{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Speciesbox | image = Prockia flava 2235970345.jpg | image_caption = A herbarium specimen of ''Prockia flava'' with aged leaves and flowers. | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = {{R|IUCN}} | genus = Prockia | species = flava | authority = H.Karst.{{R|POWO}} }}
'''''Prockia flava''''' is a species of flowering plant in the family Salicaceae, endemic to Venezuela. The plant was first described by Gustav Karl Wilhelm Hermann Karsten in 1863, and has a conservation status of least concern under the IUCN Red List.{{R|IUCN}}{{R|POWO}}
==Description== ''Prockia flava'' is a shrub or tree reaching up to a reported {{cvt|8|m}} in height, characterized by {{botanygloss|glabrous}} branches that are supported by a thin trunk, about {{cvt|8|cm}} in diameter, and covered in grayish lenticellate bark. The leaves are {{botanygloss|alternate}}, measuring up to {{cvt|10|cm}} long and {{cvt|7|cm}} wide; the shape is ovate, the apex is acute or acuminate, the base is cordate, and the margins are coarsely serrate or crenate. The leaf surface is chartaceous or membranaceous and densely tomentose, and the veins are quintuplinerved, coming in pairs that form an obscure {{botanygloss|reticulate}} pattern; the petiole is short and {{botanygloss|villous}}, measuring up to {{cvt|2.5|cm}} long.
The inflorescences occur as racemes that are either {{botanygloss|terminal}} or {{botanygloss|lax}}, measuring up to {{cvt|6|cm}} long, including the peduncle; each bears a small number of fragrant flowers, typically yellow or green, sometimes white in color. The stamens are numerous and yellow in color, featuring filaments that measure roughly {{cvt|4|mm}} long, tipped by minute, biloculate anthers. The ovary is subglobose and glabrous, tapering into a slender style, measuring up to {{cvt|6|mm}} long, and topped by a {{botanygloss|punctiform}} stigma. The fruit is a berry up to {{cvt|6|mm}} in diameter that turns red, purple, or black at maturity; the seeds are small and black in color, measuring about {{cvt|1|mm}} long.{{R|IUCN}}{{R|WFO}}{{R|GBIF}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Karsten |first1=Hermann |date=1863 |title=Fasciculus Secundus |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4747142#page/123 |journal=Fl. Columb. |volume=2 |pages=41–80 |doi=10.5962/bhl.title.400 |oclc=5745930 |access-date=9 November 2025 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== The range of ''Prockia flava'' is restricted to Venezuela, primarily within the Capital District and the state of Miranda, but its distribution reportedly extends into the states of Bolívar, La Guaira, and Lara. Historically, ''Prockia flava'' was preserved from beyond its current range in Colombia, within the departments of Boyacá and Santander.
''Prockia flava'' is a locally common tropical species recorded from a range of habitats at elevations typically up to {{cvt|1780|m}}, but further up to {{cvt|2560|m}} in historical accounts. The plant favors a variety of environments and is tolerant of disturbance, often spotted growing in secondary vegetation. Mainly found on hilly or premontane terrain, its habitats include deciduous, semi-evergreen, and montane forests, thickets, scrubland, savannas, ravines, and gorges.{{R|IUCN}}{{R|WFO}}{{R|GBIF}}{{R|CoL}}
==Taxonomy== ''Prockia flava'' was first described by Gustav Karl Wilhelm Hermann Karsten in 1863 as the second addition to its genus.{{R|POWO}}<ref name=":0"/> The family that ''Prockia'' and this species were placed into was initially ambiguous, either being grouped into Flacourtiaceae under the Cronquist system or Tiliaceae under the Bentham & Hooker system. Later on, these families became defunct because of the APG IV and APG systems respectively, resulting in ''Prockia'' being classified under Salicaceae according to modern systems; despite these taxonomic changes, the tribe ''Prockia'' is within, Prockieae, has remained with the genus and has not been absent in any of its classifications.{{R|POWO}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Regis B. |date=1975 |title=Systematic Anatomy of the Xylem and Comments on the Relationships of Flacourtiaceae |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/480 |journal=J. Arnold Arbor. |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=79–80 |doi=10.5962/p.185846 |issn=0004-2625 |eissn=2474-3283 |lccn=22014227 |oclc=1585732 |s2cid=108459529 |access-date=9 November 2025 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lemke |first=David E. |date=1988 |title=A Synopsis of Flacourtiaceae |url=https://scholarship.claremont.edu/aliso/vol12/iss1/5/ |journal=Aliso |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=29–43 |doi=10.5642/aliso.19881201.05 |access-date=9 November 2025 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kagyung |first=Rajib |url=https://docslib.org/doc/6178980/bentham-and-hookers-system-of-plant-classification |title=Bentham and Hooker's System of Plant Classification |publisher=Anandaram Dhekial Phookan College |pages=1–5 |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref>
===Etymology=== The generic name ''Prockia'' is in honor of Christian Leberecht von Prøck, a Danish baron.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burkhardt |first=Lotte |url=https://www.bgbm.org/de/other-publications/verzeichnis-eponymischer-pflanzennamen-erweiterte-edition |title=Index of Eponymous Plant Names – Extended Edition |year=2018 |isbn=978-3-946292-26-5 |pages=899–900 |language=de |doi=10.3372/epolist2018 |access-date=9 November 2025 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The specific epithet, ''flava'', means "yellow", likely denoting its flowers.<ref name=":0"/><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Stearn |first1=William T. |url=https://archive.org/details/BOTANICALLATINWILLIAMSTEARN |title=Botanical Latin |publisher=David & Charles |year=1983 |isbn=0-7153-8548-8 |edition=3rd |page=429 |lccn=65029018 |oclc=552416 |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref>
==Conservation status== ''Prockia flava'' has a conservation status of least concern under the IUCN Red List, primarily due to a lack of apparent fragmentation or population loss, as well as its high ecological tolerance; despite this, its population is suspected to be declining due to threats such as agricultural expansion. Although it is present in certain protected areas like the Caracas Botanical Garden and El Ávila National Park, it is not undergoing any known conservation efforts.{{R|IUCN}}{{R|GBIF}}
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="IUCN">{{cite iucn |last1=Avendaño |first1=Neida |last2=Espinoza Flores |first2=Yaroslavi |last3=Fernández |first3=Ángel |last4=García |first4=M. |last5=Gonto |first5=Reina |last6=Hokche |first6=Omaira |last7=Limonggi |first7=Tania |date=2021 |title=''Prockia flava'' |volume=2021 |article-number=e.T149467182A149577593 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T149467182A149577593.es |access-date=9 November 2025 |doi-access=free}}</ref> <ref name="POWO">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:835040-1 |title=''Prockia flava'' H.Karst. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> <ref name="WFO">{{cite web |url=https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0001063092 |title=''Prockia flava'' H.Karst. |website=World Flora Online |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> <ref name="GBIF">{{cite web |url=https://www.gbif.org/species/4261271 |title=''Prockia flava'' H.Karst. |website=Global Biodiversity Information Facility |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> <ref name="CoL">{{cite web |url=https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/4MNL9 |title=''Prockia flava'' H.Karst. |website=Catalogue of Life |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref> }}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Prockia flava|''Prockia flava''}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q15372919}}
flava Category:Least concern plants Category:Plants described in 1863 Category:Taxa named by Gustav Karl Wilhelm Hermann Karsten Category:Flora of Southern America Category:Flora of Venezuela