The Two-faced Miconia

I’ve been waiting for this tree to flower since last June, when its relative bloomed so beautifully. I’ve had an idea about what it is, but I wouldn’t be able to find out whether my idea is right until I could see its flower. Here’s the tree:

If I’m right, the common name is dos caras, Spanish for “two faces,” or papilillo, “cigarette paper.” I prefer dos caras because it is so evocative of the two sides of the leaves – green on top, tan underneath. With a breeze going, as it is in the above picture, the undersides of he leaves flop up – it’s very easy to see the two leaf colors, especially if you click on the image to enlarge it.

Just exactly how great this contrast between upper and lower sides of the leaves may be easier to see when we compare leaves with another member of the same family, same genus:

The larger leaf in both scans is the dos caras leaf. The tops of the leaves are on the left, the undersides on the right. Notice how much more of a contrast there is between top and bottom in the dos caras than there is in the smaller leaf.

While we’re looking at the leaves, look at the veins. Those 3 major longitudinal veins practically announce that the plant family here is Melastomataceae, which I have called the “black mouth” family from mela – black and stomata – mouth.

Okay, if this tree is indeed a dos caras, and I think it is, then its scientific name is Miconia argentea. According to Dave’s Botanary, Miconia is named after Francisco Mino, 16th century Spanish physician and botanist, and argentea means silvery, maybe describing the light-colored undersides of the leaves.

We have three species of Miconia on our land, and I’ve described here some other obvious characteristics of the Melastomataceae while giving an overview of them. When I wrote that piece, I knew them only as Miconia species A, B, and C. The tree we’re looking at today is species B.

The description of the flowers of Miconia argentea at Trees, Shrubs, and Palms of Panama is really worth quoting:

Flowers are small, white, and carried in dense, pyramidal clusters above the leaves. The flowering pattern of this species is remarkable. For several weeks, trees gradually develop flower buds, and clusters of dull gray buds are visible throughout the dry season. Then on one day in January or February, many individuals over large areas complete flower development, and bright white flower clusters appear on nearly every tree (many along the highway from Panama City to Gamboa, for instance). The following day, the flowers start dropping, and the dull gray color of the clusters is all that remains by the second day. The synchronous flowering can occur two or three times during the same dry season.

The first blooming I saw this year here in Potrerillos was in March, but we’re higher up than Panama City, so maybe that accounts for it. I had the devil of a time trying to get a picture showing the pyramidal clusters, but I think the idea comes across in this scan.

The individual flowers are shown at the Discover Life site, and although mine is not as sharp, I believe it is the same flower:

(The Discover Life image is at left, mine is at right.)

The bark is fissured and handsome (to my eye):

The fruits are eaten by white-faced monkeys, coatis, and small birds, according to the book Trees and Shrubs of Panama, by Luis G. Carrasquilla R.

It’s a good-looking tree that is sometimes used as an ornamental.

And to think that, when we built our house, visitors wanted us to cut the tree down!