Lacmellea panamensis
Lacmellea panamensis is a species of tree in the family Apocynaceae native to Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Ecuador.[1] It is a medium-sized tree, with a straight trunk, that is scattered with conical spines that are rather blunt, a distinctive feature of the species. Its leaves are around 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long, spaced evenly along branches, simple in shape, dark green and if damaged produce a white latex. Their flowers are white and around 3 centimetres (1.2 in) long thin tubes and develop into yellow berries of 3 cm in diameter.[2][3]
| Lacmellea panamensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Apocynaceae |
| Genus: | Lacmellea |
| Species: | L. panamensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Lacmellea panamensis | |
Its seeds weigh around 0.25 grams (0.0088 oz) and when they germinate the cotyledons remains underground, acting as an energy store. In an artificial experiment, 80% of seedlings were able to survive having their leaves removed, or being placed in deep shade (0.08% of full sunlight), making them relatively shade tolerant.[4]
References
- Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- Richard Condit; Rolando Pérez; Nefertaris Daguerre (8 November 2010). Trees of Panama and Costa Rica. Princeton University Press. pp. 64–. ISBN 978-0-691-14710-9. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- "Lacmellea panamensis". Discover Life. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- Myers, J. A.; Kitajima, K. (2007). "Carbohydrate storage enhances seedling shade and stress tolerance in a neotropical forest". Journal of Ecology. 95 (2): 383. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2006.01207.x.
External links
- Lacmellea panamensis at Discover Life, including photographs.