Renealmia costaricensis Standl.

• Authority

  Maas, Paulus J. M. 1977. Renealmia (Zingiberaceae--Zingiberoideae), Costoideae (Additions) (Zingiberaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 18: 1-218. (Published by NYBG Press)

• Family

  Zingiberaceae

• Scientific Name

  Renealmia costaricensis Standl.

• Type

  TYPE. Standley 36944 (holotype, US), La Colombiana Farm of the United Fruit Company, prov. Limon, Costa Rica, 70 m.

• Synonyms

  Renealmia densiflora Urb.

• Description

  Description - Plants 0.5-3 m tall. Rhizomes 10-20 mm thick, the roots 2-4 mm thick. Sheaths striate, 5-20 mm wide, to 30 mm at the base of the plant, densely to rather densely covered with furcate to stellate prickles, mixed with simple, needle-like hairs. Ligule ca 1 mm long, hairy like the sheaths. Petiole 0-30 mm long, hairy like the sheaths. Lamina narrowly elliptic, shortly acuminate-cuspidate at the apex, cuneate at the base, 20-58 cm long, 6-16 cm wide, 12-13-plicate, upper side glabrous or somewhat puberulous along the midrib, lower side sparsely to rather densely covered with simple and furcate hairs (0.2-0.5 mm long). Scape erect, 15-35 (according to Standley to ca 75) cm tall, up to 5 mm thick, beset with sheaths up to 5 cm long and ca 1 cm wide. Inflorescence an ovoid to cylindric, basal, spiciform thyrse 6-15 cm long and 2.5-4 cm wide, with 1-3-flowered cincinni. Indument of inflorescences: sheaths, rhachis, bracts, peduncles, bracteoles, pedicels, calyx, ovary, and capsule glabrous or sparsely to densely covered with a mixture of simple and furcate to plurifurcate hairs (0.2-0.4 mm long), corolla glabrous. Bracts green, persistent, broadly ovate obovate , obtuse, 10-30 mm long and wide. Peduncles and pedicels up to 2 mm long. Bracteole 10-13 mm long. Calyx pinkish-(to orange-)red, in fruit becoming purplish-black, tubular-turbinate, 6-8 mm long, 4-7 mm wide, the lobes cucullate, (very) shallowly ovate-triangular, 1-2.5 mm long, 4-6 mm wide. Corolla pale yellow to white, 13-14 mm long, the tube 5-6 mm long, the lobes 8 mm long, the dorsal one 6-8 mm wide, the two lateral ones 4-6 mm wide. Labellum (creamy) white with a yellow central stripe, 8-9 mm long and 8-12 mm wide when spread out, middle and basal part hairy, the limb horizontally spreading, 4-5 mm long, 8-12 mm wide, lateral lobes rounded, ca 3-5 mm long and wide, middle lobe reflexed, entire, broadly to transverselly oblong, 1-2 mm long (rarely divided in two triangular-ovate lobules 1 mm long), basal claw 4 mm long, 1.5-1.8 mm wide, lateral staminodes pinkish, ca 0.5 mm long. Anther pinkish, 3-3.5 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, glabrous. Style 9-11 mm long. Nectarial glands forming a one-sided cylindre only partly surrounding the style base, 1-2 mm long. Ovary globose. Capsule green, maturing red to purple-black, globose, 5-8 mm diam, its wall ca 0.1 mm thick when dry (0.2 mm thick in living material), 4-7-seeded, seeds 3-4 mm diam, dark brown, aril orange.

• Discussion

  The relationship of this species is with R. vallensis, from which it clearly differs, however, by its indument and its capsules with more numerous seeds. Both species are strongly characterized by the ovoid, spiciform inflorescence, the red, tubular calyx, and the very short peduncles and pedicels. In Maas 767 from Costa Rica all seeds germinated when they were still within the attached fruit.

• Distribution

  Colombia South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Costa Rica South America| Panama Central America|