Monographs Details:
Authority:

Smith, Albert C. 1952. Plants collected in Ecuador by W. H. camp. Vaceiniaceae. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 8 (1): 41-85.
Family:

Ericaceae
Description:

Species Description - (growing in soil; spreading shrub to 2 m. high; bracts red; corolla white). Leaves shining on both surfaces; bracts crimson; corolla white.

Species Description - Leaf-blades (9-)12-19 cm long, (3.5-)4.5-8.5 cm broad, 7- or 9-nerved from near base but the outer 2 or 4 nerves often very inconspicuous; pedicels 2-5 mm long, sometimes with a few scattered minute spherical glands, bibracteolate toward base, the bracteoles linear-oblong, obtuse, 4.5-6 x 1-1.5 mm, glandularmargined and sometimes glandular on both surfaces distally; calyx at anthesis up to 13 mm long and 9 mm. in diameter at apex, the tube angled, up to 7 mm long, the limb 3-6 mm long, bearing superficial spherical glands without, the lobes 2.5-5 x 3-4 mm, glandular-margined, the sinuses rounded or obtuse; corolla 22-30 mm long (as previously described), 4-7 mm in diameter; filaments alternately 3.5-5 mm and 6-8.5 mm long, the anthers alternately 18-19 mm and 15-17 mm long, with thecae 5-7 mm long.

Discussion:

The cited specimens agree excellently with the type, from the Province of Loja. The collections discussed here represent the only additional material of the species known to me. The species is characterized by its essentially glabrous habit, comparatively large leaves and flowers, short pedicels with conspicuous bracteoles, glandular calyx-limb, and comparatively long glandular-margined calyx-lobes. The three cited collections permit some amplification of my earlier description (Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 28: 507. 1932), as follows:

These specimens have the inflorescence precisely as in typical C. capitata, except that the pedicellary bracteoles are inclined to be slightly smaller (2.5-3.5 mm long). The leaf-blades are comparatively narrow and lanceolate-oblong, 8-13 cm long and 3-4 cm broad, being sometimes only 5-nerved. These differences are so inconsequential that a reasonable species-concept for C. capitata may include all six specimens cited above.

Distribution:

Ecuador South America|