Saxofridericia

  • Authority

    Maguire, Bassett & Wurdack, John J. 1958. The botany of the Guayana Highland--Part III. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 10: 1-156.

  • Family

    Rapateaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Saxofridericia

  • Description

    Latin Diagnosis - Peduncles solitary, axillary; involucral bracts spathaceous, foliaceous, bivalved, the margins often connate, therefore often saccate; inflorescence at maturity globose or hemispheric; spikelets numerous, sessile, or with very short stalks, irregularly subtended by several conspicuous or inconspicuous membranous bracts; sepals free to the base; petals obovate or suborbicular, at anthesis the claws connate into a conspicuous membranous tube; filaments adnate to the corolla tube, the anthers lanceolate, transversely rugose, tapered upwards, 4-lobed, the anterior locules extending to subterminal anterior pores, the posterior locules projected as a somewhat cucullate appendage; ovary trilocular, the locules pluriovulate; style subulate-trigonous, acute; stigma terminal, minute; capsule oblong-obovate, membranous below, indurate above, loculicidal, the plaeentation axial, the distal portion of the axis interrupted and the septa withdrawn to the walls; seed semi-annulate transversely rugose and striate.

  • Discussion

    Robust perennial herbs; a genus of nine species, five belonging to subg. En saxofridericia, confined to montane regions of the Guayana Highland, and the other four to subg. Acrotheca, these being plants of periodically inundated regions of lowland Hylean rain-forests, two within Guayana, two extra-Guayanan.

    Type species: Saxofridericia regalis Rob. Schomb.