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Family: Moraceae
Chalate, more...fig (es: chalate, nacapul, nacapuli, higuera, Higuerón)
[Ficus glabrata H.B. & K., moreFicus werckleana Rossberg] |
Description: A large tree with big plank buttresses. The trunk is smooth and gray brown, and the buttresses have rounded tops that are characteristic. Leaves are bright, shiny green, with yellow veins. The tip of a branch has a long, yellow, pointed stipule, which falls as the branch grows past it; this leaves a circular scar on the branch at the base of each leaf. Broken leaves drip white latex rapidly. On the ground beneath large trees are typically bright yellow fallen leaves. Reproduction: Flowers and fruits look the same in figs, since the flowers face inward and never open. Both are green spheres, about 1-2 cm across. Many birds and bats eat the fruits. The flowers - forever trapped inside the receptacle - are pollinated by tiny, specialized wasps, which lay eggs inside the fig. When young females hatch, they take pollen with them before leaving to lay eggs at another flower. Distribution: Common in second growth and secondary forest, along roads, farms, throughout the area, especially on the Pacific slope from Panama City to Soberania. It is one of the characteristic trees of the secondary forest along the first part of Pipeline Rd. and around Gamboa - this is one of the few species that reaches large size within 100 years, so it is often the largest tree in all these secondary forests. Occasional as a large tree in old-growth forest at Barro Colorado and Soberania, but does not reproduce inside the forest; juveniles are seen only in open areas. Similar Species: On big trees, the combination of large, smooth buttresses, and bright green leaves with yellow veins, make this tree pretty easy to recognize. Check for yellow leaves and the long yellow stipules on the ground to confirm identification of big trees in the forest. There is a second large fig species at Barro Colorado and on the Caribbean side, LK ficuyo Ficus yoponensis, LK2 which is very similar, but has smaller leaves (usually < 10 cm long) and stipules (usually < 5 cm long) than insipida; yoponensis does not occur abundantly in secondary forest the way insipida does. As juveniles, circular scars at the base of each leaf, copious white latex, and pointed stipules pin down the fig genus (Ficus); the large, bright, shiny leaves of insipida are not found in other figs (there are many figs in the area, mostly stranglers). See the unrelated LK sapiau Sapium glandulosum, LK2 which has fig-like leaves. Descripción: Árbol de 10 a 35 m de alto. Tronco con raíces tablares bien desarrolladas en la base, las cuales se continúan con largas raíces superficiales. Corteza exterior blanca o gris. El desprendimiento de cualquier parte de la planta produce el flujo de una savia lechosa. Hojas simples y alternas, de 10-30 x 4-15 cm, elípticas, con ápice acuminado, bordes enteros y base redondeada. Las plantas juveniles presentan hojas de mayor tamaño en comparación con los adultos. Estípulas hasta de 12 cm de largo, deciduas, pero persistentes en los ápices de las ramitas a manera de una yema terminal. Pecíolo de 1.5-5 cm de largo y acanalado en la parte superior. Frutos en siconos globosos, de 2-5 cm de largo, verdes, con lenticelas blancas en el exterior y un poro pequeño en la punta. Datos Ecológicos: La especie crece a bajas y medianas elevaciones, en lugares secos, húmedos o muy húmedos. En Panamá se encuentra en todo el país. Común en bosques secundarios ribereños a lo largo del curso de los ríos y los riachuelos. Deja caer sus hojas parcialmente durante la estación seca, pero las repone a inicios de la estación lluviosa. Antes de caer las hojas se tornan amarillas en la copa del árbol. Florece y fructifica durante todo el año, principalmente de julio a enero. Las flores son polinizadas por avispas muy pequeñas de la familia Agaonidae. Cada inflorescencia tiene cientos de flores, las avispas penetran a través del opérculo o poro del higo. La avispa vuela de un árbol a otro llevando el polen y polinizando sus flores. Después de polinizar las flores, las avispas ponen sus huevos en una gran parte de las semillas, las cuales sirven de refugio y alimento a la descendencia. Cuando la inflorescencia madura se transforma en un fruto agregado denominado sicono, las avispas salen de éste y se aparean. Posteriormente los machos mueren y las hembras localizan otros árboles para iniciar nuevamente el ciclo. Los frutos del higuerón constituyen el alimento favorito de muchas especies de murciélagos, loros y monos. Especies Parecidas: A menudo se confunde con LK ficuyo Ficus yoponensis LK2 , pero F. yoponenesis tiene hojas más pequeñas y estrechas. Usos: La madera es empleada para chapas decorativas. La savia lechosa tiene uso medicinal. Willd., Sp. Pl. 4:1143.1806 Free-growing tree, 30 (40) m tall and ca 70 cm dbh, prominently buttressed; bark light gray, +/- smooth; essentially glabrous but the fig puberulent; sap milky, copious. Petioles 2-5.5 cm long; stipules linear, 1-12 cm long, glabrous, deciduous; blades +/- elliptic, obtuse to short-acuminate at apex, obtuse to rounded at base, 10-20 cm long, 5-9 cm wide (juvenile leaves to 40 cm long and 16 cm wide), the veins in 15-30 pairs, 2-4 veins arising sharply at base. Figs solitary, to 4 cm diam, borne among leaves, glabrous or minutely pubescent, yellowish-green at maturity with lighter spots; peduncles mostly 5-15 mm long; ostioles mammillate; basal bracts 3, to 3 mm long, semicircular, glabrous or pubescent. Croat 8220. Abundant at least in younger areas of the forest; seedlings of this species have been seen growing in marshes on the south side of the island. One of the most abundant figs on the island. Interfloral phase is 15 days. Seedlings require a tree fall or clearing to have sufficient light to grow. This species has been confused with F. glabrata H.B.K., which always occurs in riparian habitats. F. crassiuscula Warb. was considered a synonym by DeWolf in the Flora of Panama, but this species has been shown to be distinct by Burger (1974), who said it occurs only at elevations greater than 1,100 m in Costa Rica and Panama, whereas F. insipida occurs only at elevations less than 500 m. Ramirez B. (1970) also reported that the two species have different pollinators. Bocas Species Database Characteristics: Large tree |
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