Nectandra cuspidata Nees & Mart.

  • Authority

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

  • Family

    Lauraceae

  • Scientific Name

    Nectandra cuspidata Nees & Mart.

  • Type

    Type. Brazil. Amazonas:  in ripa fluminis Amazonum, praesertim ad villam Ega, Martius s.n. (lectotype, M, here designated; isolectotypes, B, GZU).

  • Synonyms

    Nectandra pichurim (Kunth) Mez, Nectandra gentlei Lundell, Nectandra olivacea Lasser, Nectandra membranacea subsp. cuspidata (Nees) Rohwer

  • Description

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    Species Description - Shrubs or trees, up to 30 m tall, but usually collected from much smaller individuals. Branchlets 5 cm below terminal bud 1.1-3 mm in diam., initially ± angular and/or with narrow ridges and furrows, with a dense indument of very short (<0.05 mm), usually ± erect, brown hairs, sometimes also with longer hairs (orientation, density and length variable, rarely reaching ca. 0.5 mm), in any case the short hairs persistent after the long hairs have been lost, very slowly becoming sparser but often becoming greyish and rather inconspicuous; terminal buds ovoid to elongate, ca. 3-10(-13) mm long and 0.8-3.5 mm thick, with a dense cover of brown or reddish hairs of variable length and orientation, mostly short, ± appressed at the tip, ± erect at the base. Petioles 4-18 mm long, 0.8-2.2 mm thick, ± roundish to triangular below, often distinctly ridged, mostly ± canaliculate above with ridges along the central furrow, occasionally flattened or irregular, indument ± as on twigs, slowly wearing off, more persistent above than below. Leaves alternate, usually ± narrowly lanceolate, varying towards ovate-lanceolate, elliptic, oblong, or almost linear, widest ca. 1/3 from the base to almost at the middle, (4.5-)8-19(-25.5) cm long, 1.5-5.5(-7.5) cm wide, (1.9-)2.9-6.5(-7.8) times longer than wide, tapering at the tip towards a usually long and narrow acumen, base acute to attenuate, rarely obtuse, margin narrowly recurved to conspicuously revolute, midrib clearly impressed to level above, sometimes slightly convex, prominent below, secondary veins slightly raised to (more frequently) slightly impressed above, occasionally very slightly convex, prominent below, 3-7(-9) pairs, diverging at (30-)35-60(-75)°, in mid-lamina running at an angle of (almost 0-)10-25(-40)° to the midrib, tertiary venation finely scalariform, often rather inconspicuous, ± level above (slightly raised to very slightly impressed), raised to level below. Indument consisting mainly of short (ca. 0.1 mm) appressed hairs, on veins p.p. ascending, plus sometimes longer (up to 0.5 mm), often ± ascending hairs, in young leaves moderately dense to sparse above, denser on veins, very dense (often ± sericeous) to intermediate below, sometimes rather inconspicuous, initially usually denser on veins, in mature leaves intermediate to absent above, usually denser on midrib, remaining dense or becoming very sparse below. Gland dots in mature leaves mostly not visible, sometimes distinct above. Inflorescences in the axils of (younger) foliage leaves, sometimes (pseudo-?) terminal, 0.5-2 mm in diam. at the base, on a twig of 1-3.5(-6.5) mm diam., (2.5-)3.5-13.5(-17) cm long, reaching ca. (1/4-)2/5 of to slightly more than the length of the subtending leaf; peduncle (0.4-)1-5(-6.5) cm long, i.e., ca. (1/8-)l/4-3/5 the length of the inflorescence, lateral branches (0-)4-8(-12) below the terminal cyme, branched (1-)2-5(-6) times, indument consisting of short and sometimes also longer hairs, mostly ± erect on peduncle, ± appressed on flowers, dense to moderately sparse. Pedicels 0.7-3.5(-7) mm long, 02-0.5 mm thick. Flowers ca (2.7-)3-4.5(-52) mm in diam., tepals ± oblong to elliptic, ca. 1-1.9 (-2.2) mm long and ca. (0.4-)0.7-1.3(-1.7) mm wide, with fine papillae on the inside surface, density rather variable, on outer tepals often present only in basal triangle. Stamens (Fig. 6E) ca. 0.6-0.8 mm long including a distinct filament of ca. 0.2-0.3 mm (filaments sometimes adnate to the tepals in the two outer whorls, visible only from inside), anthers minutely papillose at the tip, in the two outer whorls ± transverse-elliptic, in the third whorl ± roundish-obtrapeziform, in all three whorls broadly rounded to slightly emarginate at the tip. Staminodes ± terete to slightly clavate, reaching ca. 1/2-2/3 the length of the stamens, slightly papillose, glabrous, or (most frequently) with some hairs, united with the inner stamens at the very base. Pistil ca. 1.3-1.5 mm long, usually glabrous, ovary ± ellipsoid, style slightly shorter than the ovary, rarely slightly papillose or with some hairs. Receptacular tube ± deeply paraboloidal, glabrous or with some tightly appressed short hairs inside. Berry subglobose to ellipsoid, ca. 8-14 mm long, ca. 610 mm in diam., cupule shallowly bowl-shaped to funnel-shaped, ca. 1-3 mm high and ca. 4-6.5 mm in diam., often ± lenticellate, pedicel usually ± slightly (but towards the cupule increasingly) thickened, rarely distinctly swollen.

  • Discussion

    Nearly all of these names are used for several species.

    Uses. The wood of Nectandra cuspidata is described as light to medium-weight, ± fragrant, and relatively durable, often used in construction as well as for numerous other purposes. From Mexico, but not from other regions, it is reported that wood and bark change their color on exposure to air. Boom reports from Bolivia that bark scrapings are used to prepare a kind of tea to cure stomach ache, and on the label of a specimen from Panama with monstrous, probably fungus-infested fruits Tyson reports that the fruit coat is used for coloring.

    Nectandra cuspidata is recognized by its small flowers, usually lanceolate leaves with a long and fine acumen, and by a dense (but usually very short), brown indument on the young twigs. Its closest relative is N. membranacea, and the two species seem to replace each other ± in a mosaic fashion. Sometimes only one of them is found in a larger area, such as only N. membranacea in the Antilles, and only N. cuspidata in most of Amazonia. In other regions, as in Bahia and repeatedly in the Andes, we may find intermediates. In an earlier publication (Rohwer, 1986) this pattern had led me to demote N. cuspidata to subspecific rank under N. membranacea. Here I have returned to using specific rank, not only because I am deliberately avoiding infraspecific categories (compare p. 26), but also because the seemingly trivial differences between the two groups (in leaf shape and indument) are amazingly constant over the entire vast range. In addition, there must be some subconsciously recognized character in the general aspect of the plants, since it is possible to sort literally hundreds of collections into these two groups even without looking at the indument.

    The situation is further complicated by the fact that neither Nectandra membranacea nor N. cuspidata are homogeneous entities. In both of them (compare also p. 99) we find a certain degree of local differentiation, most pronounced in the Andes. With increasing altitude the plants tend to develop a denser indument of longer and more reddish hairs, so that individuals from above 1500 m altitude look very different from their lowland counterparts. The change is, however, so gradual that any separation of the lowland and the high-altitude forms seems artificial.

    In the original description, Nees cites several unnumbered Martius collections, from various localities, and a Poeppig collection from Tefe. Nees also cites two herbarium names, both from Martius’ herbarium. Therefore the lectotype should be selected among the Martius collections, which are all very similar to each other. I have selected the material from Tefé (“Ega”) since it includes both flowers and fruits.

    In Oreodaphne costulata Nees (Linnaea 21: 520. 1848) we find a rather complicated situation. The species was based on two Schomburgk collections, 929 and 987. Both of them represent TV. cuspidata, but no. 987 is mixed with material of Ocotea aciphylla (Nees) Mez or a closely related species. Nees saw both parts, and he annotated both as Oreodaphne costulata. The short description gives no clue as to which part was primarily described. Meissner (1864) recognized that most of the material belonged to TV. cuspidata, and he created the new name Oreodaphne neesiana for the Ocotea part. The name Oreodaphne costulata was cited under both Oreodaphne neesiana and TV. cuspidata. Mez (1889) coined the name Ocotea costulata, and treated Oreodaphne neesiana as a synonym of it. This may be considered an effective lectotypification of Oreodaphne costulata in the sense of the Ocotea part. Therefore this name can be treated only as a pseudo-synonym of TV. cuspidata, although most of the type material belongs here.

    In most herbaria Nectandra cuspidata is presently found under the name of Nectandra pichurim. This goes back to an error by Mez (1889), as discussed on p. 236. Under TV. pichurim, Mez described the variety cuprea to accommodate more sericeous forms from the Andean slopes. The variety was based on three collections, cited as “in Peruvia circa St. Cruz: Pearce et in Bolivia: Pentland n. 148, Rusby n. 704.”. All three fulfil Mez's definition of the variety, but the Pentland collection is the most hairy one. Of this collection, however, I could not find the material which Mez had seen in K, and therefore I decided against selecting it as the lectotype. The other two syntypes are closer to the central concept of TV. cuspidata. I assume that the Pearce collection also came from Bolivia, possibly from the department of Santa Cruz. Since it is unnumbered, and Pearce’s localities are notoriously difficult to interpret, it should not be selected as lectotype in the absence of strong arguments in its favor. This leaves the Rusby collection as the most sensible choice. The number 704 in Mez’s publication is obviously a printing error. On the material annotated by Mez the number reads 707.

    Distribution and Ecology: One of the most frequent and widespread species, known from more than 400 collections, ranging from southern Mexico to Paraguay and the Brazilian state Parana (but absent from the Antilles), growing in various habitats from sea level to ca. 2000 m altitude, very often in secondary forest.

    Phenology: Nectandra cuspidata has been found flowering throughout the year, and main flowering times become apparent only when numerous collections from a relatively small area are available. In Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Guyanas we find a distinct flowering season, from July through October. The fruits mature about half a year later, from January to March. The main flowering time in Para as well as in Bolivia and Andean Peru is February and March, but it is less clearly defined.

  • Common Names

    aguacatillo, laurel, aguacatillo, canelo, finto, laurel, guada-yek, laurel amarillo, laurel eucalipto, laurel rastrojero, laurelito, kerati, keriti, shiroua, shirua, shirwa, gewone pisie, pisi, atadijo moena, moena amarilla, moenilla blanca, palo rosa, roble, roble amarillo, roble Corriente, roble Corriente de altura, Canela babosa, louro, louro bosta, louro branco, louro preto, louro tumanqueira, yobini

  • Distribution

    Mexico North America| Oaxaca Mexico North America| Tabasco Mexico North America| Veracruz Mexico North America| Guatemala Central America| Alta Verapaz Guatemala Central America| Huehuetenango Guatemala Central America| Petén Guatemala Central America| Cayo Belize Central America| Stann Creek Belize Central America| Toledo Belize Central America| Honduras Central America| Atlántida Honduras Central America| Comayagua Honduras Central America| Cortés Honduras Central America| Nicaragua Central America| Zelaya Nicaragua Central America| Canal Zone Panamá Central America| Chiriquí Panamá Central America| Coclé Panamá Central America| Darién Panamá Central America| Panamá Panama Central America| Colombia South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Bolívar Colombia South America| Boyacá Colombia South America| Guainía Colombia South America| Magdalena Colombia South America| Meta Colombia South America| Santander Colombia South America| Tolima Colombia South America| Vaupés Colombia South America| Vichada Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Apure Venezuela South America| Barinas Venezuela South America| Bolívar Venezuela South America| Carabobo Venezuela South America| Delta Amacuro Venezuela South America| Trujillo Venezuela South America| Guyana South America| Suriname South America| Peru South America| Cusco Peru South America| Huánuco Peru South America| Junín Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| Pasco Peru South America| Brazil South America| Acre Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Bahia Brazil South America| Ceará Brazil South America| Goiás Brazil South America| Maranhão Brazil South America| Mato Grosso Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Paraná Brazil South America| Pernambuco Brazil South America| Rondônia Brazil South America| Roraima Brazil South America| Bolivia South America| Beni Bolivia South America| La Paz Bolivia South America| Pando Bolivia South America| Santa Cruz Bolivia South America| Paraguay South America| Amambay Paraguay South America|