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Psychotria

L. (1759)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-Asterids Order: Gentianales Family: Rubiaceae Genus: Psychotria

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Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs or trees.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Surfaces glabrous to pubescent, membranous to coriaceous. Margins entire to revolute. Stipules valvate, distinct or connate, usually firm and appressed, not forming a calyptra, caducous; stipules.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescences terminal, paniculate, usually with 1 or more orders of verticillate branching, ultimate branches usually terminated by a 3–flowered cymule, or inflorescences trichotomous from base with 1–2 orders of opposite divergent branching, inflorescences rarely capitate or globose. Flowers insect-pollinated, bisexual (perfect) and usually heterostylous, in Hawaiian species functionally unisexual. Calyx 4–6-lobed, glabrous or pubescent, the tube usually shorter than hypanthium, truncate or lobes short, acute or obtuse. Corolla white, 4–6-lobed, the tube somewhat expanded toward apex, glabrous or sometimes pubescent at the throat, the lobes reflexed at anthesis. Stamens as many as and alternate with the corolla lobes; filaments usually inserted on the corolla tube or throat; anthers exserted at anthesis in functionally staminate flowers, dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary inferior, occasionally partly so, or very rarely superior, 2–celled, placentation basal; ovules 1 per cell, erect, anatropous; style 1 or as many as carpels, terminal, slender; stigmas 2, lobed or capitate, divergent in functionally pistillate flowers, appressed in functionally staminate flowers, dry or occasionally wet.

Fruit: Fruit drupaceous; red; orange (Hawaiian species); or sometimes purplish black; globose; pyriform; fusiform; or cylindrical; pyrenes 1–2(–4); triangular or semicircular in cross section; sometimes with secondary ridges developed; endocarp usually thick and hard. Seeds 1 per pyrene; usually conforming to the form of the pyrene; seed coat thin and in some Hawaiian taxa invaginated on the ventral or inner face into a T-shape in cross section; endosperm otherwise not ruminate; carnose; the embryo small with flat; thin cotyledons; seeds with well-developed oily endosperm; or endosperm occasionally scanty or absent.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Widespread throughout the tropics.

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Images

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Uses and Culture

USES

  • Wood used for kua kukukapa (kapa anvil) and for fuel (Malo 1951:21). In the Ethnology Collection at Bishop Museum there is a post-contact example of the wood made into a bowl.

CULTURE

  • Ke kōpiko i ka piko o Wai‘ale‘ale. (A kōpiko tree on the summit of Wai‘ale‘ale.)

PROPAGATION/CULTIVATION

  • Intermediate. Grown from seeds, scarification not necessary. Quick to sprout, but slow to grow. Repot at about 6 months (Culliney and Koebele 1999:96–98).

Natural History

Island Status

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Bibliography

Name Published In: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 929 (1759)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Scientific Name Authorship Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
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