Cecropia palmata Willd.

Species Description

Tree, to 20 m tall. Leafy twigs 2-5 cm thick, green, hispidulous with uncinate hairs, also partly hirtellous. Lamina (sub)coriaceous, ca. 20 × 20 cm to 60 × 60 cm (to 100 × 100 cm), the segments 7-11, the free parts of the upper segments (sub)obovate to elliptic to oblong or to ovate, the incisions down to 5/10-8/ 10; apices obtuse; upper surface scabrous to scabridulous, hispidulous; lower surface minutely puberulous (with straight to uncinate hairs) on the veins, with arachnoid indumentum in the areoles and on the margin; lateral veins in the free part of the midsegment ca. 15-20 pairs, marginally loop-connected, often branched; petiole 20-60(-90) cm long, minutely puberulous; trichilia fused, the brown indumentum intermixed with short white to brownish (unicellular) hairs; stipules 7-15 cm long, pale to dark (brownish) red, often subpersistent, sparsely hirtellous, sometimes also with sparse arachnoid indumentum outside, densely to sparsely hairy or glabrous inside. Staminate inflorescences in pairs, pendulous; peduncle 6-18 cm long, minutely puberulous or also with sparse arachnoid indumentum; spathe 10-17 cm long, white or sometimes reddish, with dense arachnoid indument, also sparsely hirtellous outside, mostly glabrous or sometimes sparsely hairy inside; spikes 4-6(-11), (3-)8-15 × 0.8-1.8 cm, with stipes 1-2.5 cm long and minutely puberulous; rachis hairy. Staminate flowers: perianth tubular, 2.5-4.5 mm long, with dense arachnoid indumentum below the apex, the apex convex and glabrous; filaments ± swollen, often basally connate; anthers 1-2 mm long, appendiculate, detached at anthesis, remaining attached to the filament by stretched spiral thickenings. Pistillate inflorescences usually in pairs, pendulous; peduncle 2040 cm long, hispidulous, or also with arachnoid indumentum; spathe 12-16 cm long, the color and indumentum as in the staminate inflorescence; spikes 4, 6-14 × 0.6-0.8 cm, to 20 × 1.5 cm in fruit, sessile; rachis hairy. Pistillate flowers: perianth ca. 2 mm long, with arachnoid indumentum below the apex outside, also in the lower part of the style channel inside, the apex convex and glabrous; style long, ± S-shaped to straight, minutely puberulous; stigma penicillate to comose. Fruit oblongoid, ca. 3 mm long, almost smooth.

Discussion

Cecropia palmata is closely related to C. glaziovii. These species appear to be allopatric. Some evident differences between these species are listed under C. glaziovii. Considering the similarities in the staminate flowers, these two species might be related to C. saxatilis.

An occasional monoecious tree has been encountered in this species. Cavalcante 1392 is unusual in that the staminate inflorescences have short (7-10 cm), slender (ca. 0.3 cm diam.) spikes with short (0.40.5 cm) stipes; the perianths lack the characteristic arachnoid indumentum and the stamens are small (and the anthers probably not detached in the ususal way). These inflorescences resemble those of Cecropia concolor.
The species is and has been in cultivation in the garden of Museo Goeldi, Belem, represented by Cavalcante 1391, 1392, 1394, 1395, and 1396 (MG), made in 1961.

Authority

Berg, Cornelius C. & Franco Rosselli, Pilar. 2005. Cecropia. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 94: 1--230. (Published by NYBG Press)