Peperomia macrostachya

Primary tabs

Peperomia macrostachya

Description

Epiphytic herb, often growing on ants' nests, creeping or hanging and rooting at nodes. Stem glabrous, to 100 cm long, green or green with red nodes. Leaves alternate, basely attached; petiole 0.5-2 cm long, glabrous, ciliate or puberulent, reddish; blade fleshy-coriaceous or subcoriaceous, narrowly elliptic to ovate, 4-11 x 1.5-6 cm, more or less ciliate, apex acute or acuminate, base rounded or cordulate or acutish, glabrous or slightly pubescent, a waxy exudate like small scales or stars is usually present on upper surface; venation obsolete, 7-9-pli-veined. Inflorescence terminal, pendent, few together; peduncle not slender, to 1.5(-3) cm long, glabrous or minutely pubescent or papillose, red or brown; spike to 30 cm long, yellow to green, densely flowered; floral bracts rounded, dentate or fimbriate, glandular. Fruits basely attached, cylindrical, verruculose, brown, apex obliquely scutellate with subapical stigma.

Distribution

C and northern S America present, Northern America, Southern America: Peru (Peru present)
Mexico, C and northern S America, to Brazil and Peru; over 250 collections studied (GU: 103; SU: 52; FG: 105).

Common Name

English (Guyana): kararafaru, kararafarumafartaino, kutumi

Notes

The differences between P. elongata and its varieties and P. macrostachya are in my opinion too little to separate the species. I agree with Burger (1971: 49), who said that they all belong to one, diverse, wide ranging species (complex).