Besleria laxiflora Benth.

Species

Angiosperms > Lamiales > Gesneriaceae > Besleria

Characteristics

Terrestrial suffrutescent herb or low shrub, 0.5-4(-7) m tall. Stem sappy, more or less erect, strigose at apex, glabrescent below. Leaves subequal in a pair; petiole 1.5-7 cm long, sparsely strigillose; blade membranous when dry, elliptic, narrowly oblong, or rarely ovate, 3-21 x 1-8.5 cm, margin shallowly toothed, apex acuminate, base cuneate, above sparsely strigillose on midvein to glabrate, below sparsely strigillose on veins. Flowers umbellate to cymose, in 1-to several-flowered inflorescences; peduncle 1.5-4.5(-6.5) cm long, sparsely strigillose; pedicel 0.8-2.5 cm long, sparsely strigillose. Calyx tubular-campanulate, green to yellow or orange, lobes free or rarely connate to 1/4 their length, tube 0.6-1.7 cm long, free portion of lobes erect, equal, ovate to narrowly lanceolate, 0.5-0.7 x 0.2-0.5 cm, margin entire to minutely fimbriate or ciliate, apex mucronate, outside glabrescent, inside glabrous; corolla erect in calyx, yellow, orange, salmon red, pink to golden red, 1.3-2.3 cm long, tube cylindric, 1.2-2 cm long, base not spurred or gibbous, 0.3-0.7 cm wide, middle slightly ventricose, throat slightly constricted, 0.4-0.7 cm wide, outside glabrous, inside with pubescent ring near attachment of filaments and second ring in throat, limb 0.3-0.5 cm wide, lobes subequal, spreading, ovate, ca. 0.2 x 0.1-0.3 cm wide, margin entire; stamens included, inserted below middle of corolla tube; ovary ovoid, 0.2-0.4 x 0.2-0.3 cm, glabrous, style ca. 0.8 cm long, puberulent, stigma stomatomorphic (in the Guianas). Mature berry orange or red, globose to ovoid, 0.7-1.2 x 1-1.2 cm.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.5 - 4.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Besleria laxiflora world distribution map, present in Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Conservation status

Besleria laxiflora threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:378198-1
WFO ID wfo-0000564745
COL ID LNCG
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 733383
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Besleria chiapensis Besleria debilis Besleria laxiflora Besleria tenuifolia