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Family: Proteaceae
carne asada, more...ratón, sajinillo
[Roupala darienensis Pittier, moreRoupala panamensis Pittier, Roupala veraguensis Klotzsch ex Meissn.] |
Description: A medium-sized tree, often with a straight and cylindrical trunk. Larger individuals have small buttresses at the base. Trees growing in open areas, though, often have twisted trunks that branch near the ground. The bark is light brown, with dark brown lenticels; inner bark (visible when the trunk is slashed) is dark red. Leaves are always alternate, toothed, and rather thick, but come in two very different forms -- some are compound and some are simple, and nearby branches on one tree can have both types. The simple leaves are heart-shaped, with a long pointed tip, sometimes with few or no leaves, and rather variable in shape. In compound leaves, there are 5-12 leaflets, with one terminal leaflet; they can be opposite or alternate along the rachis, and are also rather variable in shape. Crushed leaves, especially young ones, or a slash in the bark, emit an odor of meat, like hamburger or beef, hence the common name. Reproduction: Flowers are yellow, on straight stalks, in the form of a bottle-brush, produced from January to May. Fruits are flattened capsules that open to release winged seeds from April to July. Distribution: In the Canal area, it is fairly common on Cerro Pelado in Gamboa, rare at Barro Colorado and Soberania. It is more common in the extremely dry areas of Panama, west of Panama City along the Pacific coast, where it grows as a small tree or shrub, often in open areas. Similar Species: The leaves are distinctive once they have been seen a few times, being rather thick and at least some having conspicuous teeth. The bizarre smell leaves no mistake. LK dendar Dendropanax arboreus LK2 also has heart-shaped leaves rather similar to the simple leaves of Roupala, but they are never toothed. Other species with compound leaves and teeth are all pretty different. Descripción: Árbol de 5 a 20 m de alto. Tronco ramificado a baja altura. Corteza exterior marrón o gris, internamente es roja. Las ramitas y las hojas presentan un fuerte olor a carne al romperlas. Hojas alternas y dimórficas. En brotes y plantas juveniles las hojas son imparipinnadas, con 5-12 folíolos, opuestos o subopuestos en el raquis. Los folíolos con 3-15 cm de largo, elípticos o lanceolados, con ápice acuminado, bordes dentados y base asimétrica. En los adultos las hojas son simples, de 5-12 x 4-10 cm, ovadas, con ápice acuminado, bordes enteros o dentados y base desigual o redondeada. Pecíolo de 3-5 cm de largo y pulvinado en la base. Flores amarillas en espigas axilares. Frutos en folículos aplanados, de 2-3 cm de largo, verdes, tornándose negros y dehiscentes al madurar. Semillas 2, aladas. Datos Ecológicos: La especie crece a bajas y medianas elevaciones, en lugares secos, húmedos o muy húmedos. Común y ampliamente distribuida en Panamá, principalmente en bosques secundarios y áreas secas del Pacífico. Las flores son visitadas por abejas y otros insectos. Florece y fructifica de enero a julio. Las semillas son dispersadas por el viento. Especies Parecidas: A menudo se confunde con LK rouppe Roupala percoriacea LK2 , pero en R. percoriacea las hojas son simples. Cuando Roupala montana tiene hojas simples se puede confundir con LK dendar Dendropanax arboreus LK2 , pero en D. arboreus las hojas no tienen olor a carne. Usos: La madera es empleada en construcciones navales, objetos de adornos, postes para cercas y leña. La corteza contiene saponinas y taninos. Tree, to 20 m tall; wood aromatic when cut; young stems ferruginous-strigillose. Leaves alternate, heteromorphic; juvenile leaves pinnately compound, imparipinnate, the leaflets to ca 19, coarsely serrate; adult leaves simple; petioles 1-6 cm long; blades ovate, mostly acute or acuminate at apex, obtuse to cuneate at base, 5-12 cm long, 2-9 cm wide, subcoriaceous to coriaceous, grayish-green, mostly entire to undulate, rarely serrate, glabrous but the midvein above ferruginous-strigillose. Flowers cream-colored, on multi-flowered, terminal or axillary racemes; rachis 9-18 cm long, ferruginous-strigillose; pedicels ca 3 mm long, strigillose; sepals 4, linear-oblanceolate, ca 8 mm long, widely reflexed, strigillose outside, glabrous inside; petals lacking; stamens 4, inserted about midway on sepals, strap-shaped, ca 3 mm long, nearly sessile; disk of 4 hypogynous glands alternate with sepals; ovary densely strigose; style and stigma linear-oblanceolate, together ca 5.5 mm long, glabrous. Follicles flattened, elliptic to obovate, 2.5-4 cm long, ca 1.5 cm wide, glabrous, often obscurely spurred at base; seeds 2, oval, winged, ca 1.5 mm long and 8 mm wide. Croat 14647. |