Costus guanaiensis var. macrostrobilus (K.Schum.) Maas

  • Authority

    Maas, Paulus J. M. 1972. Costoideae (Zingiberaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 8: 1-140. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Costaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Costus guanaiensis var. macrostrobilus (K.Schum.) Maas

  • Type

    Type. Eggers 1289 (lectotype, US; isolectotype C), El Sobrante, Sierra de Luquillo, Puerto Rico. A lectotype is chosen here as Schumann did not designate a holotype (Sintenis 1740 is a syntype).

  • Synonyms

    Costus macrostrobilus K.Schum., Costus argenteus Ruiz & Pav., Costus villosissimus Jacq., Costus scaber Ruiz & Pav., Costus friedrichsenii Petersen

  • Description

    Description - Sheaths glabrous, rather densely puberulous to villose. Upper side of leaves densely or rarely sparsely strigose, somewhat scabrid to the touch, lower side densely villose to puberulous. Bracts glabrous to puberulous. Inflorescence on a leafy stem. Pollen size 122-136 µ. Exine 2-3 µ thick. Number of pores 6-10. Porus diam 20-26 µ. (Maas 3400 from Trinidad and Stern et al. 675 from Panama). Chromosome number 2n = 18 (Maas 3400 from Trinidad).

  • Discussion

    This variety has been frequently collected in northwestern South America and Panama. It is closely related to C. arabicus, but in that species the bracts are not appendaged and the flowers are pure white. Another relative is C. villosissimus, but that species has yellow flowers and is ferrugineous-hirsute in all vegetative parts.

    Simmonds collected some plants in Trinidad which probably show some introgression of C. arabicus; the plants differ from var macrostrobilus by their unappendaged or only very shortly appendaged bracts, a much longer calyx, and the glabrous upper side of the leaves. The specimens are: Simmonds 10 (K, TRIN), 80 (TRIN), 119 (K, TRIN).

    The habit and the flowers of Wessels Boer 2439, 2440 (U), and Foldats 2434 (VEN), all collected near El Vigía, Mérida, Venezuela, agree with those of this variety, but their bracts are not appendaged and look like those of C. spiralis. There might be some introgression of C. spiralis in these plants.

    There has been much confusion in the nomenclature of var macrostrobilus; the following three names are often wrongly applied to specimens belonging to var macrostrobilus: 1. C. argenteus auct. non Ruiz & Pavón. The type material of Ruiz & Pavon belongs to Dimerocostus argenteus and it is difficult to understand why Schumann (1904) identified specimens of C. guanaiensis var macrostrobilus as C. argenteus; Gagnepain (1902) identified an African specimen: Griffon du Bellay 111 from Gabon as C. argenteus, but this specimen is not at all related to that species, but it belongs to C. lucanusianus var lucanusianus. 2. C. friedrichsenii auct. non O. G. Petersen. Woodson (1945) misapplied this name to the specimens belonging to var. macrostrobilus. I consider C. friedrichsenii to be a synonym of C. villosissimus (see under that species); 3. C. scaber auct. non Ruiz & Pavon. This name was misapplied by Loesener (1931); see under C. scaber.

  • Distribution

    (Fig 24, 1). Northwestern South America, Central America, and (possibly cultivated) Puerto Rico; in moist forests, lowland thickets, or in swamps, from sea-level to 750 m.

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