Costus cochabambae Maas & H.Maas, 2023

Maas, Paul J. M., Maas-van de Kamer, Hiltje, Andre, Thiago, Skinner, David, Valderrama, Eugenio & Specht, Chelsea D., 2023, Eighteen new species of Neotropical Costaceae (Zingiberales), PhytoKeys 222, pp. 75-127 : 75

publication ID

https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.222.87779

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/613A10E7-BCF6-580E-A416-6906D9BB532A

treatment provided by

PhytoKeys by Pensoft

scientific name

Costus cochabambae Maas & H.Maas
status

sp. nov.

Costus cochabambae Maas & H.Maas sp. nov.

Diagnosis.

Costus cochabambae sp. nov. (Figs 8 View Figure 8 , 9 View Figure 9 ) superficially resembles C. comosus but differs by greenish appendaged bracts, a subglabrous corolla, a glabrous lower leaf side (except for the hairy primary vein), and a much longer ligule up to 25 mm long (vs. 1-3 mm).

Type.

Bolivia, Cochabamba: Prov. Chapare, Villa Tunari, 40 km hacia el Beni, por Chipiriri , 400 m, 24 Nov 1981, Beck 7320 (holotype LPB, specimen lacking a barcode; isotypes L, 2 sheets: L1480367 & L1480368 and spirit collection: L0303088) .

Description.

Herb ca. 1.7 m tall. Leaves sheaths 5-8 mm diam; ligule 15-25 mm long, unequally lobed, lobes obtuse; petiole ca. 5 mm long; sheaths, ligule and petiole densely to rather densely puberulous to villose; lamina narrowly elliptic to narrowly obovate, 17-30 × 6-8 cm, adaxially glabrous, abaxially glabrous with primary vein densely villose, strongly raised and prolonged as a prominent rim into the sheaths, base obtuse, apex acuminate (acumen 5-10 mm long). Inflorescence ovoid, 5-8 × 3-5 cm, terminating a leafy shoot; bracts, bracteole, and calyx densely to rather densely puberulous, ovary and capsule densely puberulo-sericeous. Flowers abaxially oriented; bracts green, coriaceous, broadly ovate, 1.5-2 × 1.5-2 cm; appendages green, foliaceous, reflexed when dry, broadly to shallowly ovate-triangular, 0.5-1.2 × 1.2-2 cm, apex obtuse to acute; bracteole boat-shaped, 15-17 mm long; calyx 9-12 mm long, lobes shallowly ovate-triangular, 2-3 mm long; corolla yellow, 30-40 mm long, subglabrous, lobes elliptic, 20-25 mm long; labellum yellow, lateral lobes rolled inwards and forming a tube ca. 10 mm diam, oblong-elliptic when spread out, ca. 20 × 15 mm, dentate; stamen yellow, ca. 20 × 5 mm, not exceeding the labellum, apex dentate, anther 8-9 mm long. Capsule not seen.

Distribution.

Bolivia (Cochabamba) (Fig. 21G View Figure 21 ).

Habitat and ecology.

In high forests ("pie de la ladera con bosque alto"), at an elevation of ca. 400 m. Flowering in November.

Etymology.

This species is named after the Bolivian department of Cochabamba, where it was collected.

Notes.

Costus cochabambae sp. nov. resembles C. comosus and is likely to be closely related to this species.

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Liliopsida

Order

Zingiberales

Family

Costaceae

Genus

Costus