''Vallea stipularis'' is a species of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

in the

Elaeocarpaceae Elaeaocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family contains approximately 615 species of trees and shrubs in 12 genera."Elaeocarpaceae" In: Klaus Kubitzki (ed.). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol. VI. Springer-Verlag: Be ...

family. It is native from the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

mountains in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Description

Evergreen shrub or tree up to 18 meters tall; fissured bark. Kidney-shaped stipules on branchlets. Leaves heart-shaped or pear-shaped, sometimes lobed, up to 10 cm long, dark green above, whitish green beneath, with tufts of hairs in the vein axils. Cymose inflorescence with pinkish-red or crimson bell-shaped flowers; these with five sepals and five three-lobed petals, 9–13 mm long; ovary and styles glabrous; 15–60 stamens. Warty fruits, 1 cm wide, often dehiscing on the tree.

Distribution and habitat

''Vallea stipularis'' is native to the Andes, in

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

and

páramo Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

, between 1600–4000 m of elevation, from

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13191009 Trees of Bolivia Trees of Colombia Trees of Ecuador Trees of Peru Trees of Venezuela Elaeocarpaceae