Herbacious, FlowerGreen&Solitary, NectarOrange/Red, FruitVeryPaleGreen. Peru, La Libertad.
Link to Jaltomata home page |
The information on this page may be cited as a communication with professor Thomas Mione, Central Connecticut State University, Biology Department, Copernicus Hall, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain, Connecticut 06050-4010, United States of America. |
Link to Jaltomata of La Libertad, Peru |
| Perennial, herbaceous, above-ground parts completely dying during dry season. Hairs not gland-tipped, except for adaxial face of corolla having a "forest" of gland-tipped finger hairs. Flowers solitary. Corolla large, green, campanulate. Tough, bowl-shaped layer of tissue formed by the bases of the stamens (see photos). Filaments glabrous. Style very rigid and widest at base and gradually narowing toward apex and stigma no wider than top of style. ORANGE NECTAR pools around ovary not on the corolla but on the tissue forming a bowl by fusion of the bases of the stamens. Berries very pale green at maturity and each one containing 250 to 469 seeds (n = 2 fruits). |
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Nectar (orange-red) pools around ovary on a bowl-shaped ring of (presumably staminal) tissue. (Leiva G. 3155, photo by Segundo Leiva G.) |
Flower bud (upper left), open flower in pistillate phase (lower left), open flower in hermaphroditic phase (lower right), ripe fruit is very pale green (upper right). (Photo by Segundo Leiva G.) |
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| Above: Jaltomata at center of photo and right of center. Hummingbird reapeatedly visted the flowers. Bird visible in photo under the letter H of humminbird. We determined, by remaining at the site and making observations, that the only flowers that had nectar were those that were not found by the hummingbirds, others were lacking nectar because the birds were repeatedly visiting and removing nectar by vising as many flowes as they could find. Leiva 3658 = Mione 758, 23 March 2007. Photo by Tom Mione. | Habitat (Photo by Segundo Leiva G., March 2007) |
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| Flower, showing that the nectar pools not on the corolla but on tissue formed by fused bases of the stamens (Photo by Tom Mione in Peru, 758) | Above: bowl-shaped ring of tissue formed by the base of the androecium (flower stored in ethanol, photo by Thomas Mione in Connecticut with dissecting scope, Leiva 3154). |
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| Flower in side view (photo by Segundo Leiva G.) | Leaves (photo by Segundo Leiva G.) |
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Above-ground parts die during dry season. Rains come in December January and March (Segundo Leiva, personal communication). Note ruler (probably 12 cm long) in photo. Photographed 9 June 2005
(photo by Thomas Mione, 711) |
Ecology: Grows only in the the protection of the spiny leaves of Puya. Seems to be protogynous, because some open flowes have undehisced anthers and others have dehisced anthers. Style quite rigid, likely an adaptation to hummingbird pollination. Seed Germination: It took 22 days for one seed out of about 20 or 30 planted to germinate, and a second seed germinated one month after the seeds were orginally planted (April/May 2008, CCSU greenhouse).
Since about 2005 Segundo Leiva has been of the opinion that the species on this web page should be segretated into a new genus. The species shown on this page, Jaltomata aspera, and an undescribed species from southern Peru all share a fantastic bowl-forming tissue (formed by the bases of the stamens) on which nectar pools, and stigma not at all expanded with style tapering to a point, berries very pale green at maturity, and ripe fruit hidden in side view by the calyx. We are not sure if all three of these species share the herbaceous habit.
Specimens Examined: all Peru, Department La Libertad, province Otuzco:
Location |
elevation m |
habitat |
collection date |
collectors |
comments |
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| 4 km S of Puente Casmiche, rd from Trujillo to Otuzco | 7.8 W, 78.5 S | 1870 |
sandy and rocky soil | 18 March 1999 | D M. Spooner et al. 7315a | herbarium of Thomas Mione |
| above the town of Platanar on way to town Cucualle | 8 86 S 78 41 47 W |
1420 -1453 |
11 March 2005 | S. Leiva G. 3154 | ||
| above the town of Platanar on way to town Cucualle | S. Leiva G. 3155 | |||||
1453 |
S. Leiva G. 3275 | |||||
1425 - 1445 |
sandy, rocky soil | 9 June 2005 | Mione, Leiva & Yacher 711 | photos only, no plant specimen; too dry in June | ||
| 8 00.790 S, 78 41.462 W | 1480 |
rocky, only found with Puya | 23 March 2007 | Leiva & Mione 3658 = Mione & Levia 758 | DNA sample taken |