Renealmia dermatopetala K.Schum.

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 dermatopetala K.Schum.

Type

TYPE. Bang 2566 pp (holotype, B, destroyed; lectotype, BM; isotypes F, MICH, NY), unknown locality in Bolivia.

Synonyms

Renealmia latibracteata Loes.

Description

Description - Plants 1-3 m tall. Rhizomes 10-30 mm thick. Sheaths dark brown to pale brown, striate to reticulate, 5-10 mm wide, to 30 mm at the base of the plant, in the grooves densely covered with simple to furcate prickles (less than 0.1 mm long) or sometimes glabrous, at the cross-connections and towards the ligule sometimes covered with simple hairs (to 0.5 mm long). Ligule 1-2 mm long. Petiole 0-30(-50) mm long, glabrous to sparsely hairy (like the sheaths). Lamina narrowly elliptic, shortly acuminate at the apex (acumen 5-15 mm long), cuneate at the base, 25-75 cm long, 4-12 cm wide, glabrous on both sides, or midrib on lower side very sparsely covered with simple hairs. Scape erect, pink, 15-100 cm tall, up to 10 mm thick, beset with sheaths up to 4-12 cm long and 0.5-2 cm wide. Inflorescence a basal raceme (4-) 10-22 cm long and 2.5-5 cm wide. Indument of inflorescence: sheaths, rhachis, bracts, peduncles, bracteoles, pedicels, calyx, ovary, and capsule densely to sparsely covered with ferrugineous, sessile, furcate to plurifurcate hairs (0.1-0.2 mm long), sometimes mixed with simple hairs (to 0.5 mm long), corolla-tube sparsely hairy, the lobes glabrous. Bracts scarlet-red to pinkish-red, long-persistent (narrowly) ovate to broadly ovate, obtuse or sometimes acute, 13-45 mm long, 10-20 mm wide. Peduncles pink, slender, 2-10 mm long. Bracteole truncate, (9-) 10-13 (-15) mm long. Pedicels pink, slender, 2-6 mm long. Calyx pink, tubular to slightly turbinate, 10-14 mm long, 6-7 mm wide, the lobes depressed ovate to shallowly triangular, 3-4 mm long, 5-6 mm wide. Corolla yellow to yellowish-orange, long-persistent, 20-27 mm long, the tube 10-17 mm long, the lobes 10-12 mm long, 7-11 mm wide. Labellum yellow to yellowish-orange, 10-12 mm long and 6-10 mm wide when spread out, basal part opposite anther densely covered with simple hairs (0.2 mm long), the limb erect, 5-7 mm long, 6-10 mm wide, lateral lobes involute, 2-3 mm long, 1.5-2.5 mm wide, middle lobe entire and rounded, basal claw 5-6 mm long, 3 mm wide, lateral staminodes ca 1 mm long. Anther 8-9 mm long, 3 mm wide, densely hairy. Style 20-25 mm long. Nectarial glands multilobulate, completely surrounding the style base, ca 1 mm long. Ovary ellipsoid. Capsule pink, ellipsoid, 20-30 X 8-15 mm, its wall 1.5-3 mm thick when dry, ca 75-seeded, seeds 2.5-3 X 3-4 mm; calyx, corolla, and other floral remnants often long persistent on the capsule.

Discussion

This species is very peculiar because of its long-persistent flowers (calyx as well as corolla and labellum) and its slender pedicels. It is closest to the R. thyrsoidea complex, from which it differs by the two characters just mentioned, and to which it is related by its truncate bracteoles. It is even more closely related to R. pallida (see under that species).

Distribution

Central Brazil and western Bolivia; forests at middle elevations (up to 1400 m) in Bolivia, swamp forests or gallery forests (up to 550 m) in Brazil.

Brazil South America| Goiás Brazil South America| Mato Grosso Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Bolivia South America| La Paz Bolivia South America|