About Vallea stipularis Mutis ex L.fil.
Vallea stipularis Mutis ex L.fil. is an evergreen shrub or tree that can reach up to 18 meters in height, and has fissured bark. Its branchlets bear kidney-shaped stipules. Leaves are heart-shaped or pear-shaped, sometimes lobed, and grow up to 10 cm long; they are dark green on the upper surface and whitish green on the lower surface, with tufts of hairs in the axils of the veins. It produces cymose inflorescences holding pinkish-red or crimson bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has five sepals, five three-lobed petals that measure 9–13 mm long, a glabrous ovary and styles, and between 15 and 60 stamens. Its fruits are warty, 1 cm wide, and often dehisce while still on the tree. This species is native to the Andes, where it grows in montane forest and páramo habitats at elevations between 1600 and 4000 meters, ranging from Venezuela to Bolivia.
