Comprehensive Description
provided by North American Flora
Oreopanax capitatus (Jacq.) Dec. & Planch Rev. Hortic. IV. 3: 108. 1854.
Aralia capitata Jacq. Enum. PI. Carib. 18. 1760.
Hedera capitata Smith, Ic. Piet. pi. 4. 1790.
Hedera frondosa Salisb. Prodr. 144. 1796.
Botrvodendrum capitatum Endl.; Heynh. Nom. 2: 75. 1846.
Sciadophyllum capitatum Griseb. Fl. Brit. W. Ind. 306. 1860.
Oreopanax destructor Seem. Jour. Bot. 7: 351. 1869.
Aralia ovata Sesse Si Moc. Fl. Mex. 86. 1894.
Tree, frequently tall, sometimes epiphytic when young, glabrous throughout (except the inflorescences), the branchlets terete, rugose; leaves simple, the petiole slender, up to 30 cm. long (usually 6-13 cm.), the blade thin-coriaceous or papyraceous, ovate or elliptic or oblongelliptic, up to 35 cm. long and 25 cm. broad (usually 10-15 X 7-10 cm.), acute to rounded (rarely cordate) at the base, short-acuminate (rarely merely acute) at the apex, entire and narrowly revolute at the margins, the primary nerves usually 5, ascending from the base, often prominent, the secondary nerves few, ascending; inflorescence up to 20 cm. long and broad (rarely to 30 cm.), the branches and peduncles closely stellate-tomentellose or puberulent, soon glabrous, the bracts usually inconspicuous, the peduncles up to 10 mm. long; staminate heads globose or slightly elongate, 4-1 1 mm. in diameter, the bractlets and bracteoles deltoid or ovate, small, often stellate-tomentellose without, the flowers 10-25 per head; calyx small, the limb truncate or undulate; petals oblong, up to 2.5 mm. long; anthers short; styles 1 or 2, carnose, less than 1 mm. long; hermaphrodite heads usually 5-12-flowered, the styles 5-10;
* Oreopanax Steyermarkii, sp. nov.; species foliornm laminis crasse coriaceis anguste ellipticooblongis pinnatinerviis ad apicem breviter acuminatis subtus saepe obscure stellato-pilosis, capitulis masculis multifloris, capitulis fructiferis bracteas bracteolas fructusque magnos gerentibus distinguitur; ab 0. capitalo (Jacq.) Dec. & Planch, foliis angustis pinnatinerviis, ab O. Liebmanni Marchal foliis majoribus coriaceis et floribus masculis numerosis, a duobus bracteis bracteolisque sub fructu magnis differt; ab 0. veslilo A. C. Smith et 0. Standleyi A. C. Smith foliis crasse coriaceis pinnatinerviis, floribus masculis numerosis, fructibus paucis bracteis bracteolisque magnis subtentis facile distinguitur. fruits 2-12 per head, subglobose, 5-S ram. in diameter, the styles recurved, short, soon deciduous, the seeds usually few.
Type locality: Martinique.
Distribution: Vera Cruz and Chiapas to Cuba and Santo Domingo, and southward; also in South America; common, up to 1700 m.
- bibliographic citation
- Albert Charles Smith, Mildred Esther Mathias, Lincoln Constance, Harold William Rickett. 1944-1945. UMBELLALES and CORNALES. North American flora. vol 28B. New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY