Lacmellea panamensis is a species of tree in the family Apocynaceae native to Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Ecuador. It is a medium-sized tree, with a straight trunk, that is scattered with conical spines that are rather blunt, a distinctive feature of the species. Its leaves are around long, spaced evenly along branches, simple in shape, dark green and if damaged produce a white latex. Their flowers are white and around long thin tubes and develop into yellow berries of 3 cm in diameter.
Its seeds weigh around and when they germinate the cotyledons remains underground, acting as an energy store. In an artificial experiment, 80% of seedlings were able to survive having their leaves removed, or being placed in deep shade (0.08% of full sunlight), making them relatively shade tolerant.
References
External links
Lacmellea panamensis at Discover Life, including photographs.