The color may fade with age, and can be deposited equally or in patterns such as longitudinal stripes. The leaves of adult "Cecropia" species are large and peltate, almost circular in circumference. The lamina is attached to the petiole, the venation is radiate, and the lamina is radially incised between the radiating main veins. Variation is high in the number of lobes or leaf segments, ranging from five to more than 20. "Pourouma bicolor" is very similar in appearance to the "Cecropia", with its umbrella-shaped leaves, stilt roots, large leaves with wide lobes, and whitish color on the underside. The distinctions between the two, however, are: the petiole attaches at the base of the leaf rather than at the center of the leaf like "Cecropia" and "Pourouma" has leaf lobes that are triangular and pointed at the tip, whereas most "Cecropia" are rounded. Between 40 and 50% of the 61 species of "Cecropia" are montane or submontane Andean, with the majority of species in the northern part of the Andes, in Colombia and Ecuador. The Andean region is regarded as the center of species richness and speciation because of the additional 25% of lowland taxa that reach the eastern or western foothills of the Andes. Therefore, only about 25% of the species occur outside of the Andean region. A map of the distribution of "Cecropia" can be found in the article written by Berg and Rosselli, 2005. Most species of "Cecropia" are lowland humid/rainforest species occurring from sea level to 1,300 m in altitude, while submontane species occupy an altitudinal range from 1,300-2,000 m, and montane species are found in cloud forest from 2,000-2,600 m. Many species have a narrow altitudinal and ecological niche, with certain species specializing in specific habitats, such as seasonally inundated habitats, rocky slopes, swamps, natural or man-made clearings, etc.  Species in the genus "Cecropia" are some of the most abundant pioneer tree species in natural tree-fall gaps inside primary forests. Its geographic distribution extends along the Pacific and Atlantic Mexican coasts and in Central and South American forests, and are found over an elevation range of 0 to 2,600 m.