Rahowardiana wardiana
| Rahowardiana wardiana | ||||||||||||
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| Rahowardiana wardiana | ||||||||||||
| D'Arcy |
Rahowardiana wardiana is one of two plant species from the genus Rahowardiana withinthe nightshade family (Solanaceae). It was first described in 1973.
description
Vegetative characteristics
Rahowardiana wardiana are epiphytic or semi-epiphytic, 2 m high shrubs with strong points, which are irregularly angled and whose bark falls off in parchment-like, shiny discs. The entire, almost leathery leaves are about 15 cm long, inverted ovoid, tapering to a short point at the tip, the base is blunt. The leaf surface is hairless, on each side of the protruding middle nerve there are four or five adrenal nerves. The secondary veins are indistinctly visible on the upper side; when they dry, they emerge very clearly on the lower side. The strong petioles are hardly present or up to 15 cm long, channels are formed on the upper side. The leaves are alternate and are grouped into three to four-leaf whorls .
Inflorescences and flowers
The inflorescences are dense, spherical panicles 7 to 15 mm in diameter. The slender flower stalks are 8 to 15 mm long, conspicuously spotted. Some of the flowers open at the same time. The dark purple, 3 to 4 cm long calyx is tubular, strongly angled and strongly rounded at the base. The sepals are only a small piece or separated from each other almost to the base. The upper edge is set with five teeth. The yellow crown is 3 cm long, protrudes only slightly from the chalice, is slightly curved and roughly pentagonal. The corolla tube becomes narrower in the lower half. The five corolla lobes are bent back and form a clearly visible, narrow "claw" that runs perpendicular to the flower axis.
The stamens are of the same shape, the filaments glabrous, slender and fixed to the base of the corolla tube. The anthers are narrow, almost linear, they are slightly tapered at the top. They open longitudinally so that the folded back walls of the theka touch on the back. The anthers are 8 to 9 mm long and do not protrude beyond the crown.
The perched ovary is five-lobed and two-chambered, and quickly contracts upwards to form a two-lobed stylus base . The placentas are somewhat proliferating and grow to the base of the style. The ovules are slender, cylindrical, but curved by about 15 to 25 °. The style is slender and hairless, the scar is small and inconspicuously two-lobed, it also does not protrude beyond the crown.
fruit
There were no ripe fruits on the type specimen , the unripe fruits reached the calyx tips in length, were narrowly conical, with a slender, elongated tip.
Occurrence
The type specimen was found near La Mesa (Panama) at an altitude of 800 to 860 m.
Differentiation from other types
The species differs from the only other species of the genus Rahowardiana globifera by the significantly smaller inflorescences, weaker branches, longer flower stalks, smaller calyxes and the yellow instead of white flowers and the larger fruits.
etymology
The species epithet honors Daniel Bertram Ward (* 1928), professor of botany at the University of Florida .
literature
- William G. D'Arcy: Family 170: Solanaceae . In: Robert E. Woodson, Jr., Robert W. Schery (Eds.): Flora of Panama , Part IX, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Volume 60, Number 3, 1973. Pages 573-780 (first description of the genus and by R. wardiana on pages 670–672)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sandra Knapp, William G. D'Arcy: Rahowardiana globifera (Solanaceae), a new Species from Colombia , In: Taxon , Volume 3, 1993. Pages 429-430.