Brunfelsia guianensis
| Brunfelsia guianensis | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Brunfelsia guianensis | ||||||||||||
| Benth. |
Brunfelsia guianensis is a species from the Guianenses section of the genus Brunfelsia . It is common in Suriname, French Guiana, and parts of Brazil.
description
Vegetative characteristics
Brunfelsia guianensis is a 1 to 3 m high shrub or small tree . The branches are loosely branched and protruding. The cross-section of the branches is round, at the nodes they are nodular. Most of the trunk and branches are hairless, rarely covered with downy hair. The epidermis is light to dark brown in color, cracked lengthways and falls off in scales with age.
The leaf blades of the leaves are 6 to 15 cm long and 2 to 6.5 cm wide, inversely ovate to elliptical or less often lanceolate. At the top they are abruptly tapered to an often almost sickle-shaped tip, the base is wedge-shaped or narrowed. The tightly skinned leaf surface is hairless, matt dark green on the upper side, slightly lighter on the underside. Four or five pairs of curved lateral veins extend from the midrib. The petiole is 3 to 8 mm long, slender, mostly hairless or only rarely covered with downy hair.
Inflorescences and flowers
The inflorescences are terminal and consist of one or two non-scented flowers . On each flower there are one or two linear-lanceolate or scale-shaped, hairless, foliage-like bracts 2 to 10 mm long. The flower stalk is 2 to 5 mm long, slender and hairless.
The calyx is hairless, green and membrane-like, measures 4 to 7 mm in diameter, is 7 to 10 mm long and is ovate-bell-shaped, inflated or rarely tubular-bell-shaped. It is weakly veined and decorated with irregular calyx teeth. The two teeth below are slightly shorter, 2 to 5 mm long, egg-shaped and pointed or tapered to the front. The calyx remains on the fruit, becomes a little leathery and tears on one or more sides.
The basic color of the crown is white. The slim, straight or slightly curved corolla tube, slightly widened above the middle, is greenish white to white. It has a length of 20 to 26 mm and measures 1 to 1.5 mm in diameter and is thus 2.5 to 3 times as long as the calyx. The protruding coronet has a diameter of 15 to 22 mm. It is covered with 6 to 8 mm long corolla lobes, these are almost equally shaped, elongated, inverted ovoid to spatulate, narrowed at the base and rounded to blunt at the tip. The lateral edges of the corolla lobes are strongly bent and occasionally show purple traces.
The stamens do not protrude beyond the crown, the stamens are slender, ribbon-shaped and are almost upright. The upper pair is 4 to 5 mm long, the lower pair only 2 to 4 mm. The round kidney-shaped anthers have a diameter of 1 mm. The egg-shaped conical ovary is 1.5 to 2 mm long and which measures 1 mm in diameter. The stylus is slender and spreads towards the tip, so that the slightly bilobed scar located there stands between the anthers. The upper lobe of the scar is slightly larger.
Fruits and seeds
The round to egg-shaped fruits have a diameter of 2.5 to 3.2 cm and a length of 2.5 to 4 mm. The surface is smooth and yellow when ripe, the exocarp is thin and rubbery, the mesocarp is 5 to 8 mm thick and is soft and fleshy, the endocarp is thinly skinned. Seven to ten seeds are formed per fruit , they are 10 to 13 mm long and 5 to 7 mm in diameter, they are elongated and flattened and angled on one or two sides. They are reddish brown to almost black in color and grained like a network. The embryo is 8 mm long and not curved, the cotyledons are elliptical and 2 mm long.
Distribution and locations
The species is common in Suriname , French Guiana and parts of Brazil . It occurs mainly in the lowlands in tropical forests and can be found in the entire lower course of the Amazon , especially north of the river.
literature
- Timothy C. Plowman: Five new Species of Brunfelsia from South America (Solanaceae) . Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago July 1981, (Fieldiana Botany, New Series, number 8)
- Timothy C. Plowman (Author), Sandra Knapp, JR Press (Ed.): A Revision of the South American Species of Brunfelsia (Solanaceae) . Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago August 1998, ISBN 978-9998104693 . (Fieldiana Botany, New Series, number 39).