Psammisia alpicola Klotzsch, Linnaea 24: 45. 1851. Macleania alpicola (Klotzsch) Hoerold, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 42: 269. 1909. Type. Venezuela, Moritz 1349 (holotype, B†; isotypes, K, L, P).Macleania nitida auct. non (Kunth in H.B.K.) Hoerold; see A. C. Smith (1932).
Macleania ecuadorensis Hoerold, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 42: 300. 1909. Type. Ecuador. Tungurahua: Volcán Tungurahua, 8 Sep 1901 (fl), Sodiro 92/2D (holotype, B†, photos ACS neg. 163 and F neg. 4707; lectotype, designated by Luteyn (1996), NY fragment ex B).
Macleania elliptica Hoerold, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 42: 301. 1909. Type. Ecuador. Pichincha: Volcán Atacazo, 10 Sep 1902 (fl), Sodiro 92/2C (holotype, B†, photos ACS neg. 114 and F neg. 4708).
Macleania pilgeriana Hoerold, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 42: 301. 1909. Type. Ecuador. Pichincha: W of Volcán Pichincha, near Alaspongo and Chiquilpa, Sodiro 92/11b (holotype, B†, photos ACS neg. 168 and F neg. 4714; lectotype, designated by Luteyn (1996), P). The P sheet is without number but the locality is Chiquilpa and the specimen matches exactly the photo of the holotype sheet.
Macleania sodiroi Hoerold, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 42: 302. 1909. Type. Ecuador. Pichincha: W side of Volcán Pichincha, Jul 1879 (fl), Sodiro 92/11 (holotype, B†, photos ACS neg. 170 and F neg. 4717; lectotype, designated by Luteyn (1996), NY fragment ex B).
Macleania trianae Hoerold, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 42: 303. 1909. Type. Colombia. Cundinamarca: Vic. Bogotá, Triana 36 (holotype, B†).
Macleania punctata W. J. Hooker var. puberula Danguy & Chermezon, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. 28: 434. 1922. Type. Ecuador. Danas, 3792 m, Dec 1903 (fl), Rivet 520 (holotype, P; L and NY fragments ex P, photo s.n. at NY).
Macleania euryphylla S. F. Blake, J. Washington Acad. Sci. 14: 291. 1924. Type. Ecuador. Tungurahua: Cusatagua nr Ambato, March 1919 (fl), Pachano 179 (holotype, US; NY fragment ex US, photo ACS neg. 61).
Macleania attenuata B. Fedtschenko & Basilevskaja, Not. Syst. Herb. Hort. Bot. U.S.S.R. 6: 23. 1926. Type. Ecuador. Pichincha: W side of Volcán Pichincha, 2440 m, Jameson 622 (holotype, LE; NY fragment and xerox ex LE). A Jameson sheet at K (with NY fragment and photo ACS neg. 59) has been annotated by A. C. Smith in 1931 as a possible isotype, but the collection is without number.
Macleania reducta A. C. Smith, Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 28(2): 380. 1932. Type. Ecuador. Titaicún, 3355 m, Nov 1858 (fl), Spruce 5842 (holotype, NY; isotypes, C n.v., E, F, GH, K, P; photo of C type F neg. 22767).
Epiphytic or terrestrial shrub 0.6-2 m tall,
often with lianoid branches to 6 m long, rarely small tree, often with
basal lignotuber to 1 m diam.; stem glabrous to rarely moderately
puberulent; twigs glabrous to densely short-pilose with white hairs
to 0.8 mm long. Leaves coriaceous, flat to rarely bullate, oblong,
elliptic, ovate-elliptic to ovate, sometimes spatulate, (2-)4-8(-15) x
(1.2-)2-5(-7.5) cm, base rounded to broadly cuneate, sometimes attenuate,
very rarely subcordate, apex obtuse or rounded to acute, margin entire
to rarely remotely but conspicuously crenate, slightly revolute, usually
glabrous both above and below but occasionally puberulent or spreading
short-pubescent on the lower surface near the base, occasionally sparsely
punctate above; pinnately nerved with 3-4 arcuate-ascending lateral
nerves per side, midrib, lateral nerves, and reticulate veinlets all slightly
impressed above and raised beneath, the midrib sometimes conspicuously
thickened and raised proximally; petiole subterete, sometimes carinate
above, sometimes narrowly winged, rugose, 3-11 mm long, usually glabrous
but sometimes short-pilose. Inflorescence axillary, short-racemose,
(4-)10-20-flowered, glabrous throughout or occasionally moderately spreading
short-pilose, surrounded at the base by a series of normally caducous (sometimes
persistent), broadly ovate to oblong, obtuse, glabrous to short-pilose
bracts to 4-8 mm long, the tips not reflexed; rachis usually stout
and congested with overlapping swollen nodes, coarsely to sharply angled,
(0.5-)1-1.5(-8) cm long, usually glabrous; floral bract persistent
or deciduous, sometimes reflexed, deltate or ovate to oblong, obtuse, rarely
acuminate, 2-5(-7) x 2-3 mm, glabrous, often ciliate, sometimes marginally
glandular-fimbriate; pedicel subterete, ribbed to striate, (7-)10-24
mm long, glabrous to puberulent; bracteoles nearly basal to medial,
broadly deltate to oblong, 1-2(-4) mm long. Flower clusters often
pointing backwards; calyx glabrous to densely short-pilose, 5-7 mm
long; hypanthium short-cylindric to cylindric-campanulate, terete
or bluntly angled, striate to slightly rugose, 2.5-4(-5) mm long and 4
mm diam., the base rounded to truncate, deep red to crimson; limb
spreading-campanulate, 2-5 mm long; lobes broadly triangular to oblong-ovate,
acute to acuminate, 1-2.5 mm long; sinuses broadly rounded to acute
when torn; corolla carnose, cylindric to somewhat cylindric-urceolate
or bottle-shaped, narrowing distally, terete or pentagonal, rarely slightly
zygomorphic, (11-)13-19(-24) mm long and 6-9 mm diam., glabrous or sometimes
short-pilose, sometimes with glandular fimbriae distally, deep red or pinkish-red
at base, paler or yellowish or white distally, the lobes deltate to oblong,
acute, 1.5-3 mm long, pale red, pink to white, ciliate; stamen 10,
9-16 mm long; filaments distinct, 2-5.5 mm long, glabrous or marginally
short-pilose distally; anthers 8-14 mm long; thecae 4-8 mm
long, basally and apically incurved; tubules 2, laterally connate
over entire length, rarely distinct nearly to the base, rarely appearing
solitary, 3-6.2 mm long, dehiscing by clefts about 1/3-1/2 the length of
the tubule; style usually long-exserted, (14-)20-30 mm long, glabrous.
Berry spherical, glabrous, 12-15 mm diam., dark bluish-black.
Distribution. Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador. and Peru; lower montane dry forest, premontane dry and wet forest, montane moist, wet and rainforest, subalpine rainforest, Polylepis forest, to humid páramo, at 2000-4267 m altitude.
Local names: Colombia: cacaguito, uva camarona; Ecuador: chamburo, chaquilulo, choglón, chupa lulún, colca macho, gualicón, hualicón llucho, joyapa (quichua name), joyapa blanca, joyapita, sagalita, yurac joyapa.
Uses: fruit edible, either sweet or insipid, and is sometimes found in marketplaces fresh and as jam; wood for fuel; branches as forage for cattle. Medicinally the fruit eaten fresh for lung trouble; decoction of fruit for the nerves; leaves as hot poultice on bruises. Visited by hummingbirds Eriocnemis luciani and E. mosquera (fide Bleiweiss 1125).
Cultivated: ACAD, E, MO, NCSC, NY.