Hamelia axillaris Sw.

Balsamillo (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Gentianales > Rubiaceae > Hamelia

Characteristics

Shrubs to 4 m tall, the branchlets terete to angular, glabrous to puberulent. Leaves opposite or rarely ternate, elliptic, narrowly elliptic or obovate, 5-17 cm long, 2-7 cm wide, acuminate at the apex, often conspicuously so, attenuate at the base, glabrous above, often puberulent beneath and barbate in the vein axils, the lateral veins 8-11, arcuate, chartaceous to membranous, glabrous or sparsely puberulent; petioles 1-4(-6.5) cm long, occasionally densely puberulent; stipules triangular, 2-6 mm long. Inflorescences axillary and terminal, of few-to many-flowered compound dichasia, often disposed as scorpioid cymes; peduncles to
More
1.5 cm long, the branches 1.5-4.5 cm long, spreading; bracts ovate, ca. 0.5 mm long, puberulent. Flowers sessile or on pedicels to 1 mm long, sparsely puberu-lent; calycine lobes to 1.5 mm long, puberulent, often densely so; corolla yellow, the tube infundibular, expanding at the apex, to 11.5 mm long, the lobes ovate, to 2 mm long, puberulent to glabrous; anthers 5-7 mm long, the apiculum ca. 0.5 mm long, the filaments to 5 mm long, the style slightly shorter than the tube, the stigmas ca. 1.2 mm long. Fruits globose or subglobose, 5-7 mm long, ultimately black; seeds ca. 1 mm long.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 3.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

An understorey shrub in dense, primary forest at elevations up to 1,500 metres. Wet or moist mountain forests in the Caribbean.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible -
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

Flower

Hamelia axillaris flower picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Hamelia axillaris flower picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Hamelia axillaris flower picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)

Distribution

Hamelia axillaris world distribution map, present in Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:117176-2
WFO ID wfo-0000979064
COL ID 3JHH4
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 629816
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Duhamelia axillaris Hamelia axillaris Hamelia breviflora Hamelia appendiculata Hamelia lucida Hamelia chrysantha Hamelia declinata Hamelia lutea Hamelia axillaris var. breviflora Hamelia axillaris var. appendiculata