Jaltomata weberbaueri (Dammer) Mione
Peru
revised Aug 2023  
Link to Jaltomata homepage The information on this page may be cited as a communication with professor Thomas Mione, Central Connecticut State University, Biology Department, Copernicus Hall, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain, Connecticut 06050-4010, United States of America.
Novon 2: 383-384. 1992
Link to the Jaltomata Ancash, Peru
Link to Jaltomata having red nectar
Link to the Jaltomata of northern Peru
Link to local names including of this species
Link to list of Jaltomata species having edible fruits, including this species
Figure 1, above. Flower of Jaltomata weberbaueri, Mione et al. 862, photo by T. Mione in Peru
Figure 2, above. Flower and ripe fruits of Jaltomata weberbaueri, Mione et al. 862, units along bottom are mm, photo by T. Mione in Peru
Figure 3, above. Ripe fruits of Jaltomata weberbaueri in the hand of a woman passing by. We asked her if there are any uses of this plant, and she responded by showing us the fruits she was carrying in her pocket. She said fruits are eaten by nearly all the locals.
Mione et al. 862, photo by T. Mione in Peru

 

Table 1. Geographic and Altitudinal Distribution:

Peru, all specimens from Department Ancash, elevation 2,800 - 3,793 m; flowering in January, March, April, May and June.

Province
Locality
elev-ation
m
habitat
date
collector
habit
see comment above TYPE LOCALITY: Ocros 3,400 grupos de arbustos cerca de riachuelos
27 Mar 1903
A. Weberbauer 2657 (Lectotype: MOL!; Isolectotype: G!; photo of B sheet, destroyed, F neg. 2558, WIS!)  
       
   
Aija Cuchu Cuchu, entre Huamanwilca y Sequipoquian (spellings of place names?) 3,400 no data
23 Apr 1983
C. Ochoa & A. Salas 15160 (NY)  
Aija 3.5 km before Aija town, Recuay to Aija road, 9 46 19 S, 77 34 33 W 3,793 roadside
14 Jun 2005
T. Mione, S. Leiva G. & L. Yacher 725 (US);
S. Leiva G., T. Mione & L. Yacher 3361.
shrub
Aija about 10 min before city/town of Aija, Recuay to Aija road, 9 46 24.5 S, 77 34 51.1 W 3,700 - 3,799 roadside
19 May 2015
T. Mione, S. Leiva G. & L. Yacher 862;
S. Leiva G., T. Mione & L. Yacher 5890.
shrub
             
Recuay km 107 between Recuay & Pativilca 3,300 moist ravines
30 Jan 1983
M. Dillon et al. 3174 (BH, GH, NY, US)
shrub to 2 m
Recuay Bosque de Pararín 2,800-3,000 bosque
24 May 1988
A. Cano 1900 (NY)
Bolognesi km 110.8 ruta Pativilca-Recuay 3,400 ladera entre Urtica sp. y J. aijana
18 Jan 1998
T. Mione, S. Leiva G. & L. Yacher 626;
S. Leiva G., T. Mione & L. Yacher 2135 (HAO)
Leiva wrote "hierba"
Figure 4, above. Flowers of Jaltomata weberbaueri, Mione et al. 862, photo by T. Mione in Peru
Figure 5, above. Woody stem of Jaltomata weberbaueri, Mione et al. 862. Smallest units are mm. Photo by T. Mione in Peru
Figure 6, above. Ripe frutis of Jaltomata weberbaueri, Mione et al. 862. Units along bottom are mm. Photo by T. Mione in Peru
Figure 7, above. Flower of Jaltomata weberbaueri, Mione et al. 862. Units along bottom are mm. Photo by T. Mione in Peru

 

Novon 2: 383-384. 1992. Lectotypification see Mione & Granda P. (2006)
Saracha weberbaueri Dammer, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 37: 638. 1906. In the protologue the type locality is given as “Ocros, dep. Ancachs, prov. Cajatambo…3400 m.” On modern maps Ocros is the capital town of the province Ocros, at the south end of the department of Ancash, while province Cajatambo is at the north end of the department of Lima, just south of the department of Ancash.

Figure 8, above. Flower of Jaltomata weberbaueri, Mione et al. 862, photo by T. Mione in Peru
Figure 9, above. Flower of Jaltomata weberbaueri, Mione et al. 862, photo by T. Mione in Peru
Figure 10, above. Where two sepals meet a keel forms outward (upward in this photo because the flower is laying on its side). Jaltomata weberbaueri, Mione et al. 862, photo by T. Mione in Peru
Figure 11, above. Flower of Jaltomata weberbaueri, Mione et al. 862, photo by T. Mione in Peru

 

Character Description Figures on this page
Habit & Height
shrub to 2 m; in the protologue this species was described as an herb "herba glabra ad 2 m."
Macbride (1962) wrote "herbaceous above." sometimes vining, to 2 m		  
Branches, young
 glabrous, green on one side purple on the other, proably the purple coloration is due to sun exposure  
Older
to 13 mm diameter figure 5
Leaves, size 8 - 8.7 cm long X 5.2 cm wide, alternate, distally geminate  
blade shape including margin ovate, the older leaves having teeth, one to two teeth per side,
decurrent along the petiole		  
blade texture the older coriaceous, the younger membranous  
hairs glabrous  
petiole 1.5 - 2.5 cm long, glabrous  
Number of flowers per inflorescence
1 less commonly 2
(uncommonly to 3 with one of these being a flower and two being buds)		  
peduncle
 purple, glabrous, 3 - 16 mm  
pedicel
 purple, glabrous, nearly terete, 20 - 21 mm long  
Calyx (when flowering) color & size green, 2.9 - 4.1 cm diameter (lobe tip to lobe tip), sepal 26 mm long(pedicel to lobe tip), the lobes 11 mm long X 13 mm wide  
shape / position during anthesis lobes (the free/unfused part of the sepal) longer than wide
5 keels (where sepals meet) protruding outward (away from the rest of the flower, not evident on pressed specimens)		  
hairs glabrous  
at fruit maturity    
Corolla color
 purple to violet with green veins, the radial thickenings white  
green spots no  
purple ring no  
shape and size
campanulate; when pressed corolla 2 - 4.5 cm long X 4 - 5.5 cm across; fresh material, 3 cm long X 4 - 4.8 cm diameter (Mione 862);
fresh, 6 cm across/diameter (Mione et al. 626);
(or if corolla split open during pressing cor to 9 cm across)		  
lobes/lobules
 5 lobes, no lobules  
hairs    
Yes, conspicuous because they are white or nearly white  
Corona
 no  
Stamen, length including anther
 20 - 24 mm, in some flowers the stamens vary in length even after all anthers have dehisced  
length stamens exserted beyond distal end of corolla (applicable if corolla is tubular or campanulate) not exserted figure 9
position of stamens: a) before anthers dehisce, b) after anthers dehisce for both "a" and "b" stamens are connivent or angling outward slightly as shown in figure 1 of this webpage figure 1
based expanded laterally? yes figure 13
filaments whitish, the proximal 15% pubescent, the hairs unpigmented and simple  
anther color blue to dark-purple with a green connective figure 8
anther size 4 - 5 mm 12
anther mucronate / mucronulate mucronulate; not (field notes Mione et al. 862)  
insertion of filament into anther anther stands straight on top of filament, anther does not bend in  
anthers of a flower open simultaneously? no, one flower was seen with some anthers dehisced and others not  
pollen quantity per flower

162,500 (n = 1 flower, Mione et al. 626)
147,500 (n = 1 flower, Mione et al. 725)

 counts by
Emmett P. Varricchio, 2012 & 2013
pollen grain size diameter (polar view): mean 33.575, range 31.25 - 35 micrometers
(n = 50 grains, stained in cotton blue in lactophenol,
anthers stored in 70% ethanol prior, Mione et al. 626, flower collected in wild)		 pollen size by Alison L. Grissom,
year 2007 or 2008
Gynoecium
   13, 14, 15
Stigma
 green, captiate, 1.5 mm across (diameter), very shallowly bilobed  
Style
15 - 26 mm; 23 - 26 mm measured in field (Mione et al. 862)  
Ovary
5 mm high X 5 mm wide at base, green obove the disk, the disk orange, the ovarian disk does Not seem to be the source of nectar because when I broke open a flower having copious nectar the ovarian disk was dry  
Ovules per ovary
448 (n = 1 ovary, year 2012, Mione et al. 626)
720 (n = 1 ovary, year 2013, Mione et al. 725)		 Counts by Mione, the two groups of ovules, one per locule, revealed by dissection, appeared to be of equal size, and so I doubled the count of the ovules of one locule to obtain the numbers showing on the left.
Nectar red-orange to orange-red figures
1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 17, 18
Herkogamy yes, the stigma exserted 4 mm beyond the distal end of the anthers figure 8
Protogyny yes,
one open flower having undehisced anthers was seen (Mione et al. 862)		  
Fruit color (at maturity) orange  
Fruit Size and Seeds per fruit

18 mm (from pedicel attachment to opposite pole) X 25 mm contained 395 seeds (Mione et al. 862)
14 X 19 mm contained 350 seeds (Mione et al. 725)

  
Seed Size    
Chromosome number
no data
  
Growability in Connecticut, USA
    
How long does it take from flower to ripe fruit?
no data
  
Self-Compatible
Yes. Does not abundantly set fruit in a pollinator-free greenhouse but sets fruit following manual pollinations with self pollen
 J. Kostyun, personal communication 2016, seeds provided by T. M.
Seed Germination
no data
  
Mione's collection numbers of this sp. 626, 725, 862  
Ratio of pollen to ovules 363 (162,500 / 448 ovules, Mione et al. 626, n = 1 flower)
205 (147,500 / 720 ovules, Mione et al. 725, n = 1 flower)
 flowers collected in Peru
(not grown for study)

 

 

Figure 12.

Anthers of
Jaltomata weberbaueri

dorsal face on left,
ventral face on right

mm rulings showing vertically on left and right

 

Photo by Thomas Mione, Mione et al. 725

Anthers had been in 70% ethanol for years prior to photo being taken.
Figure 13. Flower of Jaltomata weberbaueri. F, filament. O, ovary. R, radial thickening. T, nectar trough. Flower was stored for years in 70% ethanol prior to photo. Distal corolla tissue was removed during dissection. Photo by Thomas Mione, Mione et al. 725.
Figure 14. The ovary wall was removed with a dissecting needle to show the ovules of one of the two locules of Jaltomata weberbaueri. 360 ovules were counted in one locule by slowly and carefully removing them with a fine dissecting needle. Dissection, counting and photo by Thomas Mione, Mione et al. 725. The ovary was stored for years in 70% ethanol prior to photo.
Figure 15. Stigma and distal end of style of Jaltomata weberbaueri. Units (horizontally, out of focus) are mm. Flower was stored for years in 70% ethanol prior to photo. Photo by Thomas Mione, Mione et al. 725.
Figure 16, above. Flower on left shows both undehisced anthers and at least one dehisced anther. Jaltomata weberbaueri, Mione et al. 862, units along bottom are mm, photo by T. Mione in Peru

Figure 17.

The corolla on the
left was 6 cm in
diameter before
being pressed.

Note the red-orange
nectar in the base
of the flower.

Jaltomata weberbaueri

photo by Segundo
Leiva G.,
Mione, Yacher
& Leiva 626

Figure 18. Jaltomata weberbaueri

Radial thickenings,
extending from the stamens to
midway between the petal lobes, are
evident in a subset of Andean
Jaltomata species.

These radial thickenings are
conspicuous on this species because
they are lighter in color
than the rest of the corolla tissue.


The orange-red juice at the
base of the flower is nectar!

photo by T. Mione
Mione, Leiva G. and Yacher 725