Peperomia candelaber
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| Peperomia candelaber | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Piperales |
| Family: | Piperaceae |
| Genus: | Peperomia |
| Species: | P. candelaber |
| Binomial name | |
| Peperomia candelaber | |
Peperomia candelaber is a species of epiphyte in the genus Peperomia that is endemic in Costa Rica.[1][2] It grows on wet tropical biomes.[1] Its conservation status is Threatened.[3]
The type specimen was collected in La Palma, Costa Rica at an altitude of 1800 meters.[4]
Peperomia candelaber is a small, creeping then ascending herb, often growing on trees. The stem is slender, measuring 1 to 2 millimeters thick, short, rooting from below, and sparsely velvety. The leaves are alternate, broadly elliptic but varying to round or oval, typically blunt at both ends, and small at 7 by 10 to 14 by 17 millimeters. Each leaf has 3 nerves and is obscurely minutely hairy beneath. The petiole is 3 to 6 millimeters long and somewhat minutely hairy. The flower spikes grow at the stem tip and from several of the upper leaf axils, spreading outward and turning upward, measuring about 1 by 20 millimeters with rather loosely spaced flowers, eventually developing false stalks. The peduncle is thread-like, about 5 millimeters long, and nearly hairless. The floral bracts are relatively large and round and shield-shaped (peltate). The berries are nearly globe-shaped with a short point at the tip. The stigma is nearly terminal and slightly lobed.[4]
Taxonomy and naming
It was described in 1929 by William Trelease in Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 6.[5] The epithet candelaber is Latin for "candlestick" or "lampstand," referring to the spreading flower spikes that turn upward, resembling the branches of a candelabrum.[4]