Orthaea coriacea Luteyn
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Description
Description: Terrestrial shrub with branches to 1 m long, vegetatively glabrous; stem terete, the bark striate or cracking longitudinally, nitid; twigs subterete to conspicuously complanate, slightly striate, nitid. Leaves thick coriaceous, nitid, ovate to elliptic, 8-13.5 x 2.5-4.5 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate, margin entire; 3-5-plinerved from near the base, midrib and lateral nerves mostly impressed above (or slightly raised in the proximal half) and raised beneath, reticulate veinlets slightly raised on both surfaces; petiole subterete, narrowly costate along the length of both sides, rugose, 8-10 mm long, glabrous, dark red when dry. Inflorescence solitary, axillary, racemose, 10-15-flowered, glabrous throughout (except filaments and connective); rachis angled, 1.5-3 cm long, pale green suffused with pink; floral bract caducous, membranous, oblong, ca. 6 mm long; pedicel angled, 7-8 mm long at anthesis, but lengthening to 12 mm long later, pale green suffused with red; bracteoles basal, membranous, linear-aristate, 1.5-2 mm long, marginally densely glandular-fimbriate with multicellular, multiseriate, clavate hairs. Flowers with calyx 5-7.5 mm long; hypanthium cylindric, bluntly 5-angled when fresh but drying sharply 5-angled, 3-4 mm long, basally truncate and slightly apophysate, pale green; limb campanulate-cylindric, 2.5-3.5 mm long, translucent when fresh; lobes triangular, acute, 1-1.5 mm long, marginally eglandular; sinuses broadly rounded; corolla cylindric, slightly constricted distally, ca. 13-16 mm long, bright red in the lower 3/4 and white in the upper 1/4, the lobes triangular, obtuse, ca. 0.5 mm long, completely reflexed at anthesis; stamen 10, alternately 5 mm and 6 mm long; filaments distinct, alternately 3 mm and 4.5 mm long, pilose in the distal half and onto the connective; anthers equal, ca. 2.5 mm long; thecae ca. 1.5 mm long; tubules ca. 1 mm long, dehiscing by terminal pores; style ca. 14 mm long. Berry not seen.
Distribution: Endemic to Ecuador and known only from the type collection; cloud forest, at 1870-2150 m altitude. Rare and endangered.
Type: Ecuador. Morona-Santiago: Gualaceo-Limón rd, 53-64 km E of Gualaceo, 1870-2150 m, 19 Apr 1978 (fl), Luteyn & Lebrón-Luteyn 5786 (holotype, NY; isotypes, AAU, CAS, E, MO, QCA, U, US).
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Floras and Monographs
Orthaea coriacea Luteyn: [Article] 1987. Nordic J. Bot. 7(1): 36.
