Renealmia congesta Maas

Authority

Maas, Paulus J. M. 1977. Renealmia (Zingiberaceae--Zingiberoideae), Costoideae (Additions) (Zingiberaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 18: 1-218. (Published by NYBG Press)

Family

Zingiberaceae

Scientific Name

Renealmia congesta Maas

Type

TYPE. Maas & McAlpin 1390 (holotype, U; isotypes, COL, CR, F, GH, K, MO, NY, US), Fila las Cruces, near San Vito de Java, 1400 m, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.

Description

Description - Plants 1-3 m tall. Rhizomes 15-20 mm thick. Sheaths striate, rather densely covered with stellate (to furcate) prickles and scales (less than 0.1 mm long) and with compass-needle hairs (towards the apex densely so). Petiole absent. Ligule 1-2 mm long. Lamina narrowly obovate to narrowly elliptic, 10-12-plicate, acute to acuminate at the apex (acumen to 20 mm long), gradually narrowed towards the base, 25-50 cm long, (6-)9-14 cm wide, upper side glabrous, lower side rather densely covered with hairs of the compass-needle type (hairs 0.3-0.5 mm wide). Scape erect, 10-40 cm tall, up to 5-13 mm thick, beset with sheaths up to 6-13 cm long and 1-2 cm wide. Inflorescence an ovoid to cylindric, basal, spicoid thyrse (5-)8-28 cm long and 2-5 cm wide, with 3-5-flowered cincinni, rhachis green. Indument of inflorescence: sheaths, rhachis, pedicels, and peduncles densely to rather densely covered with plurifurcate (to furcate) hairs (to 0.2 mm long and to 0.2 mm wide), the apical part of the sheaths also covered with hairs of the compass-needle type; bracts, bracteole, calyx, ovary, and capsule often glabrous or sparsely (to rather densely) covered with plurifurcate (to furcate) hairs, the apical part of the bracts often covered with compass-needle hairs, corolla glabrous. Bracts pale green to green, persistent, broadly ovate to ovate, obtuse, 20-35 mm long, 15-30 mm wide. Peduncles green, 2-4 mm long, the lower ones concaulescent, the adnate part to 15 mm long. Bracteole green, 9-18 mm long. Pedicels green, 5-12 mm long. Calyx green, urceolate, 6-11 mm long, 4-7 mm wide, the lobes deltate to shallowly triangular, 2-4 mm long and 3-4 mm wide. Corolla white, 9-11 mm long, the tube 4-6 mm long, the lobes 5 mm long, the dorsal one 5 mm wide, the two lateral ones 4 mm wide. Labellum white with yellow centre and purplish base, 7.5-9 mm long and 9-12 mm wide when spread out, basal part opposite the anther densely covered with simple hairs, the limb horizontally spreading, 5-6 mm long, 9-12 mm wide, lateral lobes rounded, 4-6 mm long, 3.5-4 mm wide, middle lobe reflexed, ca 1 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, slightly and irregularly bilobulate, basal claw ca 3 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, lateral staminodes 1-1.5 mm long. Anther (pale) pink, 3-3.5 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, glabrous. Style 7-8 mm long. Nectarial glands forming a one-sided cylinder, only partly surrounding the style base, 1.5-2 mm long. Ovary green, ellipsoid. Capsule black, globose, 7-8 mm in diameter, its wall ca 0.1 mm thick when dry (ca 0.5 mm in living material), 6-9 seeded, seeds 2.5-3 X 3-3.5 mm, aril orange.

Discussion

This species is well marked by a spicoid, green inflorescence and hairs of the compass-needle type on the lower side of the lamina. From R. costaricensis it differs in its leaf-indument, green instead of pinkish to purplish-black calyx, and sessile lamina. Renealmia concinna is its closest relative, but that species differs in narrower leaves (5-8 cm vs (6-)9-14 cm), a rather lax inflorescence, and acute, rather narrow bracts.

Distribution

Costa Rica and Panama; in wet forests, from 700-1400 m.

Panama Central America| Costa Rica South America| Puntarenas Costa Rica Central America|