Cecropia strigosa Trécul

Species Description

Tree, to 10(-18) m tall. Leafy twigs (1.5-)3-10 cm thick, green or to dark brown, puberulous to hirtellous with straight hairs, sometimes densely hirtellous to brownish (or whitish) hirsute (or glabrous and bluish by a waxy layer); internodes occasionally with ample brown pith. Lamina chartaceous to subcoriaceous, ca. 30 × 30 cm to 90 × 90 cm (to 140 × 140 cm), the segments (6-)8-10(-12), the free parts of upper segments elliptic to subobovate to oblong, the incisions down to 5/10-9/10; apices short-acuminate (to subacute or to obtuse); upper surface smooth or ± scabrous, often ± bullate, sparsely to densely hispidulous (on the main veins); lower surface minutely puberulous (with uncinate to curved hairs) on the veins, often with sparse longer (uncinate to straight) hairs especially on the main veins, or sometimes the main veins hirtellous to brownish (sub)hirsute, with dense arachnoid indumentum in the areoles and also on the smaller veins, sometimes extending to the main veins, occasionally almost absent; lateral veins in the free part of the midsegment 8-17 pairs, submarginally loop-connected, many of them branched, the lower ones usually not distinctly loop-connected; petiole (20-)35-70(-105) cm long, rather sparsely puberulous to hirtellous with straight hairs or sometimes densely brownish or whitish hirsute; trichilia fused or separate on the usually ± bulging (subscrotiform) base of the petiole, the brown indumentum intermixed with long white hairs or also with sparse to dense arachnoid indumentum; stipules (8-) 10-35 cm long, usually green to yellowish, sometimes partly reddish, or occasionally to red-brown, often subpersistent, (rather) sparsely puberulous to hirtellous or sometimes densely brownish- (or whitish-)hirsute, occasionally partly setose with irritating hairs outside, glabrous or sometimes (densely) hairy inside; terminal bud ± inflated. Staminate inflorescences in pairs (or solitary), often subtended by white, caducous bracts, to 1 cm, sometimes to 8 cm long, the peduncle erect to spreading and the spikes (sub)pendulous; peduncle 4-8(-10) cm long, puberulous to hirtellous; spathe 10-23 cm long, (pale) green to yellowish, (rather) sparsely puberulous to hirtellous, or sometimes densely brownish to whitish hirsute outside, glabrous or hairy inside; spikes ca. (15-)25-100, (3-)5-22 × ca. 0.2-0.3 cm, with stipes (0.5-) 1-2.5 cm long and minutely puberulous; rachis (sub)glabrous or short-hairy. Staminate flowers: perianth short-tubular to cup-shaped, 0.8-1.2 mm long, 2-lobed, glabrous; filaments slightly swollen; anthers ca. 0.5-0.7 mm long, not appendiculate, at anthesis not detached. Pistillate inflorescences in pairs, erect, soon pendulous, often subtended by whitish, caducous bracts, to 8(-15) cm long; peduncle 4-16(-21) cm long, (sparsely) puberulous to hirtellous to subhirsute or also with arachnoid indumentum, sometimes densely brownish hirsute, occasionally partly setose with irritating hairs; spathe 8-18(-23) cm long, the color and indumentum as in the staminate inflorescence; spikes 3-7(-9), occasionally tortuose, 6-15(-33) × 0.3-0.6 cm, to 25(-40) × 1(-1.5) cm in fruit, (sub)sessile or with stipes to 0.9 cm long and densely hairy; rachis (sub)glabrous. Pistillate flowers: perianth, ca. (0.6-)1.2-1.5(-2.3) mm long, with arachnoid indument below the apex outside, also in the lower part of the style channel inside, the apex convex with a collar-shaped rim around the aperture, punctate to muriculate; style short; stigma comose. Fruit ellipsoid to oblongoid, 1.5-2 mm long, almost smooth.

Discussion
The trichilia are either fused or separate, even on the same tree. In the southern part of the species range, the trichilia are more commonly separate than in the northern part of the range. In the southern part of the range, reddish-colored parts are lacking, but in the northern part the presence of a red dye in the "umbilicus" and the basal parts of the main veins, or also in the stipules, is not uncommon. In the southern part of the species range, the incisions of the lamina are mostly down to 7/10, but in the northern part, the incisions are often down to 8/10 or even 9/10, the segments are often narrower (obovate to oblong), and the lateral veins of the midsegment are more numerous. The base of the petiole is mostly ± scrotiform, but in particular in the northern part of the species range sometimes or often hardly so. The terminal buds are ± conspicuously inflated. The spathe of staminate inflorescences often remains hanging on one or two of the longest spikes; the tips of these spikes are curved into the calyptrate apex of the spathe. The spikes of the pistillate inflorescences are usually to 15 cm long at anthesis, but in Ucayali (Peru) they can be to 33 cm long. The number of lamina segments is usually 9-10, but in Huánuco (Peru) individuals with 10-12 segments can be found. Material with densely hirsute leafy twigs, stipules, petioles, veins of the lamina beneath and/or spathes can be found in Huánuco, Ucayali and San Martin (Peru). This species is probably related to Cecropia marginalis and to C. membranacea.

Authority

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