Gnetum urens

(Aubl.) Blume 1834

Common names

Taxonomic notes

Syn: Thoa urens Aubl. 1775; Gnetum thoa Brongn 1829 nom. illegit.; Gnemon urens (Aubl.) Kuntze 1891; G. melinonii Benoist 1945; Gnetum leyboldii var. woodsonianum Markgr. 1965.

Description

"Slender vine; twigs smooth, light grey to tan. Leaves thin, chartaceous to rarely subcoriaceous, elliptic, up to 12 × 6 cm, deflexed and acuminate to acute at apex, unequally obtuse at base, yellow-green, upper surface shining like silk, lower surface dull and sculptured with narrow primary and secondary veins (the latter less than 1 mm wide) and obscure tertiary veins. Microsporangiate axes sparingly branched, ultimate units with short internodes of 1-2 mm between bract collars. Microsporophyll barely exserted from enclosing collar. Ovule-bearing branches rarely branched, internode between bract collars up to 10 mm long. Mature seed yellow, oblongoid to slightly obovoid, often with a basal knoblike ring, sharply mucronate at apex, 35-40 mm long, 18-20 mm in diameter, outer layer thin and fibrous, inner layer chartaceous" (Stevenson and Zanoni 1991).

Distribution and Ecology

Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela; in river valleys near the coast (Stevenson and Zanoni 1991).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.03.03.

Ethnobotany

Observations

Remarks

The epithet urens means "stinging". However, I haven't found any source stating that the plant, or any part of it, carries a sting.

Citations

Aublet, J. B. C. F. 1775. Histoire des plantes de la Guiane Françoise 2: 874. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2021.12.22.

Blume. 1834. Tijdschrift voor natuurlijke geschiedenis en physiologie 1:162. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2021.12.23.

See also

Maheshwari and Vasil 1961.