Qualea parviflora

Qualea parviflora, known as pau-terra in Portuguese, is a deciduous tree indigenous to Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.[2] The tree favors dry climates like the tropical savanna of the cerrado.[3][4][5]

Qualea parviflora
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Tracheophytes
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Clade:Rosids
Order:Myrtales
Family:Vochysiaceae
Genus:Qualea
Species:
Q. parviflora
Binomial name
Qualea parviflora

Description

Qualea parviflora grows up to 8 m (26 ft) tall. It flowers between September and December. Each flower has one light purple petal, a single stamen, a spurred calyx, and a three-parted ovary. Pau-terra can be distinguished from a close relative Qualea multiflora by its smaller flowers.[6]

Ecology

The flowers are pollinated by bees.[6] The seeds are eaten by buprestid beetles and small Hymenoptera species.[6] Caterpillars of the dalcerid moth Dalcera abrasa feed on Quaela parviflora.[7]

References