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Identification
Description: Treelet, 3-6 m; twigs with cup-shaped petiole insertion, but bulbous lateral appendages lacking; leaves to 8 x 17 cm, petiole to 15 mm, blade glabrous, oblanceolate to less often elliptic, tip blunt to abruptly acute, midvein expressed above and below, lateral veins 9-12, finely keeled above, but sunken in troughs, faintly bullate, thick and leathery, semi-succulent, odor weak; inflorescences 1-3 per axil, 1-7 mm long, minutely pubescent; flower with calyx tubular, 4 mm, maroon, lobes 1 mm, corolla tube 13-14 mm, pink-white, glabrous, lobes 5-6, 3.5-4 mm long, cream shaded with maroon, puberulent outside, glabrous inside, white hair tuft at base of filaments, tuft at base of corolla, nectar disk appressed to base orange green, inconspicuous, style 12-13 mm, minutely puberulent apically, stigma capitate, green, mild sweet odor at night; fruit 5 x 10 mm or larger, purple-black, juice staining purple, often 1-seeded.
Local distribution: Both slopes up to 1550 m; down to the lowlands on the Atlantic side; down to about 900 m on the Pacific side in wetter microhabitats. Species range: Guatemala to Bolivia, also Caribbean Habitat: Light gaps and stream margins in primary forest, old pastures, and secondary forest.
Phenology: Flower: dec-jan, apr. Fruit: mar-may. Pollinators: Moths Seed dispersers: Birds Comments: The large oblanceolate leaves are distinctive. Flowering occurs in short bouts that are usually synchronous among many individuals in the population. The nocturnal flowers are fragrant at night, but the scent is weak. The petioles are often purple in life and typically dry black. |
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Credits: Images and text copyright 2002-2006 by William A. Haber, http://efg.cs.umb.edu/ |