Gaultheria mutisiana Cuatrecasas, Trab. Mus. Cienc. Nat. Ser. Bot. 26: 12, fig. 6. 1933. Type. Colombia. Cundinamarca: Cordillera Oriental, Páramo de Guasca, "El Santuario," 3300 m, 25 Apr 1932 (fl), Cuatrecasas 2718 (holotype, MA, photo NY s.n.).Gaultheria stuebeliana Sleumer, Notiz. Bot. Gart. Mus. Berlin-Dahlem 12: 63. 1934. Type. Colombia. Cundinamarca: Páramo de Pasca, 3700-3800 m, Jun 1868 (fl), Steubel 119 (holotype, B, destroyed during WWII).
Rhizomatous subshrub, often repent, usually
1-2 dm tall; mature stems subterete or bluntly angled, striate, moderately
to densely hirsute with basally swollen, ferruginous, straight or crisped,
eglandular or gland-tipped hairs to 2 mm long, glabrate, also provided
with numerous, deciduous, striate, ovate, apically rounded, dorsally white
puberulent, ciliolate and marginally glandular pubescent bracts to 5 mm
long, each provided with a vegetative bud in its axil; twigs subterete
to complanate, sometimes flexuous, glabrous or white puberulent to short-pilose,
also densely hirsute as mature stem, reddish-brown when dry; buds
terete, ovoid to ca. 5 mm long, scales numerous, ovate, acute to obtuse,
striate, puberulent, ciliolate, marginally glandular pubescent. Leaves
coriaceous, often bullate, usually obovate but also frequently elliptic
to subrotund, rarely ovate, 2.5-6.5 x 1.8-4 cm, base acute or broadly cuneate
to rounded, apex rounded or obtuse to acute, with a blunt, glandular mucro,
margin obscurely crenate to crenate-serrate, with each tooth terminating
in a deciduous, distally crisped, eglandular or gland-tipped hair to 2
mm long, lamina obscurely short-pilose along nerves above especially the
midrib at base, also sometimes weakly hirsute with deciduous, minutely
gland-tipped hairs to 1 mm long especially distally, moderately hirsute
beneath with persistent or deciduous, distally crisped, eglandular or gland-tipped
hairs these leaving punctae after they fall; midrib impressed above
and raised beneath, thickened at base, lateral nerves 3-4 per side, impressed
above or weakly impressed at base and plane towards apex, raised beneath,
reticulate veinlets obscure to raised above, raised and ± conspicuous
beneath; petiole subterete, flattened dorsally, narrowly canaliculate,
rugose, 2-5 mm long, puberulent and hirsute with eglandular or gland-tipped
hairs, glabrate. Inflorescence axillary, racemose (4-)6-12-flowered,
surrounded at the base by numerous, striate, elliptic-ovate, obtuse, ciliolate
bracts to ca. 5 mm long; rachis complanate, striate, 0.5-5 cm long,
usually densely white puberulent, also usually moderately to densely hirsute
with ferruginous, straight or crisped, eglandular or minutely gland-tipped
hairs to ca. 1 mm long; pedicels terete, striate, 3-7 mm long, puberulent
and usually also glandular pubescent as rachis; bracteoles subopposite,
spreading, often striate, located along the middle of the pedicel, ovate,
3-4(-5) x 0.7-1.2 mm, acuminate, the lamina glabrous or dorsally short-pilose
and sometimes glandular-hirsute, ciliolate; floral bract subcoriaceous,
erect to slightly spreading, sometimes cochleariform, striate, elliptic-ovate
to oblanceolate, 5-8 x 2.5-3 mm, acute, the lamina glabrous to dorsally
short-pilose and sometimes glandular-hirsute. Calyx 4-6 mm long,
white puberulent, also sometimes densely glandular-hirsute as rachis, lobes
ovate, 3-4(-5) x ca. 2 mm, long-acuminate, smooth or striate, densely ciliolate,
glabrous within; corolla urceolate, terete or pentagonal, 6-7 x 3.5-4.5
mm, short-pilose with white hairs without and also usually hirsute with
translucent to ferruginous, short, eglandular to minutely gland-tipped
hairs, short-pilose within, pink to dark rose or red when fresh, lobes
ovate, obtuse, to 1 mm long, whitish; stamens 10, 4.5-5 mm long;
filaments 4 mm long, short-pilose especially basally; anthers 2.7
mm long, awns prominent; ovary puberulent; style 3-4 mm long,
inserted, glabrous or weakly short-pilose at base. Fruiting calyx
5-8 mm diam., blue-black.
Distribution (Map). Western Venezuela to northeastern Colombia and disjunct to Bolivia and Peru (?), in rocky and humid soils of upper cloud forest to páramo, often creeping amongst mosses in seepage areas at elevations of 2800-3600 m. Flowering throughout the year, but fruits have only been collected from Aug to Feb.
Common names and uses. Venezuela:
cacahuito, cacagüito, mistela (Mérida). Fruit said to be edible
(Ruiz Terán & López-Palacios 1574).