Stenomesson ecuadorense Meerow, Oleas & L. Jost

Geophytic, hysteranthous, perennial from tunicate bulbs. Bulbs globose to ovoid, offsetting readily, tunics brown, 2–4 cm diam, apically forming a neck 1–5 cm long. Leaves (Fig. 1A–C) 1–2 per bulb, glabrous, 18.5–30 cm long, tapering at base to a ca. 5 cm long hemiterete pseudopetiole; lamina lanceolate, sometimes slightly falcate, 14–14.5 × 1.8–3.0 cm wide at the middle, midrib inconspicuous adaxially, prominent abaxially, acute at apex, Royal Horticultural Society Color Chart (RHSCC, Royal Horticultural Society 1995) green 137A adaxially, 137D abaxially. Inflorescence scapose, 1–4 flowered, scape 25–30 cm tall, 3.7–3.9 mm diam, terete, glaucous, solid for most of its length with a narrow lumen apically, terminated by 2 marcescent ovate-lanceolate bracts enclosing the buds in the early stages of elongation, 20.9–21.6 mm long, 3.4–3.6 mm wide at base, 6 mm wide at middle, acute at apex. Flowers (Fig. 1D–G) pendulous via the spreading pedicels and curvature of the tube, 3.6–4 cm long from base of ovary to limb apex; pedicels 19–28 × ca. 0.5 mm. Perianth (Fig. 1D, E) actinomorphic, cylindrical proximally, distally campanulate, consisting of six tepals in two whorls, fused below the throat into a tube that is 2.7–3 mm diam, cylindrical, and green in the proximal 1–1.2 cm, constricting to 1.8–2.3 mm in its distal 3–4 mm before abruptly dilating to 7.3 mm and becoming orange (RHSCC orange red 33A). Limb of free tepals (Fig. 1F) spreading ca. 60° from the throat, 1.7–1.9 cm wide; outer tepals 9.8–10.6 mm × 4.8–5.6 mm (at middle), acute, with a white, papillose apiculum; inner tepals 7.5–8.5 mm long, 6.5–7 mm wide, minutely apiculate. Stamens joined at base into an inconspicuous membranous staminal corona in the form of six 0.8–1.0 cm long lanceolate, acute teeth, fused to the perianth tube except for the apical 1.0 mm of each tooth (Fig. 1G), with the filaments inserted between; free filaments filiform, light orange for their proximal third, then white in their distal 2/3, 1.7–1.8 cm long, exserted ca. 1 cm beyond the limb; anthers 1.8–2 mm long, oblong, dorsifixed, introrse; pollen yellow. Style 3.5–3.7 cm long, exserted 5–6 mm past stamens, orange, fading to light orange distally; stigma obscurely tri-lobed, 1–1.4 mm wide. Ovary ellipsoid, ca. 6.7 mm long, ca. 3.2 mm wide, ovules 20 or more per locule, axile in placentation. Mature fruit (Fig. 1H) a trigonous, papery, tri-loculicidal capsule ca. 1 cm long and 1.5 cm wide; seeds numerous, papyraceous, flattened, shortly obliquely winged, with a dark brown phytomelanous testa.