Roupala montana Aubl.

Authority

Prance, Ghillean T., et al. 2007. Proteaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 100: 1-218. (Published by NYBG Press)

Family

Proteaceae

Scientific Name

Roupala montana Aubl.

Type

Type. French Guiana. Serpent Mountain, Aug (fl), Aublet s.n. (holotype, BM, photo NY).

Description

Species Description - Leaves drying glaucous, to mid brown, soon glabrous beneath; indumentum, if present, of short hairs only, appressed-pilose, pale to mid brown. Inflorescence 5-20(-26) cm long, the indumentum dense to sparse, pale to mid brown, becoming sparser or glabrous towards perianth apices, the hairs straight. Flowers densely clustered at anthesis, drying yellow-brown, orange-brown or mid brown. Common bracts 0.4-1.2(-1.5) × (0.5-)l-2.5 mm, the indumentum of short sericeous hairs not bushing outward, but extending all over. Field characters. Tree 1.5-25(-30) m, shrub 15 m, 5-60(-80) cm dbh, twisted/gnarled trees or dwarf shrubs to forest trees, with strong odor (mephitic/tuna/canned meat) to crushed leaves, broken twigs, and slash; trunk well-branched and spreading with dense crown. Bark rough, flaking, at times corky, dark gray or black, to smooth or slightly fissured, lenticellate, and gray or pale brown. Wood open-grained, hard; white, straw yellow, pale pink, or dark red. Petiole, leaf rachises, and petiolules canaliculate; petiole and base of midrib yellow-green. Leaves compound, lobed, or simple, at times all of these on the same branch; subcoriaceous to coriaceous (rarely chartaceous), sometimes rigid, glabrous to pubescent, highly variable in shape, dull green to dark green above, shiny or matte, paler dull green beneath, at times waxy, serrate, half folded. Petiole, leaf rachises, and petiolules canaliculate; petiole and base of midrib yellow-green. Inflorescence green, whitish green, yellow, pale brown, cinnamon colored or dark brown. Buds whitish-green, green, or scurfy-brown. Flowers white, cream, pale yellow, yellow, ochraceous, greenish-yellow, pale buff, scent likened to honeysuckle; ovary green or pinkish; nectary white; style and stigma pale green, anthers cream. Fruit green to gray-green, maturing pale brown to brown or gray, pubescent when young; few developing per inflorescence.

Discussion

Uses include bark macerated in mm as an aphrodisiac (Sucre, Venezuela) and reported to be medicinal (Bolivar, Venezuela); wood used as the yoke of the ploughshare, lathe work, fuel wood and very good (low-smoking) quality charcoal (Venezuela) and favored as a large tree for making canoes (Napo, Ecuador); medicinal qualities reported from Bolivar, Venezuela and Pastaza, Ecuador (part of plant not stated). Leaves used for the floristry trade in Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Leaves also cited for potential as forage in NE Brazil.

Phenology. In Central America, the greatest number of specimens in flower were collected in Jan-Mar, and in fruit, from Mar-May, with few collections of either at other times of the year. Moving south to Venezuela and the Guianas, flowering and fruiting material has predominantly been collected between Sep and May, with fruiting specimens also relatively abundant in Jun and Jul. From Colombia to Paraguay and over all of Brazil, the inverse is true, the greatest number of flowering specimens having been collected from Jun to Aug, and fruiting specimens between Aug and Sep, with a smaller number of fertile plants collected throughout the year.

Distribution and Ecology: From Mexico throughout Central and South America to Bolivia, Paraguay, and southernmost Brazil. Habitat types are many and varied, including savanna, tree chaparral, moriche (Mauritia flexuosa) savanna, moist, dense lowland forest to cloud forest at higher altitudes, primary terra firme forest, dry deciduous forest, and scrub, and crossing the forest/grassland boundary into capoeira, cerrado, wet campo, dry campo, campo cerrado, cerradão, campo sujo, and campo rupestre. Demonstrates tolerance of shade and full sun. Substrates on which it has been found: sandstone conglomerate, quartzite, limestone, ferrous rocks, and ferrobauxite on soils that are sandy, stony, a mixture of clay and sand, and red earth. Innumerable plant associations have been recorded, such as Carpinus caroliniana, Liquidambar macrophylla, and Quercus, in Veracruz, Mexico; Terminalia amazonica and Quercus oleoides in Chiapas, Mexico; Liquidambar and Quercus in Nicaragua; Curatella and Byrsonima in Guanacaste savanna, C. Rica; Raddiella nana, Bulbostylis spadicea, Aristida tincta, Rhynchospora cephalotes, and Hirtella racemosa at the Surinam/Brazil frontier; Curatella, Byrsonima, Trachypogon, and Fimbristylis, Rupununi Northern Savanna, and Anzoátegui, Venezuela; Hyparrhenia savanna, Guárico, Venezuela; Byrsonima, Roupala, Bowdichia, and Curatella- dominant savanna, Yaracuy, Lara, and Bolívar, Venezuela; Wedelia, Calea, and Cordia in sucessional low matorral which was originally cloud forest, with Ormosia, Croton cf. xanthochloros, and Clusia sp. along water courses, Falcon, Venezuela; Myrtaceae/Malphigiaceae/Verbenaceae-dominant scrub/low forest, Tachira, Venezuela; Trachypogon-savanna. ajoining partially deciduous gallery forest, Apure, Venezuela; and Byrsonima crassifolialRoupala montana-dominant scrub, Norte de Santander, Colombia.

Common Names

zorillo, zorro, chancho zarillo, encino, zorillo, lacewood, zorillo, danto, mapurito, alcomoco, atón-yek, caica-yek, came asada, chaparro, chaparro-bobo, charichari, horca/horca mandinga, jigua bianco, mandingo, mapurito, miada de Caballo, para palo, ya’ra pachecho, bois gaude, chiguilma, Came de vaca, carvalho, congonha, Fruta de morcego, mijo de guara, Pindaiba, sambaibinha, sciescie, tinto, ka’ati ka’e

Distribution

Acre Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Amapá Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America| Rondônia Brazil South America| Roraima Brazil South America| Distrito Federal Brazil South America| Goiás Brazil South America| Mato Grosso do Sul Brazil South America| Mato Grosso Brazil South America| Bahia Brazil South America| Piauí Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| Santa Catarina Brazil South America| Pernambuco Brazil South America| Rio Grande do Sul Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Ceará Brazil South America| Guatemala Central America| Veracruz Mexico North America| Chiapas Mexico North America| Oaxaca Mexico North America| Suriname South America| Peru South America| Chiriquí Panamá Central America| Coclé Panamá Central America| Panamá Panama Central America| Belize Belize Central America| Cayo Belize Central America| Stann Creek Belize Central America| Alajuela Costa Rica Central America| Guanacaste Costa Rica Central America| San José Costa Rica Central America| Chalatenango El Salvador Central America| San Vicente El Salvador Central America| Chiquimula Guatemala Central America| Colón Honduras Central America| Jinotega Nicaragua Central America| Matagalpa Nicaragua Central America| Zelaya Nicaragua Central America| La Paz Bolivia South America| Santa Cruz Bolivia South America| Tarija Bolivia South America| Cayenne French Guiana South America| Mazaruni-Potaro Guyana South America| Rupununi Guyana South America| Alto Paraná Paraguay South America| Cusco Peru South America| Huánuco Peru South America| Junín Peru South America| Madre de Dios Peru South America| San Martín Peru South America| Sipaliwini Suriname South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Anzoátegui Venezuela South America| Aragua Venezuela South America| Bolívar Venezuela South America| Distrito Federal Venezuela South America| Falcón Venezuela South America| Guárico Venezuela South America| Lara Venezuela South America| Mérida Venezuela South America| Monagas Venezuela South America| Nueva Esparta Venezuela South America| Portuguesa Venezuela South America| Sucre Venezuela South America| Táchira Venezuela South America| Trujillo Venezuela South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Bolívar Colombia South America| Cauca Colombia South America| Magdalena Colombia South America| Norte de Santander Colombia South America| Santander Colombia South America| Valle del Cauca Colombia South America| Vichada Colombia South America| Darién Panamá Central America| French Guiana South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America|