Coccoloba gigantifolia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Coccoloba gigantifolia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single leaf overtowering an adult man and illustrating its enormous size | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Polygonaceae |
| Genus: | Coccoloba |
| Species: | C. gigantifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Coccoloba gigantifolia E. Melo, C.A. Cid Ferreira & R. Gribel | |
.svg) | |
| Distribution of Coccoloba gigantifolia (North Brazil) | |
Coccoloba gigantifolia is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae. It is endemic[1] to the Madeira River Basin in the states of Amazonas and Rondônia in the central and southwestern Brazilian Amazon. This species resembles that of Coccoloba mollis but differs in that it has much larger leaves in its fertile branches.[1][2]
Coccoloba gigantifolia is a tree which grows to about 10–15 m (33–49 ft) in height and has leaves 0.6–2.5 m (2 ft 0 in – 8 ft 2 in) long, and 0.5–1.4 m (1 ft 8 in – 4 ft 7 in) wide, among the largest known leaves among dicotyledonous plants after some Gunnera and Victoria species.[3] The petiole is 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) long. The flowers are 1-2 mm long, greenish-white, produced in an inflorescence comprising a paniculate branched thyrse 40–80 cm (16–31 in) long. In addition to the large leaves, it can be distinguished from its congeners by its straight trunk, with transverse rings, the articulated petiole inserted in the ochrea at the base of its leaves, its general pubescence, and the presence of hollow pith in the branches.[1] The huge leaves form a rosette at the top of the main trunk and each of the few branches.[4] This tree does not have a known indigenous name.
