Coccoloba latifolia Poir.

Ancona, Juan José, Ortiz-Díaz, Juan Javier, Gutiérrez-Alonso, Eduardo & Ledesma, Patricia Hernández, 2025, A taxonomic revision of Coccoloba sect. Paniculatae (Polygonaceae, Eriogonoideae), Phytotaxa 704 (2), pp. 106-152 : 128-130

8. Coccoloba latifolia Poir. ex. Lam., Encycl. 6: 61. 1804 ( Figs. 11A–F )

Lectotype (designated by Howard 1960a as “ holotype ”, here corrected to lectotype according to the Art. 9.10 of ICN):— Contreés méridionales de l’America, Poiret s.n. (P! Barcode P00734651 [photo]). Epitype (here designated):— British Guyana [ Guyana]: 1844, Schomburgk, s.n. (K!).

= Coccoloba grandis Benth. London J. Bot. 4: 624. 1845. Type. British Guyana [ Guyana]: 1939, Schomburgk 825 (BM! Barcode BM000603264).

Description:—Trees hermaphrodites, functionally unisexual, 5‒12 m tall; branches glabrous, striate, exfoliating, lenticels elliptic, brown or blackish; ochrea 4–5 cm, coriaceous, glabrous, edge obtuse-truncated, base persistent. Leaves simple, alternate; petiole 1–2 cm long, 5–10 mm diameter, glabrous, articulated at the base or above the base of the ocrea; leaf blade obovate-rounded, 10–22 × 10–22 cm, apex obtuse or emarginate, base subcordate, subpeltate, margin revolute, coriaceous, corrugate, adaxial surface glabrous, veins immersed, abaxial surface glabrous or rarely puberulent, venation brochidodromous, prominent, 6–10 pairs of lateral veins, conspicuous tertiary venation on both surfaces, reticulate, primary veins (9–)10–14 pair, prominent, glabrous. Inflorescence racemiform, arranged in a sympodial panicle, main axis reduced, 2–5 cm long, 1.5–2.3 mm diameter, ribbed, glabrous; racemiform portion 7–15 cm long, rachis ribbed, striate, glabrous or puberulent, 1.3 mm diameter; bracteole 0.5 mm long, cymbiform, glabrous; ochreola 0.5–0.8 mm long, tubular, lacerate, membranaceous, glabrous-puberulent; pedicels in flower buds 1–2 mm long, pedicels in fruit 2–5 mm long, thicker, glabrous. Flowers not seen, specimens only have flower buds; staminate inflorescences 2–3 fasciculate flowers; pistillate inflorescences 1 solitary flower. Fruit acrosarcum, 6–8.6 mm long, 6–7.5 mm diameter, ovoid-suglobose, glabrous, apex acute to obtuse, base truncate or flat, abruptly contracted at junction with pedicel; hypanthium accrescent, succulent, almost completely enclosing achene, tepals accrescent, glabrous, succulent, appressed at the apex tuberculate of the achene; achene 6–7mm long, 6–6.5 mm diameter, globose-subglobose, base truncate or flat, apex tuberculate, mammiform, prominent, brown, smooth, glossy.

Etymology: — The specific epithet “latifolia ” refers to the broad or wide shape of the leaf.

Phenology: — Flowers from March to May; and fruits from May to September.

Distribution and ecology:— Coccoloba latifolia is distributed in South America in Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil ( Fig. 11G ). It occurs in the Amazon rainforest, in alluvial plain forests, riparian forests, terra firme forests and savannas, on sandy or rocky soils, at elevations of 20– 480 m.

Provisional conservation status:—The EOO is 4,056,407 km 2, within the threshold for Least Concern (LC) status under subcriterion B1, and the AOO is estimated to be 104 km 2, which is below the threshold for Endangered (EN) status under subcriterion B2. There are 29 known occurrences of C. latifolia representing 10 to 15 subpopulations. most occurrences are located in or surrounded by vegetation severely fragmented by anthropogenic actions such as agriculture, livestock farming and urban growth. Only 8 occurrences of 5 subpopulations are located within protected natural areas. According to the IUCN methodology ( IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee 2024), if the EOO threshold is lower than the AOO threshold, the EOO should be set equal to the AOO to ensure consistency with the definition of AOO as an area within the EOO. Therefore, C. latifolia is assigned a preliminary status of Endangered [EN B2ab(iii)].

Typification of Coccoloba latifolia :—When Lamarck (1804) described C. latifolia , he cited the illustration no. “316 fig. 3”. In his study of the Coccoloba species from South America, Howard (1960a) mentioned that he had not seen authentic specimens of C. latifolia and that the illustration cited by Lamarck in the protologue is of a single detached leaf and does not represent the currently accepted species well; we agree with Howard. In the Paris herbarium (P), we located a specimen collected by Jean Louis Marie Poiret, who collaborated with Lamarck on “Encyclopédie Méthodique: Botanique”. Between the two elements traced (illustration and P specimen), both part of the original material, we consider the specimen for the lectotypification purpose. Since, Howard (1960a) reported it as the “ holotype ”, we correct this indication to lectotype according to the Art. 9.10 of ICN. However, we still agree with Howard that this specimen does not represent what is currently known as C. latifolia . This specimen appears to be an immature leaf of the species. For this reason, we propose here the specimen Schomburgk, s.n. as epitype for the name C. latifolia .

Coccoloba rheifolia Des. is an invalidly published name, placed as a synonym of C. latifolia by Desfontaines himself. In “Tableau de l’École de Botanique”, Desfontaines presents a list of the species of plants cultivated in the King’s Garden (Paris, France). The name C. rheifolia appeared labelled on the living plant in this garden, and which Desfontaines corrected in Tableau de l’École de Botanique as a synonym of C. latifolia .

Coccoloba brugmanssifolia is another name cited by Lindau (1891) as a synonym of C. latifolia that was not validly published. Lindau observed this plant in the collection of Bello (n. v.), which was called “Ortegón” and was collected in the gardens of Puerto Rico. Currently the name “Ortegón” is applied to the ornamental species Coccoloba rugosa Des .. The leaves in both species are very similar, they are ovate or broadly ovate, glabrous and corrugated, possibly Bello’s specimen consisted of a single leaf, hence Lindau’s conclusion in placing the name C. brugmanssifolia as a synonym of C. latifolia .

Specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Amapá: Frequent in rocky capoeira (low scrub), road to Amapa, km 48, 10 July 1962, Pires & Cavalcante 52064 (US) ; road to Amapa, km 134, Agua Azul, 26 July 1962, Pires & Cavalcante 52277 ( US). Ceará : Ceará , 13 April 1918, Curran 36 ( GH, US) ; Pacatuba, Mata na Serra do Sítio do Pitaguarí , 27 July 1979, de Paula & de Mendonça 1225 ( US) ; near Mecejana, elev. 12 m, 28 March 1945, Cutler 8330 (US). Maranhão: Maracassumé River Region. Campo de Boa Esperança, 19 August 1932, Fróes 1817 ( US). Pará: vicinity of Belem, September–October 1961, Pires 51850 (US). Tocantins: Tocantinópolis, Município Tocantinópolis: Ribeirão do Corrego , 55 km southwest of Estreito along Belém-Brasília highway (BR 153), 06°49ʹ00ʺS, 47°49ʹ00ʺW, elev. 480 m, 27 February 1980, T.C. Plowman et al. 9260 ( US). FRENCH GUIANA. Guyane francaise, Iles du Salut, 1854, Sagot 486 ( US). TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO. Indiae occidentalis, in forests at Caroni, Trinidad, October 1883, B. Eggers 1377 ( US) ; Trinidad, British West Indies, Aripo Savanna , 5 March 1920, Britton et al. 316 ( US) ; Trinidad and adjacent islands. British West Indies , along the Arima highway, 9 February–23 February 1950, Howard 10355 ( US) ; VENEZUELA. Anzoategui: Río Cani, 22 September 1942, Garroni 59 (US). Bolívar : Altiplanicie de Nuria , trail between El Cruzero and pk 101, ESE of Villa Lola , elev. 315 m, 15 July 1960, Steyermark 86342 ( US) ; Raúl Leoni [=Angostura], 86 km E of San Francisco, 07°09ʹ00ʺN, 64°24ʹ00ʺW, elev. 430 m, June 1989, Delgado 225 ( US) ; Delta Amacuro: Serranía Imataca, 1–3 km. north of Río Guanamo , El Palmar-Raudal Trail , Upper Rio Toro Drainage , elev. 270–400 m, 23 November 1955, Wurdack & Monachino 39724 ( US) .

Figures

FIGURE 11. A. Specimen of Coccoloba latifolia (W.E. Broadway 750, US); B. Portion of inflorescence and pedicels; C. Acrosarcum lateral view; D. Acrosarcum polar view; E. Achene lateral view; F.Achene polar view; G. Geographical distribution.