Conostegia xalapensis D.Don

Species

Angiosperms > Myrtales > Melastomataceae > Conostegia

Characteristics

Shrub or small tree to 10 m. tall, the younger stems thinly but closely tomen-tulose; petioles 1-1.5 cm. long; leaf-blades variable in shape, commonly narrowly lanceolate, up to 15 cm. long and 4 cm. wide, occasionally oblanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, commonly dentate at least beyond the middle, obtuse to cuneate at base, glabrous above when mature, permanently canescent beneath with a fine close tomentum, 3-to 5-pli-nerved; panicle up to 1 dm. long; buds pyriform, acute, 5-6 mm. long, tomentose; petals pink or white, 5-8 mm. long; style 4-5 mm. long, abruptly bent and slightly dilated below the capitate stigma.
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A tree. It is usually about 10 m tall but can be 20 m all. The bark is brown with vertical cracks. The leaves are simple, opposite and narrow. They have teeth along the edge. The leaf size varies. They can be 10 cm long or longer. There are 3 main veins along the leaf with many cross veins. There is a rusty brown covering over many parts of the plant. This includes the underneath of the leaves. The flowers are in clusters at the tips of the branches. They have 5-7 white petals. These are 5 mm long. The fruit is purple-black and 1 cm across. It has many seeds. The fruit are edible.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 8.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical plant. In Costa Rica it grows from sea level to 1,500 m altitude. It grows in gaps in the forest.
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Tropical moist to wet forests.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-12

Usage

Uses food
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Conostegia xalapensis leaf picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Conostegia xalapensis leaf picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Conostegia xalapensis leaf picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)

Flower

Conostegia xalapensis flower picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Conostegia xalapensis flower picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Conostegia xalapensis flower picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)

Fruit

Conostegia xalapensis fruit picture by Busy bee (cc-by-sa)
Conostegia xalapensis fruit picture by Maria Laura Pizarro (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Conostegia xalapensis world distribution map, present in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and El Salvador

Conservation status

Conostegia xalapensis threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:568033-1
WFO ID wfo-0001233239
COL ID XTFR
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Melastoma rostratum Melastoma xalapense Miconia umbilicata Melastoma umbilicatum Conostegia viridis Conostegia xalapensis f. canescens Miconia bergii Conostegia acutidentata Miconia xalapensis Conostegia minutiflora Conostegia holosericea Conostegia viridis var. angustifolia Conostegia lanceolata Conostegia lanceolata var. subtrinervia Conostegia xalapensis