Brunfelsia grandiflora
Brunfelsia grandiflora
Brunfelsia grandiflora is a species in the section Franciscea the genus Brunfelsia. The usually 1-6 m (rarely to 10 m ) tall shrubs or trees are found in parts of South America.
Description
Vegetative characteristics
Brunfelsia grandiflora is a 1-6 m high shrub or tree; some collected specimens said to have been 10 m high trees or as long lianas. The plants form a short distance above the base of highly branched trunk, which can grow up to 7 cm thick. The bark is thin, rough and light to dark brown. The branches are slender, erect or pointing abspreizend, hairless and covered with deciduous leaves, often almost rod- shaped and curved. The young twigs are green and usually glabrous, rarely with fine hairs.
The leaves consist of a 2-6 mm long petiole and a 6-23 cm long and 2-8 cm wide leaf blade. The petiole is hairy hairless or fine, he is corky and wrinkled aged in the transverse direction. The leaf blade is lanceolate to oblong, often curved with upward-facing leaf margins. Forward towards the leaves are long or short acuminate, the tip is almost sickle-shaped. The leaf base is wedge-shaped and constricted. The leaves are firmly membranous or leathery almost, glabrous or hairy only very finely along the midrib, the upper surface is dark green, dyed the underside pale green. Rarely the leaves are frosted or shiny.
Inflorescences and flowers
The inflorescences of Brunfelsia grandiflora consist of five to a variety of non - fragrant flowers, they can terminally or are below the drive end, simple or branched, dense or loose, the length of the inflorescence axis varies between 5 and 45 mm.
Below the flowers are one to three deciduous leaf-like bracts with a length of 1 to 5 ( rarely to 10 ) mm, they are lanceolate to ovate, ciliate, finely hairy or hairless. The flower stalks are 2 to 5 (rarely to 10) mm long, glabrous or with scattered glandular trichomes occupied, in the fruit thickens the stem and corky - warted.
The cup has a length of 5 to 13 mm and a diameter of 3 to 7 mm, it is tubular - bell-shaped, narrowing towards the base, and can be inflated slightly at the tip of a bit. He is smooth veined or streaked, firmly membranous to leathery almost, usually glabrous, rarely he is spotted on the inside or hairy isolated glandular. The color of the cup varies between a bright yellow-green and gray - green. The upright or adjacent calyx teeth are 1-5 mm long, triangular to ovate, blunt or short- pointed, at the age they turn occasionally back slightly. At the fruit of the cup remains, will he leathery, and particularly at the base corky - warted, often he jumps up on one or more sides.
The crown is initially violet, however, is white with age. The pale violet to white corolla tube has a length of 15 to 40 mm and a diameter of 1.5 to 3 mm and is twice times as long as the cup to five. At the transition between corolla tube and the coronary band, a thickened, whitish ring is pronounced. Projecting the coronary band has a diameter of 20 to 50 mm, the Kronlappen 7 to 15 mm in length, they are almost the same size or the upper Kronlappen is somewhat enlarged. They overlap a bit on the sides, running towards the base too tight, the tip is rounded or bulged.
The four stamens are recognized in the upper part of the corolla tube and are not beyond it. The stamens are colored thin and white, with the upper two stamens. Approximately 4 mm long and 3 mm in the lower The light brown anthers are about 1 to 1.5 mm long and circular - reniform. The sessile ovary is 1.5 to 2 mm high, conical to ovoid and pale yellow. The stylus is slim, at the top it is slightly wider. The slightly bilobed scar is about 1 mm long, dull, green, the upper lobe is slightly larger.
Fruit and seeds
The fruits are 8 to 20 mm long and measured, ovate to almost spherical capsules. Towards the front, they can be blunted or pointed. They are smooth, shiny, dark green at first, later brownish, on the surface are corky - punctate available to corky - warty excrescences. The pericarp is 0.3 mm thick, crusty and brittle dry up, but late jumping up.
Each fruit contains about 10 to 20 seeds are 5-7 mm long and 2-3 m wide and can be shaped differently. They are usually elliptical to elongated and angulated. The net-like dotted surface is colored dark red-brown. The slightly curved embryo is about 4 mm long, the cotyledons are ovate - elliptical, about 1.5 mm long.
Occurrence
The species is native to Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Bolivia.
System
There are two subspecies:
- Brunfelsia grandiflora subsp. grandiflora
- Brunfelsia grandiflora subsp. schultesii Plowman
The subspecies grandiflora is characterized by larger flowers and fruits, is also mainly found at higher altitudes 650-2000 m. The subspecies schultesii other hand, is mainly 100-900 m height before.