Piper anonifolium var. anonifolium
Content
Description
In the typical variety the leaves are glabrous on both sides, and at most narrowly ovate.
Distribution
Amazonian Bolivia present, Guianas present, Southern America: Brazil North (Amapá present, Amazonas present, Pará present, Rondônia present); Venezuela (Venezuela present)
The Guianas, Venezuela, Brazil (Amazonas, Rondônia, Pará, Amapá) and Amazonian Bolivia; over 260 collections studied (GU: 29; SU: 43; FG: 190).
Common Name
English (French Guiana): kaboye kamwi; English (Suriname): akamikini, kini kini, malembe toko
Notes
In BM I found the collection von Rohr 232 from Cayenne bearing the name Piper rohrii in pencil. The collection clearly belongs to P. anonifolium and not to P. rohrii C. DC., a nom. illeg. for P. amplum (Kunth) Steud., which is a species from SE Brazil. Lemée (1955: 483) wrongly treated this species as occuring in French Guiana.
Piper rugosum Vahl (1797), a later homonym of P. rugosum Lam. (1791), described from a von Rohr collection from Cayenne, belongs to P. anonifolium.
I do not follow Yuncker nor Steyermark (1984: 328) in separating a f. parvifolium. The species is quite variable in leaf shape and there is no reason to recognize a separate forma.
I agree with Steyermark (1984: 324) that P. citrifolium as described by Trelease and Yuncker (1950: 384) is conspecific with P. anonifolium. In the protologue Lamarck described P. citrifolium as being hirtellous. This description is very brief. The description by Kunth (1840: 629) — based on Lamarck's — is more elaborate. The taxon thus described does not agree with P. anonifolium.
Piper eucalyptifolium Rudge is morphologically rather similar to P. anonifolium; both taxa are glabrous except for lines of hairs on petiole, decurrent on internodes. Both have short spikes with glabrous, cucullate floral bracts. For the time being the two can better be kept apart. They can be differentiated by the shape of the leaves: length/width ratio 4-6 times longer than wide and apex long-acuminate characterize P. eucalyptifolium, whereas in P. anonifolium the ratio is 3-4 times longer than wide, and the leaf apex is acute to shortly acuminate. If further studies — especially on inflorescence and fruit structures — conclude that there is only one taxon, then Rudge’s name has priority.
Piper rugosum Vahl (1797), a later homonym of P. rugosum Lam. (1791), described from a von Rohr collection from Cayenne, belongs to P. anonifolium.
I do not follow Yuncker nor Steyermark (1984: 328) in separating a f. parvifolium. The species is quite variable in leaf shape and there is no reason to recognize a separate forma.
I agree with Steyermark (1984: 324) that P. citrifolium as described by Trelease and Yuncker (1950: 384) is conspecific with P. anonifolium. In the protologue Lamarck described P. citrifolium as being hirtellous. This description is very brief. The description by Kunth (1840: 629) — based on Lamarck's — is more elaborate. The taxon thus described does not agree with P. anonifolium.
Piper eucalyptifolium Rudge is morphologically rather similar to P. anonifolium; both taxa are glabrous except for lines of hairs on petiole, decurrent on internodes. Both have short spikes with glabrous, cucullate floral bracts. For the time being the two can better be kept apart. They can be differentiated by the shape of the leaves: length/width ratio 4-6 times longer than wide and apex long-acuminate characterize P. eucalyptifolium, whereas in P. anonifolium the ratio is 3-4 times longer than wide, and the leaf apex is acute to shortly acuminate. If further studies — especially on inflorescence and fruit structures — conclude that there is only one taxon, then Rudge’s name has priority.