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Family: Fabaceae
alcornoque, more...cabresto, peronil
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Description: A large forest tree with a straight, cylindrical trunk, buttressed when large. The bark is brown or blackish, and there are horizontal rings all along the trunk. Branchlets are slightly ridged, or with a narrow channel along one side. Leaves are alternate, compound, with 5-9 leaflets. Leaflets are opposite, with one terminal one. The underside of the leaflets is pubescent, and the veins are reddish colored. The leaf rachis and the petiole are pubescent, and the petiole has a cylindrical swelling at the base. Reproduction: Flowers are purple, winged and closed as typical of legumes, produced from June to August. The fruit is a small pod, flattened, pointed at one end, green than reddish-orange. Within are 1-2 seeds in a sweet pulp; the seeds are black on one half, bright red on the other half. Fruits mature from September to January. Distribution: Widespread along the Canal forests from Gamboa north, but nowhere particularly common. Not known from wet or montane sites, or the dry Pacific coast. Generally a tree of mature forest and not seen in open areas. Similar Species: The cylindrical swelling at the base of the petiole should tell you this is a legume, and not one of the other compound-leafed families. Largish, opposite leaflets are found in Lonchocarpus, Ormosia, and Platymiscium. Of those, the most likely to be confused is LK loncla L. latifolius, LK2 which also has pubescence. The other common Ormosia, LK ormoma O. macrocalyx, LK2 has no pubescence. Uses: The attractive seeds are used for necklaces, and the hard and heavy wood is used for furniture of heavy construction, but does not appear in commercial markets. Descripción: Árbol de 10 a 30 m de alto. Copa redondeada. Tronco con anillos circulares a lo largo del fuste y raíces tablares pequeñas en la base. Corteza exterior negra o marrón, lenticelada, internamente es roja. Ramitas terminales aristadas y acanaladas. Hojas imparipinnadas y alternas, con 5-13 folíolos, opuestos en el raquis. Folíolos de 6-18 x 3-8 cm, oblongos, con ápice acuminado, bordes enteros y base ligeramente cordada, glabros en el haz y ligeramente cubiertos de pelos por el envés. Las hojas de las plantas juveniles son de mayor tamaño y tienen un par de estipelas en la base del último folíolo. Pecíolo de 3-10 cm de largo y pulvinado en la base. Flores lilas o moradas. Frutos en legumbres oblongas, de 2.5-5 cm de largo, verdes y constrictos entre las semillas, tornándose rojizos o negros al madurar. Semillas con una mitad roja y la otra mitad negra. Datos Ecológicos: La especie crece a bajas y medianas elevaciones, en bosques húmedos o muy húmedos. En Panamá se encuentra en las provincias de Coclé, Colón, Panamá, Veraguas y la comarca de Guna Yala. Florece y fructifica de junio a enero. Las flores son visitadas por abejas, mariposas y otros insectos. Especies Parecidas: A menudo se confunde con LK ormoma Ormosia macrocalyx LK2 , pero en O. macrocalyx los folíolos son de mayor tamaño, además las semillas son totalmente rojas y en O. coccinea las semillas son de color rojo con negro. Algunas especies de Lonchocarpus también tienen hojas muy parecidas, pero los frutos son legumbres aladas y aplanadas, en Ormosia el fruto es una legumbre oblonga y costricta entre las semillas. Usos: La madera es empleada en la ebanistería, carpintería, tornería, puentes y durmientes de ferrocarril. Con las semillas se fabrican collares y aretes. Alcornoque, Pernillo de monte Tree, to at least 25 m; trunk commonly 60 (100) cm dbh; outer bark thin, hard, with a +/- reticulate pattern of very shallow fissures, flaking easily; inner bark granular, its outer surface reddish with large whitish spots; stems weakly flexuous, with ribs extending downward below each petiole; stems, petioles, and midribs densely pubescent, the trichomes matted, short, brown. Leaves alternate, imparipinnate, 25-40 cm long; petioles 6-10 cm long, the basal pulvinus prominent; petiolules ca 6 mm long; leaflets usually 9, oblong, abruptly acuminate and downturned at apex, obtuse to slightly cordate at base, 7-18 cm long, 4-7.5 cm wide, coriaceous, glabrous above, sparsely appressed-pubescent and somewhat viscid below, more densely so on veins, the margins turned somewhat upward and wavy in age; secondary veins in 10-16 pairs, prominently raised on lower surface. Inflorescences cymose-paniculate, terminal, to 30 cm long; flowers purple; calyx tomentulose, 7-9 mm long, 5-lobed to half its length; corolla 1-1.5 cm long, rose-purple. Legumes flattened, oblong to obovate, 3.5-5 cm long, 2-2.5 cm wide, glabrous, abruptly narrowed at apex, the valves reddish-brown at maturity, opening to expose seeds; seed 1 (rarely 2), red and black, somewhat flattened, ca 1 cm long. Croat 5120. Occasional, in the forest and along the shore. Flowers from June to August. The fruits probably mature in 4-6 weeks, but may persist with the colorful seeds exposed until about flowering time of the next year. Plants are deciduous before flowering. Panama to Brazil. In Panama, known only from tropical moist forest on BCI. |
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