Rhodostemonodaphne cyclops Madriñán

  • Authority

    Madriñán, Santiago R. 2004. (Lauraceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 92: 1-102. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Lauraceae

  • Scientific Name

    Rhodostemonodaphne cyclops Madriñán

  • Type

    Type. Ecuador. Pichincha: Río Guajalito Reserve, 5 Jul 1991 (male fl), van der Werff, B. Gray, G. Tipas & J. Campaña 12190 (holotype: MO; isotypes: AAU, COL, GH, HBG, K, NY, QCA).

  • Description

    Latin Diagnosis - Foliis forma et indumento R. laxae similis, sed ramis crassis in sicco nigris, antherarum locellis superioribus plerumque vestigialibus differt.

    Species Description - Trees: branches basitonic, in axils of cataphylls or basal foliage leaves; twigs angular and remaining so for at least two flushes, 3-6 mm diam.; epidermis black; terminal bud plump, ca. 1 x 1 mm; cataphylls caducous; indument puberulous, caducous after one flush, the hairs dense, to 0.3 mm long, straight to crisped, erect, yellowish. Leaves: petioles robust, 1.5-3 cm x 2-3 mm, adaxially flattened; blades chartaceous, flat, broadly elliptic, 10-20 X 6-13 cm; base obtuse to rounded, 90-150°; apex obtuse to rounded, 120-140°, (mucronate); margin plane; primary vein above flat, below prominent; secondary veins 4-7 pairs, equidistant, brochidodromous, above slightly raised, below prominent, diverging at 50-60°, abruptly arching near margin (forked), chordal angle 35-40°, the angle uniform along blade length; tertiary veins above slightly raised, below raised, random-reticulate to scalariform; higher order veins above and below slightly raised; surface above dark green to black, below brownish green; indument above absent, the primary and secondary veins tomentose, below tomentose, the hairs sparse, to 0.6 mm long, straight to crisped, erect, yellowish brown, persisting for at least two flushes. Staminate inflorescences: basitonic to mesotonic, erect (curved upwards), peduncles 5-17 cm long, the hypopodia 2-8 cm X 1.5-2.5 mm, branch orders 5(-6), the second order branches 2-8, dispersed or clustered apically, lowest branch to 4 cm long, all axes blackish, sparsely puberulous; bracts caducous (not seen); bracteoles persistent or caducous, to 3 mm long, adaxially glabrous. Staminate flowers: pedicels ca. 5.6 X 0.8 mm, the diameter gradually increasing apically; receptacle obconical, ca. 2.5 X 3.2 mm; tepals coriaceous, ovate, ca. 2.5 X 2 mm, at anthesis spreading, black, adaxially patchy puberulous; stamens of whorls I and II spathulate, the anthers reniform, ca. 1 x 1.8 mm, puberulous, the locelli 3 to 4, apical, in a shallow arch, introrse, the glands absent; whorl III capitate, ca. 1 x 0.8 mm, puberulous, the locelli 4, the upper pair latrorse, the lower pair extrorse, the glands fused, forming a continuous ring; whorl IV absent; all stamens blackish; pistillode teardrop shaped, immersed within the receptacle, lacking a stigma, ca. 2 x 1 mm, glabrous. Pistillate flowers: pistil ca. 3.2 x 2 mm; ovary globose, ca. 2.4 mm long, glabrous. Fruits unknown.

  • Discussion

    Field notes. Trees to 20 m tall, already flowering when 12 m tall; wood aromatic. Tepals green.

    Etymology. The specific epithet alludes to the variable number of anther locelli due to fusion of the two upper ones or their vestigial nature, reminiscent of the one-eyed giant (often depicted with vestigial lateral eyes) of Greek mythology.

    Rhodostemonodaphne cyclops is a very distinct species. It has thick but not very dense-wooded branches; the leaves are coriaceous, dark green to greenish-brown-drying, and the inflorescences long and stout. All flowers examined had variable anther locelli number in whorls I & II, where the upper locelli were either present, vestigial, or one missing.

    Rhodostemonodaphne cyclops shares a number of characters with R. frontinensis, to which it may be closely related. They have similar, black-drying inflorescences, and flowers with a long receptacle and spreading, pointed tepals with a few adaxial hairs.

  • Distribution

    Known only from the province of Pichincha, Ecuador. Three of the four known specimens were collected in the “Río Guajalito reserve near Quito, at 1850-2000 m. Found in cloud forest and adjacent pastures. Flowers June-September, during the dry season.

    Ecuador South America| Pichincha Ecuador South America|