Descripcion
Small trees 1-4 m tall. Leaves congested at the ends of the branches or continuously borne all along the branches, composed of 1 (occasionally 2) pair of leafl-ts (Figures 31a, 32a), trullate in outline, 0.8-3.9 cm wide, 1.9-2.4 cm long, rachises glabrous or covered on the abaxial side with glandular tri- chomes and long, white, single-celled trichomes, point of leaflet attachment sericeous; stipule sheaths with a slight shoulder at the apex or sloping down- ward, glabrous at the bottom of the outer surface, the top of the outer surface often with glandular trichomes, and with long trichomes projecting from the inside upper sheath surface (Figures 31b, 32b). Leaflets ovate to obovate, 0.3-0.6 cm wide and 0.7-2.0 cm long, variable in thickness, margins entire to crenate, apex obtuse, base unequal; upper surface glabrous, dull green or yellowish green (Fig- ures 31c, 32c); lower surface variable, densely pilose, often with glandular multicellular trichomes giv- ing the surface a matted, yellow appearance or glab- rescent with scattered glandular protuberances. In- florescences upright or pendant; if upright, bearing 1 or 2 flowers, if pendant, with 1-8 flowers, 0.1-5.1 cm long; floral bracts hidden or lanceolate, den- ticulate, about 2 mm long, sparsely covered with glandular trichomes; rachises glabrescent with ap- pressed, twisted trichomes mixed with glandular protuberances and resin. Flowers (Figures 31d, 32d) perfect, 0.4-0.6 cm in diameter, sepals 3, ovate, sometimes adnate at the base, green, outer surface with twisted white trichomes and glandular pro- tuberances, stamens 6-14, ovoid, red, tomentose at the apex; base of style hispid. Fruit turbinate, with 3-4 ridges, the ridges sometimes expanded into wings with entire or toothed margins or merely with a few knobs, body of the fruit with twisted trichomes (Figures 31e, 32e), 0.2-0.78 cm wide, including ridges, 0.3-0.9 cm long.
Distribucion y Habitat
Southern Peru from 1 acna to Puno southward to northern Chile in the province of Tarapaca and across western and central Bolivia to northern Argentina in the province of Jujuy (Figure 33). Flowering recorded in July, October, and December to March.
Sinónimos
Polylepis tomentella Wedd.
Ejemplares de referencia
Colector | N° Colect. | Especie | Departamento | Provincia | Imagen |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3652 | Humahuaca | Jujuy | ||
|
3375 | - | |||
|
692 | Rinconada | Jujuy | ||
|
15921 | Santa Catalina | Jujuy | ||
|
15921 | Santa Catalina | Jujuy | ||
|
15921 | Santa Catalina | Jujuy | ||
|
15921 | Santa Catalina | Jujuy | ||
|
15921 | Santa Catalina | Jujuy | ||
|
15921 | Santa Catalina | Jujuy |
Nombre Vulgar y Usos
Tipo y Observaciones
Material Tipo: SINTIPOS. Perú. Cordillera de los Departamentos de Tacna y Cuzco, 1839/1840, C. Gay s.n. (P 03324765). Perú. Cordillera de Tacora, 1851, H. A. Weddell (P03324766). Bolivia. Cochabamba. "Andes de Cochabamba!", ca. 1830, A. D. d'Orbigny 494 (F 0360770F, P 01819248, P 01819249). ["Pérou: Cordillères des départements de Cuzco et de Tacna, h. 3500-4500 m. (Pentland, Gay, Wedd., etc.). Bolivie: [...]; punas de la province de Cinti!, h. 3500 m. (Wedd.)."].
Observaciones: Nombre vulgar: queñoa.
Uses.--None specifically described, but personally
observed to be used as firewood.
DIscussIoN.-Included here within Polylepis tomentella are essentially all of the forms originally included in the taxon by Weddell. Bitter considered
Weddell’s taxon to be an artificial assembly of at
least two distinct species, and he consequently recognized both P. tomentella and P. tarapacana, a
species described by Philippi. In his treatment, Bitter effectively typified P. tomentella by excluding
all of the specimens cited by M’eddell except Weddell’s own collection from Cinti, Bolivia. Consequently, the specimens cited by T7eddell from
Tacna fall within the circumscription of P. tampacana if it is recognized. In addition to the treatment of P. tornentella as two species, Bitter also
erected numerous subspecific taxa within both
species. Despite his fragmentation of the entire complex, however, he stated that an examination of
more specimens might eventually show P. tomentella and P. tarapacana to be conspecific. My examination of a variety of specimens, including numerous
personal collections from western Bolivia, indicates
that this is indeed the case. While it is true that
populations from Tarapaca, Chile, and adjacent
Bolivia look very different from those in Cochabamba, Bolivia, there is a gradual transition from
west to east across the altiplano with no populations
that appear as “hybrids.” If it were not for the
clinal ch