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Family: Rutaceae
Arcabú, more...tachuelo, lagarto
[Zanthoxylum juniperinum Poepp. & Endl., moreZanthoxylum procerum Donn. Sm.] |
Description: A small or medium-sized tree with long, compounds leaves with a terminal leaflet (21 or so leaflets), the entire leaf up to 1 m in length. The leaf rachis has tiny, sharp spines, and the trunk has large, blunt, woody spines. Trunk spines are evenly dispersed, nearly cylindrical at the base. The leaves have small clear dots ("pellucid dots"), best visible by viewing through a lens in front of a light. Leaflets are toothed and asymmetric, with the basal half narrower than the outer half. Leaves smell strongly of citrus when crushed. Distribution: Widespread in lowland forests near the Canal, but never particularly abundant. This is not a gap-dependent species, and occurs in forest understory, growing slowly. How to recognize: See Zanthoxylum setulosum for a comparison of the four Zanthoxylum species that are common in the area. Z. juniperinum is known by its fragrant leaves, tiny, sharp leaf spines, and conical spines that are fairly evenly dispersed on the trunk. Citation/Cita: Perez, R. and Condit R. Tree Atlas of Panama. URL http://ctfs.si.edu/PanamaAtlas Descripción: Árbol de 5 a 15 m de alto. Tronco con espinas cónicas pequeñas. Corteza exterior negra. Ramitas terminales con espinas. Hojas imparipinnadas y alternas, con 7 a 11 folíolos, opuestos o subopuestos en el raquis. Folíolos coriáceos, de 4 a 14 cm de largo y de 1.5 a 5 cm de ancho, elípticos a oblongos, con ápice agudo o acuminado, bordes crenulados y base redondeada o asimétrica. Los folíolos tienen puntos glandulares translúcidos, visibles en los dientes de los bordes. También presentan un fuerte olor a cítrico cuando se rompen. Pecíolos de 5 a 10 cm de largo y pulvinados en la base. Flores verde pálidas y aromáticas. Frutos en cápsulas, de 0.2 a 0.4 cm de diámetro, verdes, tornándose negros y dehiscentes al madurar. Semillas negras y lustrosas. Datos Ecológicos: La especie crece a bajas y medianas elevaciones en bosques húmedos, muy húmedos o nubosos de las provincias de Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, Coclé, Colón, Darién, Panamá y Veraguas. Común y fácil de observar en bosques nubosos de los Parques Nacionales Omar Torrijos Herrera y Altos de Campana. Florece y fructifica de mayo a noviembre. Especies Parecidas: Se puede confundir con Zanthoxylum panamense , pero en Z. panamense el tronco tiene espinas cónicas de mayor tamaño. También se puede confundir con Zanthoxylum ekmanii , pero en Z. ekmanii el tronco presenta espinas aplanadas y de forma triangular. Zanthoxylum setulosum tiene hojas parecidas, pero en Z. setulosum el tronco presenta espinas cónicas muy grandes y agrupadas cerca de la base. Usos: La madera se utiliza en construcciones ligeras. Las espinas del tronco se emplean para fabricar un remedio casero. Citation/Cita: Alcabú, Ikor, Lagarto Dioecious tree, 8-17 (20) m tall; trunk to 18 cm dbh armed, the prickles corky, conical, with the sharp apex usually slightly off-center, the sides with weak vertical grooves; branches sparsely armed with short prickles; outer bark with lenticels arranged in irregular vertical streaks; inner bark tan; twigs soon glabrous. Leaves alternate, imparipinnate or paripinnate, 12-45 cm long (to 60 cm on juveniles), glabrous; petioles 1-10 (14) cm long, the pulvinus moderately small to much expanded; rachis canaliculate above, especially beneath insertion of each leaflet; petiolules 3-7 mm. long; leaflets (2) 4-18, unarmed, mostly opposite, sometimes alternate especially basally, broadest in middle, narrowed gradually to either end, gradually acuminate at apex, cuneate to attenuate with both sides +/- equally decurrent at base, 4.5-14.5 cm long, 1.5-5 cm wide (to 25 cm long and 8 cm wide on juveniles), the margins usually minutely crenate and conspicuously pellucid-punctate, the surfaces +/- shiny and glabrous, with numerous, minute, lepidote scales on both surfaces, lacking pellucid dots except near margin, often somewhat viscid when dried. Panicles terminal, 10-20 cm long, the branches many, sparsely puberulent, densely lenticellate and punctate, with markedly constricted articulations at the base at maturity; flowers unisexual, with sweet aroma, ca 2 mm long, 3-parted; calyx lobes triangular; petals broadly oblong, rounded at apex; staminate flowers with the stamens 5, well exserted, 2-3 mm long, the pistillode minute, conical, the style short; pistillate flowers unknown. Fruits of 1 brown follicle, 3-3.3 mm diam, globose, densely covered with lenticels and minute glandular projections, on a short stalk ca 7 mm long, the valves 2, persistent, translucent, hydroscopic, dehiscing at maturity, folding together laterally to expel seed; seed 1, rounded, ca 3 mm diam, black with brown reticulations. Croat 11670, 12189. Frequent in the forest. Flowers from February to May (sometimes from January). The fruits mature from June to November, mostly in August and September. Allen (1956) reported this species to flower in August and September in the Golfo Dulce area of Costa Rica, although he was possibly dealing with a different species. |