Palicourea pyramidalis

Palicourea pyramidalis is a shrub or small tree in the family Rubiaceae native to humid forests of northern South America, particularly the Guiana Shield, the lower Amazon basin, and adjacent regions of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and northern Brazil. It is one of many tropical species in the large pantropical genus Palicourea (now incorporating much of what was formerly Psychotria, following recent molecular reclassifications). Plants typically grow 1.5-5 m tall, with slender opposite-decussate branching and rather sparse foliage. Leaves are opposite, elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 10-25 cm long, with entire margins, an acuminate tip, and a tapering cuneate base; they are glossy dark green above and paler beneath, with prominent secondary veins and conspicuous interpetiolar triangular stipules between the leaf bases that are characteristic of the family. The inflorescence is a terminal pyramidal panicle (giving the specific epithet) 8-20 cm long, bearing many small tubular flowers; the corollas are typically bright yellow or orange-yellow, slender, 1-2 cm long, and arranged for hummingbird pollination. The fruit is a small ovoid blue-black to purplish drupe 6-10 mm across, with two pyrenes. Like many species of the genus, P. pyramidalis is likely to contain alkaloids and other secondary metabolites typical of Rubiaceae.