Symbolanthus elisabethae subsp. occidentalis Maguire & B.M.Boom

  • Authority

    Maguire, Bassett. 1989. The Botany of the Guayana Highland- Part XIII. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 51: 1-127.

  • Family

    Gentianaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Symbolanthus elisabethae subsp. occidentalis Maguire & B.M.Boom

  • Description

    Latin Diagnosis - Subsp. elisabethae similis, sed foliis minoribus, laminis minus conspicue venosis et vulgo 6-10 cm longis; corollis minoribus ca. 6 cm longis; sepalis acutis.

    Species Description - The subsp. occidentalis of the westem range is recognized by its smaller leaves and flowers. Maguire & Maguire 35317A, a unicate specimen of Yutaje, may well be a hybrid with S. yutajensis endemic to Yutaje.

    Distribution and Ecology - Known only from Cerros Huachamacari and Yutaje in the Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela

  • Discussion

    Type. Venezuela. Amazonas: Perennial herb to 1 m , flowers magenta-red, throat white with purple lines, stem quadrangular, Upper Escarpment, Cerro Huachamacari at 1700 m alt., Rio Cunucunuma, 3 Dec 1950, Bassett Maguire, R. S. Cowan & John J. Wurdack 29801 (holotype N Y ) .

    Specimens examined. VENEZUELA, amazonas: Cerro Huachamacari. Maguire, Cowan & Wurdack 29801 (holotype NY); occasional. Diagonal Ledge, 1700 m, 4 Dec 1950, Maguire, Cowan & Wurdack 29859 (paratype NY); fleshy shrub to 1 m, occasional above Diagonal Ledge, 1700 m, 5 Dec 1950, Maguire, Cowan & Wurdack 29897 (NY). Cerro Yutaje. Herb or subshrub 1-1.5 m, leaves dark green, flowers rose, whitestriped, occasional on cliffs below escarpment at 2100 m, 17 Feb 1953, Maguire & Maguire 35317A (NY).