Piper poiteanum

Primary tabs

Piper poiteanum

Description

Vine or climbing shrub to 8 m tall. Upper internodes finely striate, glabrescent. Petiole 1.5-2.5 cm long, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, vaginate to apex; blade membranous, bicolourous, not scabrous, not conspicuously glandular-dotted, oblong to ovate, 7-12 x 3-5 cm, apex acuminate, base equal, rounded to subcordate to deeply cordate, glabrous but veins glabrous or sparsely pubescent below; palmately-pinnately veined, secondary veins 2-3 per side originating from lower 1/4 of primary vein, flat above, prominent below, tertiary veins transverse, prominulous below. Inflorescence presumably pendent; peduncle 1-1.5 cm long, minutely pubescent or glabrous; spike 7-16.5 cm long, yellow to green, apiculate; floral bracts cucullate-inflexed, densely marginally fringed. Infructescence to 15 cm long; fruits depressed globose to trigonous, 1 mm thick, glabrous, stigmas 3, sessile.

Distribution

Bolivar present, Guianas present, Southern America: Brazil North (Amazonas present); Venezuela (Venezuela present)
The Guianas and Venezuela (Amazonas, Bolivar); 12 collections studied, several sterile (GU: 5; SU: 5; FG: 4).

Notes

Steyermark & Callejas (2002: 719) erroneously used Piper foveolatum C. DC. as name for this taxon, apparently not realizing that Steudel in 1841 already validly published a combination in Piper.