A m o n o g r a p h of t h e g e n u s Callicarpa
as it o c c u r s in A m e r i c a .
41
in the sandy soil of seashores it appears to grow chiefly into a low
straggling shrub or bush, while in moist thickets, on the banks of
streams, and in wooded swamps and light forests it seems more often
to grow into a sizable tree. G. P. Cooper makes the remarkable
statement that is is sometimes a tree 20 ft. tall, with a trunk 3 in.
in diameter, and "sometimes with a vine-like habit". The wood,
according to Winzerling, is apparently soft. The species grows at all
elevations from sea level to 1650 m or higher. It is found on islands
like San Andres island (Colombia) and St. José island in the Bay
of Panamá, as well as in the high Colombian Andes and on the high
mountains of Costa Rica.
The flowers of this species are said by K u n t h to be used b y the
natives of Colombia as a purgative and sudorific. The vernacular
name of "pukin" is recorded by B e q u a e r t and "sac pukim" b y
S t a n d l e y from Yucatán; "fructa de chacha" by Record and Kuylen
from Guatemala; "blackberry" b y G. P. C o o p e r from Panamá; and
"vara de [or del] alcalde" by S t a n d l e y from Honduras. S t a n d l e y
also reports the name "uvilla" from Tamaulipas, Mexico.
The C. acuminata recorded b y G r i s e b a c h and b y S a u v a l l e is
here regarded as C- Roigii Britton. The C- americana of S e s s e et
M o c i ñ o [PI. Nou. Hisp.2, 18 (1893); Fl. Méx., ed. 2, p. 17 (1894)]
is without doubt C. acuminata- Their description does not at all fit
C americana L., while it does fit C. acuminata perfectly. The true
C. americana does not usually occur in Mexico — only one specimen
having thus far been there collected, and that in one of the northernmost states. The Totonac name for the species under discussion,
then, according to these authors, is "patzahumacachil".
W a l p e r s says that this species is closely related to C-macroTphylla Vahl, but this is erroneous. In this regard Kunth's statement
that "Callicarpa macrophi/lla Vahlii a plantas nostra facile distinguitur" is quite true. The species is, rather, closely related to the
Old World C. nudiflora Hook, et Arn., which, strangely enough, it
also greatly resembles in habit and general appearance.
The perfect flowers of this species are of 2 distinct types. In the
one type the pistil and stamens are of about equal length, while in
the other type the pistil far surpasses the stamens. In all, 323 specimens, including 2 isotypes, and 40 mounted photographs of C. acuminata have been examined.
Citations: M e x i c o : Tamaulipas: K a r w i n s k i 702 ( L ) ; E d w .
P a l m e r 114 (Bm, E, F, K, N, W ) , 174 (B, Ca, E, F, G, K, N, W ,
Z—2 photos), 388 (B, Ca, Cp, E, F, G, K, N, W , Z—photo), 495 (Bm,
E , F , K , N , W ) ; V i e r e c k 7 2 2 (B—2); W o o t o n s. n. [Buena Vista] ( W ,
Z—photo). — Jalisco: M e x i a 1108 (A, Bm, Ca, Cb, E, F, Mi, N, W ,
Z—photo). —Veracruz: E r v e n d b e r g 2 1 2 ( C b , D , G , X ) ; G o l d m a n 7 1 0
(W, Z —photo); K a r w i n s k i 702b (L), 702c ( L ) ; L i e b m a n n 11185
0
