Stegolepis guianensis
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Stegolepis guianensis |
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| Stegolepis guianensis | ||||||||||||
| Klotzsch ex grain. |
Stegolepis guianensis is aplant species from the genus Stegolepis that is nativeto the Roraima tepui in South America . It is the type species of the genus.
distribution
Stegolepis guianensis grows on moist quartz sands or between rocks. The largest deposit is on the Roraima-Tepui , a 2810 m high table mountain in the triangle of Venezuela , Guyana and Brazil . The species is widespread there all over the Tepui and is thus found on the national territory of all three neighboring states. But it is also at home in the Pakaraima Mountains , in the Guyana mountains and in the Gran Sabana .
description
Stegolepis guianensis is a perennial herbaceous plant that reaches heights of between 1 and 2 m. The caudiciform stem is short and rarely longer than 20 cm and is covered by dead old leaves. The lanceolate to oval-lanceolate leaves are up to 1.5 m long. The leaves are overlapping at the base and are covered to 20 to 25 cm in length. There the leaf is thick and fleshy, covered with slime. With the flowering, several, on average six, up to 2 m long long shoots are formed, on which between 20 and 24 bracts form, on which flowers are located.
Each plant develops between 70 and 100 flowers. The basic color of the flowers is bright yellow to orange. The three sepals are lanceolate and 13 to 15 mm long, the petals are slightly longer with 20 to 22 mm.
The anthers are about 10 to 12 mm long; the filaments are fused and 4 to 5 mm long.
use
The whitish, covered part of the leaves is edible and is eaten raw by the local Pemón . The taste is vaguely reminiscent of apples . It is closely related to Stegolepis ferruginea .
literature
- Bassett Maguire: Rapateaceae . In: Flora of Venezuela . tape 11.2 . Inst. Botanico, Caracas 1982, p. 115-116 .
