Tree 10-15 (-20) m tall with large, spreading crown; branchlets subtetragonal, apparently hexagonal through six longitudinal furrows, more or less compressed laterally towards the end, the internodes 1-5 cm long, lenticellate-tuberculate, densely ferruginous or ochraceous-lanuginose, the hairs rather short, crisped or more or less flexuous, intricate. Buds and young shoots densely ferruginous-lanuginose-tomentose with curled, shorter hairs and longer subflexuous, ascending hairs. Stipules narrowly lanceolate, 1.5-3.0 mm long, geminate or bigeminate, the smaller 0.5-1.0 mm long. Leaves opposite, 4-7-jugate; axis robust, (10-) 20-35 (-50) cm long, subterete, sparsely striate, the upper part narrowly sulcate above, densely and shortly crisped-tomentose, the stipels ungulate, 1.0-1.5 mm long, the interjuga 1.5-4.0(-5.5) cm long, the petiole robust, 7-20 cm long. Leaflets subcoriaceous or coriaceous; petiolules rather thick, sulcate above, 1-6 mm long, rarely none, the terminal leaflet always smaller with a petiolule 15-32 mm long; blades 8.5-18.0 cm long, 3.6-6.7 cm broad, except the lower pair (6.0-9.5 × 2.5-4.5 cm), oblong-elliptic, obtuse or more or less attenuate and acutate at the apex, very asymmetric, obtusely attenuate or subrounded at the base, rarely more attenuate at both ends and somewhat lanceolate, entire or rather often very obtusely undulate-crenate with very minute, callous, inconspicuous mucros, the indentation double; deep green or yellowish-green, green-brownish when dry above, minutely pulverulent, ferruginous or ochraceous-lanuginose when young, later glabrate and lustrous except on the main nerves, the secondary nerves conspicuous, the minute slightly salient reticulum yellowish, very conspicuous under magnification; cinereous or ochraceous, minutely lanuginose beneath with rather thick, somewhat crisped, white, entangled hairs, the costa very prominent, more or less striolate and carinate, 12-15 prominent secondary nerves usually on each side, subascending the angle of divergence 50°-70°, parallel, 6-13 mm apart, curving near the margin, forking and anastomosing, the tertiary nerves regularly or irregularly transverse, prominent, joining the minor veins into a minute, prominent reticulum often concealed by the indumentum. Panicles axillary, shortly pedunculate or sessile, 4-14 cm long and broad, the peduncle 0-3 cm long, the branches mostly dichotomous, ascending at an acute angle, more or less compressed, angular and striolate, densely ochraceous or ferruginous-lanuginose-tomentose, with dense, short, rather thick, crisped, entangled hairs (longer hairs about 1 mm long), subflexuous or flexible patulous. Bracts narrowly linear, long-pilose, 1-3 mm long, soon deciduous. Pedicels mostly obsolete, 0-1 mm long, in fruit to 2 mm long. Flowers mostly pentamerous and also hexamerous, very rarely tetramerous, glomerate at the ends of short branchlets; buds tomentose, subangular-globose, 2.5-3-0 mm in diam; calyx 3-4 mm long, when expanded 6.0-7.5 (-8) mm in diameter, the lobes ovate-triangular, acute, 2.0-2.5 mm long, 1.2-2.2 mm wide, more or less sericeous especially on the medial nerve within, minutely tomentose at the margin, lanuginose outside with dense, short, crisped hairs and flexible, patulous longer hairs; fertile stamens in male flowers with filaments 2.5-3.5 mm long, rather thick and hirsutulous in the lower half, the anthers cordate-ovate, shortly apiculate, acute, 1.0-1.3 mm long, 0.8-0.9 mm broad; staminodia in female flowers with filaments 1.0-1.4 mm long, glabrous or subglabrous, the anthers oblong, sterile, apiculate, 0.5-0.8 mm long; 5-6 carpels in female flowers, the ovary oblique-ovoid, 1.0-1.2 mm long, hirsute-hispidulous, biovulate, fertile, the style 2-3 mm long, the lower half thickened and substrigose, the end glabrous and curved; in male flowers the carpels rudimentary, the ovary 0.5 mm, hirsute, sterile, the style 0.8-1.0 mm long, pilose towards the base. Two to six follicles developed from each flower, 6-7 mm long, about 5 mm broad, ovoid-elliptic, obtuse, reflexed, apiculate, slightly compressed and carinate, densely and minutely tomentose and copiously or densely hispid with additional pungent straight, patulous bristles 1 mm long, the apiculum being the thickened lower strigose remnant of the 3 mm-long, hamate style. Endocarp corneous, obliquely oblong-ellipsoid, retrorsely acute on the outer end, subacute or subobtuse at the inner insertion angle, 5-6 mm long, 3-4 mm broad, when dry rather hard and cyathiform with a very short frontal incision. Seeds in each follicle single or rarely two, oblong-ellipsoid, obtuse at one end, subacute at the other, reddish-brown, 3 x 2 mm, very lustrous. Disc hirsutulous-tomentose. (Fig 40, p 96.) Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the northern half of the Eastern Cordillera in Colombia; coastal range mountains and Andes of Venezuela. In virgin subandean and Andean forests, mostly between altitudes of 1800 and 2800 m but also in secondary thickets within the extreme limits of 1400 to 3200 m. (Fig 40, p 96.) Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the northern half of the Eastern Cordillera in Colombia; coastal range mountains and Andes of Venezuela. In virgin subandean and Andean forests, mostly between altitudes of 1800 and 2800 m but also in secondary thickets within the extreme limits of 1400 to 3200 m. Tree 10-15 (-20) m tall with large, spreading crown; branchlets subtetragonal, apparently hexagonal through six longitudinal furrows, more or less compressed laterally towards the end, the internodes 1-5 cm long, lenticellate-tuberculate, densely ferruginous or ochraceous-lanuginose, the hairs rather short, crisped or more or less flexuous, intricate. Buds and young shoots densely ferruginous-lanuginose-tomentose with curled, shorter hairs and longer subflexuous, ascending hairs. Stipules narrowly lanceolate, 1.5-3.0 mm long, geminate or bigeminate, the smaller 0.5-1.0 mm long. Leaves opposite, 4-7-jugate; axis robust, (10-) 20-35 (-50) cm long, subterete, sparsely striate, the upper part narrowly sulcate above, densely and shortly crisped-tomentose, the stipels ungulate, 1.0-1.5 mm long, the interjuga 1.5-4.0(-5.5) cm long, the petiole robust, 7-20 cm long. Leaflets subcoriaceous or coriaceous; petiolules rather thick, sulcate above, 1-6 mm long, rarely none, the terminal leaflet always smaller with a petiolule 15-32 mm long; blades 8.5-18.0 cm long, 3.6-6.7 cm broad, except the lower pair (6.0-9.5 × 2.5-4.5 cm), oblong-elliptic, obtuse or more or less attenuate and acutate at the apex, very asymmetric, obtusely attenuate or subrounded at the base, rarely more attenuate at both ends and somewhat lanceolate, entire or rather often very obtusely undulate-crenate with very minute, callous, inconspicuous mucros, the indentation double; deep green or yellowish-green, green-brownish when dry above, minutely pulverulent, ferruginous or ochraceous-lanuginose when young, later glabrate and lustrous except on the main nerves, the secondary nerves conspicuous, the minute slightly salient reticulum yellowish, very conspicuous under magnification; cinereous or ochraceous, minutely lanuginose beneath with rather thick, somewhat crisped, white, entangled hairs, the costa very prominent, more or less striolate and carinate, 12-15 prominent secondary nerves usually on each side, subascending the angle of divergence 50°-70°, parallel, 6-13 mm apart, curving near the margin, forking and anastomosing, the tertiary nerves regularly or irregularly transverse, prominent, joining the minor veins into a minute, prominent reticulum often concealed by the indumentum. Panicles axillary, shortly pedunculate or sessile, 4-14 cm long and broad, the peduncle 0-3 cm long, the branches mostly dichotomous, ascending at an acute angle, more or less compressed, angular and striolate, densely ochraceous or ferruginous-lanuginose-tomentose, with dense, short, rather thick, crisped, entangled hairs (longer hairs about 1 mm long), subflexuous or flexible patulous. Bracts narrowly linear, long-pilose, 1-3 mm long, soon deciduous. Pedicels mostly obsolete, 0-1 mm long, in fruit to 2 mm long. Flowers mostly pentamerous and also hexamerous, very rarely tetramerous, glomerate at the ends of short branchlets; buds tomentose, subangular-globose, 2.5-3-0 mm in diam; calyx 3-4 mm long, when expanded 6.0-7.5 (-8) mm in diameter, the lobes ovate-triangular, acute, 2.0-2.5 mm long, 1.2-2.2 mm wide, more or less sericeous especially on the medial nerve within, minutely tomentose at the margin, lanuginose outside with dense, short, crisped hairs and flexible, patulous longer hairs; fertile stamens in male flowers with filaments 2.5-3.5 mm long, rather thick and hirsutulous in the lower half, the anthers cordate-ovate, shortly apiculate, acute, 1.0-1.3 mm long, 0.8-0.9 mm broad; staminodia in female flowers with filaments 1.0-1.4 mm long, glabrous or subglabrous, the anthers oblong, sterile, apiculate, 0.5-0.8 mm long; 5-6 carpels in female flowers, the ovary oblique-ovoid, 1.0-1.2 mm long, hirsute-hispidulous, biovulate, fertile, the style 2-3 mm long, the lower half thickened and substrigose, the end glabrous and curved; in male flowers the carpels rudimentary, the ovary 0.5 mm, hirsute, sterile, the style 0.8-1.0 mm long, pilose towards the base. Two to six follicles developed from each flower, 6-7 mm long, about 5 mm broad, ovoid-elliptic, obtuse, reflexed, apiculate, slightly compressed and carinate, densely and minutely tomentose and copiously or densely hispid with additional pungent straight, patulous bristles 1 mm long, the apiculum being the thickened lower strigose remnant of the 3 mm-long, hamate style. Endocarp corneous, obliquely oblong-ellipsoid, retrorsely acute on the outer end, subacute or subobtuse at the inner insertion angle, 5-6 mm long, 3-4 mm broad, when dry rather hard and cyathiform with a very short frontal incision. Seeds in each follicle single or rarely two, oblong-ellipsoid, obtuse at one end, subacute at the other, reddish-brown, 3 x 2 mm, very lustrous. Disc hirsutulous-tomentose.General Information
Source: [
Distribution
Source: [
Flora Neotropica
Distribution
