Taxon Details: Sphyrospermum musicola (Hook.) A.C.Sm.
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Narratives:

Family:

Ericaceae (Magnoliophyta)
Scientific Name:

Sphyrospermum musicola (Hook.) A.C.Sm.
Primary Citation:

Brittonia 1(4): 215. 1933
Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.
Description:

Description: Epiphytic shrubs; twigs terete to subterete, striate, glabrous to moderately or densely short-pilose, glabrescent. Leaves coriaceous or fleshy when fresh, chartaceous when dry, broadly ovate, (2-)2.5-3 x 2-3 cm, base broad and truncate, apex sharply acute or cuspidate, margin slightly thickened, ciliate with eglandular hairs ca. 0.8 mm long, lamina essentially glabrous with scattered glandular hairs ca. 0.2 mm long on both surfaces, but especially present beneath; 3-5-plinerved from base, midrib and lateral nerves raised and visible on both surfaces, or somewhat raised in depressions above, tertiary veinlets slightly raised but not so prominent on both surfaces; petiole subterete, carinate, rugose, ca. 1.5-3 mm long, densely short-pilose, glabrate. Inflorescences axillary, in fascicles of 2, exceeding the subtending leaves; floral bract 1, ovate, acute, ca. 0.5 mm long, glabrous; pedicel subterete, striate, 15-20 mm long, sparsely pilose with eglandular and glandular hairs ca. 0.6 mm long; bracteoles 2, ovate, acute, ca. 0.5 mm long, glabrous. Flowers 5-merous, diplostemonous; calyx ca. 5.4-6 mm long, white-puberulent to pale pilose with eglandular and glandular hairs ca. 0.8 mm long; tube obconical, 2-3 mm long; limb campanulate-suberect, 2-3 mm long, glabrous or glabrate, nitid; lobes triangular, acute, ca. 1.5 mm long, tufted-pilose at apex; sinuses rounded; corolla immature (subcylindric, terete, 12-20 long and ca. 4 mm diam.), red, glabrescent without with scattered, minute, glandular hairs, the lobes (immature) erect, oblong, subacute, ca. 2.5-3 mm long, sparsely long-pilose distally without; stamens 10, alternately slightly unequal in length; filaments alternately unequal (fide illustration), glabrous, seemingly slightly longer than anthers; thecae base straight, without appendage (fide illustration); tubules about twice as long as thecae, dehiscing by short, oblique clefts (fide illustration). Berry unknown.

Distribution: Endemic to Ecuador and is known only from the type collection made in montane forest, at ca. 4000 m.

Type: Ecuador. Chimborazo: W slope of Volcán Chimborazo, 4000 m, May 1844 (fl), Jameson s.n. [holotype K! (photo NY neg. 10530); isotype NY! fragment ex K]. [N.B. species epithet “muscicola” is a noun and thus does not change its gender.]

Conservation status: Critically endangered [CR B1ab(i, iii, iv)].

Updates and other relevant taxonomic sources: Description updated on Jan 2013. For generic synopsis, keys, and evaluation of conservation status see Phytotaxa.