Trees of Cloudbridge
Cecropia polyphlebia (Guarumo,
cecropia, trumpet tree)
Description:
Various Cecropia trees are found all over Cloudbridge and in other
parts of Costa Rica and the neotropics. It is a fast-growing soft-bark
tree, bare of branches for most of its height, with large, distinctive
umbrella-like leaves.
Natural history: Tree to 20 m high with a lifespan of 20-30
years. Shade intolerant species which dominates early
succession. Coppices freely following cutting.
Distribution: Tropical America. Common in light gaps and forest edges at 1400-1800m. In
many
parts of its range the species abundance has increased following human
related
disturbance. In natural forests it is common but patchily distributed.
How
to recognize: It has
large, split, circular leaves and a relatively small crown.
Uses: The light wood variously used for matchsticks,
boxes and
crates, interior boarding and paper pulp. Hollow branches and trunks
are used to
make floats, gutters and trumpets. In places the leaves, latex or bark
are
employed in medicinal remedies.
Sources and Links:
INBio description
SysTax
and others
Scientific Information:
| Division: |
Magnoliophyta
|
| Class: |
Magnoliopsida
|
| Family: |
Cecropiaceae
|
| Species: |
Cecropia polyphlebia Donn. Sm.
|
Photo
Identification Guide: Cecropia
polyphlebia
(Guarumo, trumpet tree)
| Leaves. Bunched
at twig tips, 0.5 – 1m across with long petioles and about 10-12 lobes
separated ¾ of way to base, about 40 pairs oflateral veins on the largest lobes. |
|
Flowers. Staminate flowers borne in slender, stalked aments 5 to 6 cm (2.0
to 2.4 in) in on cream-yellow pendant finger-like spikes to 10 cm long and 1 cm diam
|
|
Fruit and Seeds. Fruit: similar to flowers but spikes thicker.
|
|
| Trunk. Stems hollow, partitioned at the nodes,
bearing large, U-shaped leaf
scars. |
|
Form. The shape of
the tree ...
|
|
| Saplings. Seeds are
dispersed by frugivorous birds.
|
|
- Árbol
de 8 a 15 m de altura. Estípulas generalmente cubiertas por tricomas
(pelos) largos, finos y de textura lanosa, de 5 a 15 (30) por 1 a 2 ó
más cm.
Hojas con 11 ó 12 lóbulos. Las inflorescencias masculinas miden 3 a 4
por 0.4 a 0.6 cm; grupos de 5 a 16 ó más, pedúnculo común de 4 a 7 cm.
Mientras que las inflorescencias femeninas miden de 3 a 12 por 1 a 2
cm; grupos usualmente de 4, pedúnculo común de 1 a 4 cm.
Se reconoce por los pelos lanosos que cubren sus estípulas y en
ocasiones los pecíolos y el envés de las hojas, por sus numerosos
nervios secundarios y por ascender más que las otras especies.
|
Cloudbridge: Bridging
a Costa Rican cloud forest