Description: Muñeco trunks (60 cm) are mostly straight, though usually quite irregular in cross-section. Near its base, the bole forms broad, vertical folds bounded by deep creases: structures that diverge into rounded and snaking buttress roots that extend away from the trunk for several meters at ground level.
Muñeco bark is off-white in color
and made moderately rough by the frequent occurrence of coin-sized,
pockmark-like depressions. Branches are restricted to the very
top of the bole and they create a moderately thick, single-layered
crown that is often wide and spreading. Simple and alternately
arranged, the leaves (12 cm by 7 cm) are characteristically
thick, stiff, and abrasive - with a texture resembling fine sandpaper.
The blades possess an elliptical shape and a rounded, drip-tip-less
apice. As Muñeco leaves senesce, they grade from green
through yellow, finally ending a deep, chocolate brown color before
being shed and then regrown. Rot-resistant, the dead foliage is
often found carpeting the forest floor underneath these trees.
Usually, this process of leaf renewal occurs in July and then
again in February. Poorly synchronized among individual Muñeco
trees, it may nevertheless be observed at sporadic intervals during
other months as well. Muñeco crowns remain completely bare
for only about a week. Flowers (8 mm) are produced in large
axillary panicles. Each has a white corolla, formed from five,
partially fused white petals and supported by a small, green calyx.
Five brown stamens are attached to the petals and a four-part
pistil with a bulbous red ovary is positioned at the center of
the blossom. Flowers appear mainly in June or July, but lesser,
poorly synchronized flowering events have been observed in September
and April as well. Fruits (1 cm) are small drupes that
mature as they turn from green to bright-red. Large bunches of
them appear high in the canopy about a month after the blossoms
die. Each drupe is fleshy and juicy, with a thick, mucilaginous
consistency, and contains one small (0.5 cm), somewhat flattened
and wrinkled white seed. Fruits appear in abundance in from late
July through September but may also occur in lesser numbers during
other months.
Similar
Species: To distinguish this species from other trees
with similar leaf type and arrangement, look for its irregular,
broadly folded, whitish trunk. An accumulation of thick and roughly
textured leaves on the ground around the bole is a further indication
that the tree is a Muñeco.
