Lacmellea panamensis

Lacmellea panamensis is a species of tree in the family Apocynaceae native to Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Ecuador.[1] It is a medium-sized tree, with a straight trunk, that is scattered with conical spines that are rather blunt, a distinctive feature of the species. Its leaves are around 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long, spaced evenly along branches, simple in shape, dark green and if damaged produce a white latex. Their flowers are white and around 3 centimetres (1.2 in) long thin tubes and develop into yellow berries of 3 cm in diameter.[2][3]

Lacmellea panamensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Lacmellea
Species:
L. panamensis
Binomial name
Lacmellea panamensis

Its seeds weigh around 0.25 grams (0.0088 oz) and when they germinate the cotyledons remains underground, acting as an energy store. In an artificial experiment, 80% of seedlings were able to survive having their leaves removed, or being placed in deep shade (0.08% of full sunlight), making them relatively shade tolerant.[4]

References
  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Richard Condit; Rolando Pérez; Nefertaris Daguerre (8 November 2010). Trees of Panama and Costa Rica. Princeton University Press. pp. 64–. ISBN 978-0-691-14710-9. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  3. "Lacmellea panamensis". Discover Life. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  4. Myers, J. A.; Kitajima, K. (2007). "Carbohydrate storage enhances seedling shade and stress tolerance in a neotropical forest". Journal of Ecology. 95 (2): 383. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2006.01207.x.
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