seasonally dry deciduous forest and in gallery forest; (10-)200-3500 m. Flowering Oct-Jun; fruiting Dec-Jun.

    Mexico North America| Chiapas Mexico North America| Chihuahua Mexico North America| Colima Mexico North America| Durango Mexico North America| Guanajuato Mexico North America| Guerrero Mexico North America| Jalisco Mexico North America| México Mexico North America| Michoacán Mexico North America| Morelos Mexico North America| Nayarit Mexico North America| Oaxaca Mexico North America| Puebla Mexico North America| Sinaloa Mexico North America| Sonora Mexico North America| Zacatecas Mexico North America| Guatemala Central America| Jutiapa Guatemala Central America| Retalhuleu Guatemala Central America| Honduras Central America| Comayagua Honduras Central America| Atlántida Honduras Central America| El Salvador Central America| La Libertad El Salvador Central America| Ahuachapán El Salvador Central America|