Aphelandra garciae Leonard

Aphelandra garciae Leonard

Aphelandra garciae Leonard, Contrib. U.S. Nat. Herb. 31: 256. 1953.

Shrub, to 1 m high, slender, straight, the tips of the branches densely strigose, the hairs sordid, the lower portions of the stems terete, glabrate; leaf blades obovate or broadly oblanceolate, to 30 cm long and 11.5 cm wide, short-acuminate (the tip itself obtuse or rounded), narrowed at base and decurrent on the petiole, submembranaceous, entire or undulate, the upper surface drying olive green, glabrous, minutely alveolate under the lens, the costa and lateral veins flat or slightly raised, barely conspicuous, the lower surface drying green to light olivaceous, sparingly strigose, the costa and lateral veins densely strigose, raised and more conspicuous than upper surface; petioles (unwinged portion) to 1 cm long, the pubescence similar to that of the stem tip; spikes solitary, terminal, to 22 cm long and 1.5 cm broad, the peduncle barely 0.5 cm long and 3.5 mm in diameter, densely strigose, the rachis minutely pilose; bracts entire, rhombic-ovate, 11 mm long, 8 mm wide, rounded and subapiculate at apex, coriaceous, bright red (living), drying yellowish brown, glabrous within, minutely scurfy without, the costa and nerves prominent, the margins subhyaline, ciliolate except toward base, the ocelli replaced by a dull, elliptic, faveolate area about 2.5 mm long and 1 mm wide; bractlets lanceolate, subfalcate, carinate, 12 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, the keel densely whitish pilose, the margins striatenerved, subhyaline; calyx about 2 cm long, the posterior segment oblong, elliptic, slightly over 5 mm wide, finely pilose-sericeous toward tip, the anterior pair 4 mm wide, the lateral pair somewhat narrower than the anterior pair and like them, glabrous or bearing a few hairs at the tip, all of the segments acute (the tip itself blunt, minutely apiculate) and ciliate; corolla yellow, drying brown, minutely hirsute-strigose, the tube slightly curved, 4 cm long, 4 mm broad at base, narrowed to 3 mm at 5 mm above base, thence gradually enlarged into a subcylindric throat 7 mm broad at mouth, the upper lip erect, elliptic, 15 mm long and 7 mm wide, bilobed, the lobes triangular-ovate, about 8 mm long, slenderly acuminate, the middle lobe of the lower lip spreading, ovate, 15 mm long, about 7 mm wide, acuminate, strigose within, the lateral lobes triangular, about 4 mm long, partly adnate to the lower part of the upper lip, their free portions about 1.5 mm long and 1 mm wide, obtuse; ovary glabrous; stamens and capsules not seen.

TYPE.—Killip & Garcia 33532 (holotype US), Colombia, Chocó, dense forest along the Quebrada Jellita, Bahía Solano, 50–100 m alt, 22 Feb 1939.

DISTRIBUTION.—Known only from around the type-locality. COLOMBIA. CHOCÓ: In dense tidal forest along the banks of Quebrada Togoromá, 13 Jun 1944, Killip & Cuatrecasas 39123 (US).

Aphelandra garciae là một loài thực vật có hoa trong họ Ô rô. Loài này được Leonard mô tả khoa học đầu tiên năm 1953.