Nectandra patens (Sw.) Griseb.

  • Authority

    Rohwer, Jens G. 1993. Lauraceae: . Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 60: 1-332. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Lauraceae

  • Scientific Name

    Nectandra patens (Sw.) Griseb.

  • Type

    Type. Jamaica. Without locality, Swartz s.n. (holotype, S; isotype, GDC; possible isotype, C).

  • Synonyms

    Laurus patens Sw., Laurus exaltata var. lancifolia Poir., Ocotea patens (Sw.) Nees, Oreodaphne exaltata Nees, Phoebe patens (Sw.) Nees, Nectandra exaltata (Sw.) Griseb., Nectandra coriacea f. dubia Mez, Ocotea jamaicensis Mez, Tylostemon angustitepalus K.Krause, Ocotea angustitepala (K.Krause) Robyns & Wilczek, Ocotea exaltata (Sw.) Proctor

  • Description

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    Species Description - Shrubs or mostly small trees, rarely reaching 20 m height Branchlets 5 cm below terminal bud ca. 1.3-3 mm in diam., initially ± irregularly an-gular/ridged, with ± short (up to 0.2 mm), ± appressed hairs, sparse to dense immediately below terminal bud, usually quickly becoming sparser, rarely subpersistent; terminal buds elongate, 29 mm long, ca. 0.6-2 mm thick, densely covered with short, appressed hairs. Petioles 6-14(-17) mm long, 0.9-2.5 mm thick, ± roundish below, flat to ± canaliculate above, rarely with a central ridge, indument ± as on twigs, usually denser above, (sub)glabrescenL Leaves alternate, elliptic to lanceolate, rarely ovate, widest 1/3 from the base to slightly above the middle, (6-)7.5-19(-23) cm long, 2.5-7.5(-9) cm wide, (1.7-)2-3.3(-4) times longer than wide, tip ± acuminate, base attenuate to obtuse, margin flat to minutely revolute (rarely broadly revolute but at the base flat), midrib ± convex above, at the base sometimes flat or with a central furrow, rarely flat or concave throughout, rarely convex in a slight impression, broadly convex to prominent below, secondary veins above slightly raised to almost prominent, very rarely in a very slight impression, raised to prominent below, (4-)5-8(-10) pairs, diverging at(30-)40-65(-70)0, in mid-lamina running at an angle of 20-55(-75)° to the midrib, tertiary venation mixed, often almost lineate, finer reticulation almost equally distinct, level to almost prominent (usually raised) above, ± raised to prominent below. Indument consisting of ± short (rarely reaching ca. 0.3 mm), appressed hairs, in young leaves sparse to absent above, often only on base of midrib, moderately sparse to almost exclusively on midrib below, ± quickly glabrescent above (often except for base of midrib), (sub)glabrescent below, axils of secondary veins glabrous or with short to long (up to ca. 1 mm), ± erect hairs, surrounding a glabrous spot or forming dense tufts, rarely also along midrib. Gland dots in mature leaves not visible to moderately distinct, in young leaves sometimes distinct. Inflorescences in the axils of (distal) foliage leaves, less often in the axils of cataphylls at the base of the new growth, below the terminal bud, or even on axillary brachyblasts, ca. 0.5-1.3 mm in diam. at the base, on a twig of 0.9-2.5 mm diam., 2-13.5 cm long, reaching ca. 1/3 the length of the closest foliage leaf to ca. 1.5 times its length; peduncle very short or up to 6 cm long, i.e., up to 2/3 the length of the inflorescence (but usually less than half), lateral branches (0-)2-10 below the terminal cyme or cluster of cymes, branched (0-)l-4 times, indument consisting of ± short, ± appressed hairs, moderately dense to absent on peduncle, usually becoming denser closer to the flowers. Pedicels 0.5-5.5 mm long, 0.2-0.5 mm thick. Flowers (3.4-)3.7-5.3(-7) mm in diam., tepals ± elliptic, rarely elongate, ca. 1.3-2.2(-2.7) mm long and ca. 0.8-1.6(-1.9) mm wide, with very fine, ± short papillae on the inside surface, sparse to moderately dense (but usually relatively inconspicuous), especially towards the base also with hairs. Stamens ca. 0.8-1.2 mm long including a hairy or rarely glabrous filament of 0.3-0.7 mm, anthers sometimes slightly papillose at the tip, usually with hairs on back side, in the outer whorls rather variable, transverse-elliptic to squarish to (elongate) roundish-(ob)trapeziform, broadly rounded to slightly emarginate at the tip, in the third whorl roundish-rectangular to roundish-trapeziform, ± truncate to slightly emarginate at the tip. Staminodes reaching ca. 2/5-3/5 the length of the stamens, usually with a distinct glandular head (but see discussion). Pistil ca. 1.1-2 mm long, ovary ± ellipsoid, glabrous or± hairy, style ca. half as long to ca. as long as the ovary. Receptacle shallowly bowl-shaped, glabrous or with some hairs inside. Berry ellipsoid to very elongate, occasionally slightly ovate, ca. 15-20 mm long and 7-10 mm in diam., cupule variable, flat and undulate to shallowly bowl-shaped (sometimes minutely lobed) or trumpetshaped, up to 3.5 mm high and ca. 3-8 mm in diam., pedicel scarcely thickened to gradually merging into the cupule.

  • Discussion

    In Jamaica most Lauraceae are called sweetwood.

    Nectandra patens is recognized by ± elliptic tepals, which are usually only slightly papillose on the inside surface, by relatively long filaments, and by pollen sacs which (at least in one of the two outer whorls) are either arranged almost in two pairs, one above the other, or are very unequal in size. As circumscribed here, it is a very heterogeneous group. The populations differ not only from island to island, but at least in Jamaica also along an altitudinal gradient.

    The types of both Laurus patens and Ocotea jamaicensis come from the high-altitude population in Jamaica, which could indeed easily be placed in Ocotea. In this group the hairs on the vegetative buds are white, the leaves dry usually light green, the tepals are scarcely papillose, the filaments are very long, and in some flowers the staminodes can be completely reduced. At lower elevations the hairs on the vegetative buds are mostly brown, the leaves dry olive or brownish, the tepals are often somewhat more papillose, and the filaments are slightly shorter than the anthers. On closer inspection, however, none of these characters (and several others) is constant within the low-elevation group, and there are sufficient intermediates towards the high-elevation group to blur the distinction. It would certainly be worthwhile for local botanists to study this possible cline in detail.

    The low-elevation group in Jamaica is heterogeneous in itself. It comprises forms with lanceolate or broadly elliptic leaves, with or without erect hairs in the axils of the secondary veins, with whitish or brownish hairs on the vegetative buds, with (nearly) glabrous or ± hairy twigs, and with glabrous or hairy ovaries. The type of Laurus exaltata belongs to one of the more hairy forms, intermediate between the more typical subglabrous forms and the most hairy forms, Proctor 15731 and 28005, which look quite unlike the rest of the material.

    On the other islands we find only a fraction of the wide variational range of Jamaica. In Jamaica erect hairs in the axils of the secondary veins are the exception, elsewhere they are the rule. Small, few flowered inflorescences are the rule on Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, together with relatively large, elliptic leaves, whereas in Jamaica they are characteristic of the high-altitude group with its smaller and more lanceolate leaves. Large, lanceolate leaves together with long, much-branched inflorescences are found on Antigua. This list could be continued, with numerous different characters.

    In the Lesser Antilles Nectandra patens may be further modified by what appears to be an introgression from N. coriacea (especially in the Leeward Islands), or from N. purpurea. Nectandra patens and N. purpurea have nearly the same flower structure, and in both species the leaves are rather variable. However, N. purpurea (unlike N. patens) has a characteristic aspect, and the venation character given in the key (p. 44) holds true for all but a few collections. The most important N. coriacea-like characters found in the Lesser Antilles are more elongate tepals with a longer, denser papillosity, and a tendency to have the inflorescences aggregated near the tips of the branchlets. In contrast to N. coriacea from the same region, however, the twigs and leaves are much more hairy, usually with erect hairs in the axils of the secondary veins on the lower leaf surface. Moreover, some inflorescences usually originate in the axils of foliage leaves, and the filaments are as long as the anthers or longer. The group includes the types of N. coriacea forma dubia and of Tylostemon angustitepalus. The latter has only recently been recognized as a synonym of Nectandra patens. The species had been cultivated on the grounds of the Agricultural Experiment Station of Victoria, Cameroon, but it has not become naturalized in Africa (see Rohwer, 1989).

    The two collections from Grenada are placed here with hesitation. They both are in young fruit, and they both had previously been determined as Beilschmiedia pendula (Sw.) Hemsl., which is certainly incorrect. Their leaves are slightly different from Nectandra patens as found on the other islands, but this is not unusual (see above). They are even more different, however, from any other Antillean Lauraceae known to me.

    Lavastre 1589 (NY) and A. H. Liogier 12025 (NY) from Hispaniola have (partly) monstrous flowers. The third staminal whorl and the staminodes are mostly absent, and in the outer whorls the upper pollen sacs are sometimes reduced. Otherwise, however, the specimens are clearly Nectandra patens.

    As in other cases (compare p. 274) the Duss numbers are a source of confusion. Duss 219 is heterogeneous, representing partly Nectandra coriacea and partly N. patens. Duss 229 in NY is not the same plant as Duss 229 in US, but the latter, supposedly from Martinique, is clearly from the same individual as Duss 3381 in NY, supposedly from Guadeloupe. Duss 3381 in F, MO, and US, however, represents N. membranacea. Duss 3200 (F, MO) and a specimen with both numbers 3199 and 3200 (US) is N. coriacea, but a specimen numbered 3200, 3538 (NY) is N. patens.

    Ocotea jamaicensis was originally described based on two syntypes, cited as “Herb. bot. Dept, no 5114, 5267 . . . (Herb. Krug et Urban).” They both were collected by W. Harris and are cited as such above. Only the latter collection includes both flowers and fruits, and therefore is better suited to serve as lectotype.

  • Common Names

    cap-berry, cup-berry, loblolly sweetwood, sweetwood, cigua, laurier caca, laurier isabelle, laurier gland, laurier gros-graine

  • Distribution

    Antilles except Cuba (?), growing in dry forests and shrublands, usually on limestone, and in degraded moist forests, from sea level to 1500 m altitude. Flowers mainly June to November, in the Lesser Antilles sometimes earlier. Most fruiting collections were made from March through July.

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