Peperomia subflaccida
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Peperomia subflaccida | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Piperales |
| Family: | Piperaceae |
| Genus: | Peperomia |
| Species: | P. subflaccida |
| Binomial name | |
| Peperomia subflaccida | |
Peperomia subflaccida is a species of epiphyte in the genus Peperomia that is endemic in Peru.[1][2] It grows on wet tropical biomes.[1] Its conservation status is Threatened.[3]
The first specimens where collected in Loreto, Peru.[4]
Peperomia subflaccida is a small, somewhat floppy, creeping herb that roots from its lower nodes. The stem is smooth and hairless, measuring 1–2 mm in diameter when dry, with branches ascending to about 10 cm; the upper internodes are short, lengthening downward. The alternate leaves are egg-shaped with pointed tips and heart-shaped bases, smooth beneath, with a few soft but thick white hairs above; the margin has distant fine hairs with short stiff tips. Leaves are 1–2 cm wide and 1.5–4 cm long, palmately 7-nerved with nerves branching upward, red-glandular-dotted beneath when young, drying thin, somewhat translucent, dark above and pale beneath. The petiole is 1–1.5 cm long, becoming nearly absent on upper leaves. Terminal spikes are 1 mm in diameter and 1.5 cm long, green when growing, on peduncles about 3 mm long; bracts are rounded and somewhat spoon-shaped, glandular-dotted. Fruit is egg-shaped with a conic tip and apical stigma.[4]
The combination of its delicate, floppy growth form except for scattered soft white hairs on the upper leaf surface sets this species apart. The leaves are distinctly egg-shaped with heart-shaped bases, measuring 1.5–4 cm long, and display seven radiating veins with red glandular dots visible on the underside when young. Most notably, the fruit is egg-shaped with a conic projection at the apex, a feature reflected in the species name. These characteristics distinguish it from P. hispidula, which shares similar leaf hairs but differs markedly in other features.[4]
Taxonomy and naming
It was described in 1957 by Truman G. Yuncker in Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 51, from specimens collected by Guillermo Klug.[5]