Xochiquetzallia J.Gut., 2020

Gutierrez, Jorge & Terrazas, Teresa, 2020, Xochiquetzallia (Asparagaceae, Brodiaeoideae), a new genus segregated from the paraphyletic Dandya, PhytoKeys 139, pp. 39-49 : 39

Xochiquetzallia J.Gut. gen. nov. Fig. 2

Diagnosis.

Perennial herbs, geophytic; terete or flattened leaves; subcampanulate or hypocrateriform flowers, tube 1.0-25.0 mm long, erect or reclined; gynophore without pith, stigma entire.

Description.

Perennial herbs, 20-60 cm tall, including corm and inflorescence. Fibrous roots, some fleshy. Corm subglobose compressed, fleshy, 1.0-2.5 cm in diameter; tunic formed by the wide bases of the leaves, brown or dark brown, covering up to 2.0 cm from the base of the scape. Leaves 5-9, 20-49 cm long, dark green, linear, flattened or terete, with glabrous or scabrous surface, hyaline prominences on the veins; base truncated, apex acute. Inflorescence in umbel; Scape of (16-) 20-50 cm long, usually shorter than leaves, terete, surface smooth or with acute prominences. Floral bracts 2-3, linear-lanceolate, triangular, 3.0-9.0 mm long; bracteoles, one per flower. Flowers 4-20, pedicels 0.8-3.5 cm long, subcampanulate or hypocrateriform, erect or decumbent-descending, articulate, floral tube 1-25 mm long; tepals white or blue, 6 in 2 series, external tepals elliptic, 8.0-16.0 × (1.5-) 2.0-7.0 mm, 1-3 veins, apex acute and papillose, base cuneate, entire margin; internal tepals elliptical to broadly elliptical, (6.5-) 8.0-16.0 × (2.0-) 3.0-11.0 mm, apex obtuse and papillose, base cuneate, entire margin. Stamens 6; filaments free, adnate to the throat of the tube, widened toward the base or columnar, 2.0-5.0 (-7.0) mm; anthers linear, lanceolate-deltoid, yellow, basifixed, 1.0-2.5 mm; gynophore 0.8-1.6 mm long, adnate to the floral perigone formed three cavities. Ovary cylindrical, 1.0-5.0 mm, fused at its base to the floral perigone; style filiform, 1.8-7.0 mm; stigma entire, papillose; capsule loculicidal, subglobose or subcylindric, glabrous, brown, 6.0-13.0 mm long; seed oblong-falciform, compressed, black, bright, seed coat papillose, 4.0 × 1.5 mm.

Type species.

Xochiquetzallia mortoniana (H.E. Moore) J.Gut.

Etymology.

This genus is named in honor of the goddess of Aztec flowers, in Nahuatl "Xōchiquetzalli" (beautiful flower) "xṓchitl" (flower), " quétzalli " (beautiful). The Aztecs developed majestic architectural works, had extensive knowledge of astronomy and great respect for nature, particularly plants.

Figures

Figure 2. Species of the genus Xochiquetzallia. A Xochiquetzallia mortoniana B X. hannibalii C X. balsensis D X. thadhowardii. A and B taken from the " Global Plants JSTOR ".