Not an Import

Discussion in 'Plants and Biodiversity Stumpers' started by lorax, Jul 13, 2009.

  1. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Here you go. Both pics are of the same plant, but in different stages of its life. Genus and species if you can.
     

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  2. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    Distylium? or
    Sycopsis?
     
  3. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Nope and nope. You're not even in the right family. Remember, too, that I'm in Ecuador, and it's not an import for me. Unlike members of the Hamamelidaceae, this plant bears its flowers on racemes separate from its leaves.
     
  4. bjo

    bjo Active Member 10 Years

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    Guess

    Coriaria ruscifolia?

    never knowingly seen any members of this genus - so a complete guess

    Thanks for the challenge,

    Boa Sorte
    Brian
     
  5. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Closer, but still no cigar. It's from a much larger Family than the Coriariaceae. Superficially very similar, though.
     
  6. mikeyinfla

    mikeyinfla Active Member

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    i have no guess but am curious what the plant was i know its a little older thread
     
  7. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Wow, I'd forgotten all about this stumper!!

    It's Alloplectus andinus.
     
  8. bjo

    bjo Active Member 10 Years

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    Lorax...you obviously had everyone stumped !!

    Congratulations!

    Thanks for the solution...not a genus I had heard of - could you tell us a bit about Alloplectus andinus ?

    Parabens e muito obrigado,
    Brian
     
  9. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Ayactote is a shrubby, sort of vining plant found in the cloud forests of Ecuador. The berries are toxic to humans but an important part of the diet of the many songbirds of the area, and when it's in bloom, the plant attracts hummingbirds. The leaves are used by local curanderos as an analgesic - crushed leaves are applied as a poultice to the site of pain, but only when the skin is not broken. The plant belongs to the Gesneriaceae.

    The thing that has really made me giggle, folks, is that this is one of the most common weedy wildflowers throughout Ecuador - people here pass it by without even thinking, kind of like one does with dandilions in Canada.
     

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