Renealmia stellulata Steyerm.

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 stellulata Steyerm.

Type

TYPE. Steyermark 53769 (holotype, F; isotype, NY), forested slopes along quebradas tributary to Río Palma (tributary to Rio Amarillo), near Pampa de los Cedros, S of Cerro Chivo-Turco, prov. El Oro, Ecuador, 2135-2285 m.

Description

Description - Plants 0.75-1.50 m tall. Rhizomes to 10 mm thick. Sheaths striate, 5-7 mm wide, to 15 mm at the base of the plant, densely covered with simple, needle-like hairs (to 0.5 mm long) and with stellate (rarely furcate) prickles (less than 0.1 mm long). Ligule 2-5 mm long, hairy like the sheaths. Petiole absent. Lamina narrowly elliptic, shortly acuminate at the apex (acumen to 10 mm long), cuneate at the base, 22-30 cm long, 4-8.5 cm wide, upper side glabrous, lower side glabrous or sparsely covered along the midrib with furcate (and plurifurcate) hairs (to 0.2 mm long). Scape 20-45 cm tall, up to 5 mm thick, beset with sheaths up to 7-13 cm long and 0.5-0.8 cm wide. Inflorescence a basal thyrse 7-10 cm long and 4-6 cm wide, with 2-4-flowered cincinni. Indument of inflorescence: rhachis, peduncles, and pedicels densely to rather densely covered with plurifurcate (appearing stellate) to furcate hairs (to 0.1 mm long) and with some scattered, simple hairs, sheaths, bracts, bracteoles, calyx, ovary, and capsule sparsely to rather densely so, corolla glabrous. Bracts (according to Steyermark) dull salmon-brick, persistent, narrowly ovate, obtuse, 12-50 mm long, 4-10 mm wide. Peduncles 5-10 mm long. Bracteole 15-20 mm long. Pedicels 10-15 mm long. Calyx pink to red, tubular or turbinate, 7-14 mm long, 3-6 mm wide, the lobes deltate to shallowly triangular, 1-3 mm long, 3-4 mm wide. Corolla white, 20-22 mm long, the tube 10-12 mm long, the lobes 8-10 mm long, 6.5-9 mm wide. Labellum white (?), 10-11 mm long and 8 mm wide when spread out, glabrous, the limb 5 mm long, 8 mm wide, middle lobe shortly bilobulate, basal claw 5 mm long, 3 mm wide, lateral staminodes 2-3 mm long. Anther 5 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, glabrous. Style 16-19 mm long. Nectarial glands multilobulate, completely surrounding the style base, 2 mm long. Ovary pink to red, ellipsoid. Capsule red, globose, 7-9 mm diam, its wall ca 0.1 mm thick when dry, 9-seeded, seeds ca 3 X 4 mm.

Discussion

Renealmia stellulata is closely related to R. aurantifera (see under that species).

Distribution

Ecuador, in forests, from 900-2300 m.

Ecuador South America| El Oro Ecuador South America| Pichincha Ecuador South America| Zamora-Chinchipe Ecuador South America|