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Family: Malpighiaceae
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Descripción: Árbol de 5 a 10 m de alto. Tronco con la corteza exterior gris o blanca. Ramitas terminales ligeramente cubiertas de pelos. El desprendimiento de cualquier parte de la planta produce el flujo de una savia lechosa. Hojas simples y opuestas, de 4-18 x 1.5-6 cm, elípticas a oblanceoladas, con ápice acuminado, bordes enteros y base redondeada. Las hojas a menudo presentan dos glándulas amarillas cerca de la base del envés, a veces con varias glándulas en una fila entre la nervadura principal y los bordes. Estípulas axilares. Pecíolo de 0.9-1 cm de largo y ligeramente acanalado en la parte superior. Flores rosadas. Sépalos con un par de glándulas en la superficie exterior de la base. Frutos de 0.3-0.5 cm de largo, indehiscentes y con una cicatriz sobre la mayor parte de la cara ventral. Datos Ecológicos: La especie crece a bajas o medianas elevaciones, en bosques húmedos o muy húmedos. En Panamá se encuentra en las provincias de Colón y Panamá. Florece y fructifica entre abril y agosto. Especies Parecidas: A menudo se confunde con LK spacco Spachea correae LK2 , pero en S. correae las hojas son de mayor tamaño. Usos: La madera se utiliza para postes de cercas y leña. Slender tree, to 10 m tall; trunk sap often somewhat milky; young stems, petioles, midribs of leaves, and inflorescence branches strigose, the trichomes ferruginous, T-shaped. Petioles 6-9 mm long; stipules minute, ovate, axillary; blades ovate-elliptic to oblanceolate, long-acuminate, rounded at base, 4-18 cm long, 1.5-6 cm broad, glabrate except on midrib above and below, bearing several round glands, usually 1 on each side of midrib below and others sometimes scattered on both surfaces, the margin entire, revolute in age. Racemes long, pendent, axillary, 10-20 cm long, the axis and peduncles sparsely ferruginous-pubescent with +/- appressed, Tshaped trichomes; peduncles to ca 5 mm long, bearing 1 flower, 2 small bracteoles midway, and 5 inconspicuous glandular appendages at apex; pedicels appearing articulate, 5-10 mm long, pink; flower to 9 mm diam; sepals acute to rounded and reflexed at apex, ciliate, biglandular, the glands prominent, white, to 3 mm long, narrowed and curved outward at apex; petals magenta, obovate, ca 4 mm long, ciliate, spreading; stamens 10, ca 2 mm long, shorter than sepals, +/- equal; pistil bipartite, each part with a slender style; styles longer than ovary; stigmas +/- divergent, held at about the level of anthers, persisting in fruit. Cocci fleshy, with a thin fleshy red covering at maturity; the carpels 2, separable, indehiscent, ovoid, 3.5-5 mm long and ca 2 mm wide; seeds 1 per carpel, hemispheroid, tan, smooth, ca 4 mm long. Croat 6397, Foster 873. Frequent in the young forest. Flowers in the early rainy season (April to June). The fruits mature from June to August, though old fruits have been seen until February or March. Fruits are probably dispersed chiefly by birds. The species has been confused with S. elegans (G. Meyer) Adr. Juss, a species from the Lesser Antilles, the Guianas, and the Amazon basin, and it closely resembles S. herbert-smithii (Rusby) Cuatr. from Colombia. Both those species, however, have a prominent stalked gland on each one-flowered peduncle. |
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