Cecropia idroboi Cuatrec.

Authority

Berg, Cornelius C. & Franco Rosselli, Pilar. 2005. Cecropia. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 94: 1--230. (Published by NYBG Press)

Family

Urticaceae

Scientific Name

Cecropia idroboi Cuatrec.

Type

Type. Colombia. Vaupés: Mesa La Lindosa, 15-20 km S of San Jose del Guaviare, 13-15 Dec 1950 ([female]), Idrobo & Schultes 662 (holotype: US; isotypes: BM, COL, GH, MO, NY, U, US).

Description

Species Description - Tree, to 10 m tall. Leafy twigs 1.5-2.5 cm thick, hispidulous to puberulous. Lamina (sub)coriaceous, ca. 15 × 15 cm to 40 × 40 cm, the segments 7-8, the free parts of upper segments (broadly) obovate to elliptic, the incisions down to 3/10-5/10; apices rounded or apiculate; upper surface smooth to scabridulous, sparsely hispidulous to strigillose; lower surface puberulous on the main veins or also on the smaller veins, with arachnoid indumentum in the areoles or also sparsely to densely on the lateral veins or also on the main veins, sometimes the whole surface with dense arachnoid indumentum; lateral veins in the free part of the midsegment 8-10(-12) pairs, marginally loop-connected, most of them branched; petiole ca. 10-40 cm long, sparsely puberulous or also with dense arachnoid indumentum; trichilia fused, the brown indumentum intermixed with sparse to rather dense short brownish or whitish unicellular hairs, sometimes with dense arachnoid indumentum; stipules 3-7 cm long, dark red (?), sparsely puberulous to hirtellous, sometimes with dense arachnoid indumentum outside, hairy inside. Staminate inflorescences in pairs or solitary, erect (?); peduncle 6-8 cm long, hispidulous; spathe 5-6 cm long, dark red, sparsely puberulous (to subglabrous) outside, glabrous inside; spikes ca. 15, 1.5-5 × 0.2-0.3 cm, with stipes to 0.3 cm long and densely puberulous; rachis hairy. Staminate flowers: perianth tubular, 0.8-1 mm long, with sparse arachnoid indumentum below the apex, the apex almost plane, glabrous; anthers 0.5-0.6 cm long, detached at anthesis (?). Pistillate inflorescences in pairs, erect (or deflexed in fruit?); peduncle 3-6.5 cm long, hirtellous to puberulous or also with ± dense arachnoid indumentum; spathe 4-5 cm long, the color and indumentum as in the staminate inflorescence; spikes 4-5, 3-6 × ca. 0.8 cm, to 9 × ca. 1.3 cm in fruit, (sub)sessile. Pistillate flowers: perianth 1.5-2 mm long, with arachnoid indumentum below the apex, also in the lower part of the style channel inside, the apex convex, muriculate to granulate, the aperture slit-shaped; style long, S-shaped; stigma comose. Fruit oblongoid, ca. 2 mm long, smooth, dark brown.

Discussion

This species shows strong morphological affinities to Cecropia distachya; these two taxa might prove to be conspecific. Cecropia idroboi differs from C. distachya in the less deeply incised lamina, the smaller number of lateral veins in the free part of the midsegment, and the shorter spikes of the pistillate inflorescence. The trees remain smaller than on average in C. distachya. Cecropia idroboi is probably ecologically distinct, as a species growing on rocks or in rocky places. However, specimens which could be referred to C. distachya without doubt, have been collected in the same area and in (almost) similar habitats. García-Barriga 17053 matches C. idroboi in most features, but it is quite distinct in the dense arachnoid indumentum on the petiole, lower surface of the lamina, and the peduncle, and in this respect similar to C. metensis, found in the same locality.

Distribution

Colombia (Caquetá, Meta, and Vaupés), on sandstone rocks, at low elevations.

Caquetá Colombia South America| Meta Colombia South America| Vaupés Colombia South America|