Blakea P. Browne

Blakea tends to have thick leaves and 3 to 5 nerved leaves with secondary veins (Lumer, 1983).  There are some Blakea spp that have tertiary veins spaced 3.3 mm or less apart but there are some species with more widely spaced veins (Penneys & Judd 2011). This species has axial flower that can either be white, pink, magenta, red or a variation of these colors (Lumer, 1983).  The flower has 12 stamens that are symmetrical and glabrous (Lumer, 1983).  The petals separate from one another when completely expanded and they never conceal the stamens but rather are angled upwardly around the stamens in a circular formation (Lumer, 1983).  Anthers are oval shaped with two separated pores that release pollen (Lumer, 1983).  The connective appendages on the anthers are uniformly dorsal, simple, and mostly basal (Penneys & Judd 2011).  The anthers are primarily short and even though they are mostly oval shaped they can also be oblong or elliptic (Penneys & Judd 2011). There are two pairs of bracts at the base of the flower that is used as support (Lumer, 1983).  The petals have a green color with a purple or reddish color at the base (Lumer, 1983). 

Blakea is mainly dispersed by birds (Almeda, 2000).  The birds do not eat the entire fruit but rather just pecks at it.   The seeds and inner part of the fruit sticks to the beak of the dispersing bird.  After the bird is done eating the fruit, it will fly away and land on a tree.  Then from there, the bird will clean off it’s beak by rubbing it against a branch on the tree and the seeds will be dispersed (Almeda, 2000). 

The main pollinator of Blakea species are bees (Almeda, 2000).  There are many different species of bees that pollinate these trees including Xylocopa.sp., Epicharis sp., Melipona fasciata, two species of Bombus, two species of Trigona, and three species of Eulaema (Almeda, 2000). Bees pollinate the plants by bending over and aligning on the anthers while vibrating their indirect flight muscles (Almeda, 2000).  The vibration of their muscles causes pollen to be released from the anther pores (Lumer, 1983).  Pollen is released through minute pores at the tips of the anthers and it is released directly onto the front of the bee, allowing the transfer of pollen to the next flower (Lumer, 2000). There are some species that does not fit all of these descriptions such as Blakea chlorantha. B. pendulifora, and B. austin-smithii (Lumer & Schoer 1986).  These few species of Blakea have nectar, small green bell shaped flowers, and are pollinated by rodents that visit the flowers at night for nectar (Lumer, 1983). The anthers of these rodent pollinated flowers are purple (Lumer 1980). The flowers of B. chlorantha release pollen when the rodent applies pressure with their tongue to the anthers or the petals (Lumer, 1983). Rodent pollinators regularly visit the plants, beginning their visits at dusk and continuing through the night during the entire flowering period (Lumer 1980). 

Syntype for Blakea anomala Donn. Sm.
Catalog Number: US 1363682
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Original publication and alleged type specimen examined
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): H. Pittier
Year Collected: 1898
Locality: La Palma., San José, Costa Rica, Central America
Elevation (m): 1450 to 1550