Appearance
''Cecropia peltata'' is a fast-growing tree, normally reaching 15 metres , but occasionally growing up to 25 metres tall. The leaves are large – 10–60 centimetres in length and width, but more commonly about 20 × 20 centimetres and palmately divided into 7–11 lobed. The upper surfaces of the leaves are scaled, while the lower surfaces are covered with minute hair, interspersed with longer ones. The petioles are generally 20–50 centimetres long, while the branches are green and covered with short, stiff hairs.Like other members of the genus, ''C. peltata'' is dioecious – there are separate male and female plants. Male flowers, which are 1–1.5 millimetres long, are borne in spikes 10–60 centimetres long. The male inflorescence is enclosed in a spathe which splits open and drops off once the anthers mature. The female flowers are borne in paired spikes 3–5 centimetres long. The fruit, which is about 2 millimetres long, is an achene which is enclosed in a fleshy jacket which forms from the perianth.
Distribution
''Cecropia peltata'' ranges from southern Mexico through Central America to northern South America, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica, and has been introduced in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. The species has been listed as one of the hundred worst invasive alien species by the Invasive Species Specialist Group. Replacement of its very close ecological analogue, the native African ''Musanga cecropioides'', by ''C. peltata'' has been reported along major roads of Cameroon.References:
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