Aphelandra impressa Lindau

Aphelandra impressa Lindau

Aphelandra impressa Lindau, Bull. Herb. Boiss. Ser., 5:657. 1897.—Leonard, Contrib. U.S. Nat. Herb. 31:175. 1953.

Stems terete, the lower portions glabrous, the upper parts sparingly strigillose; leaf blades oblongelliptic, 9–28 cm long (including the winged petiole), 2.5–6 cm wide, acuminate and more or less falcate, the tip blunt, gradually narrowed from about the middle into a winged petiole, the margins entire or shallowly crenate, both surfaces sparingly strigillose, the pubescence more numerous on the costa and veins (10–13 pairs), these rather prominent; petioles (unwinged portion) 5–15 mm long, often densely strigillose; spikes solitary or in 3’s, terminal, 8–14 cm long and 2 cm broad (excluding corollas and tips of bracts), the rachis densely brown puberulous; bracts closely imbricate, subrhombic, acuminate, the tips spreading or recurved, both surfaces brown-puberulous, the teeth 8–10 on each side, these slender, ending in spines, 1.5–4.5 mm long, the glandular area on either side of the midrib deeply impressed dorsally, the pit about 1.5 mm long and 1 mm broad; bractlets subulate, 8 mm long and 11 mm wide near the base, curved, carinate, puberulent dorsally; calyx puberulous toward tip, 10 mm long, the segments lanceolate, the posterior segment acuminate, 2.5 mm wide, the others ending in a spinelike tip, 1.5 mm wide near base; corolla purple or red, puberulent, 5.5–6 cm long, the tube 2.5 mm broad at base, 5–7 mm broad at mouth, the upper lip ovate, about 13 mm long, 9 mm wide, acuminate, entire, the lower lip 3-lobed nearly to base, the lobes oblongelliptic, acuminate, the middle lobe 15 mm long and 4.5 mm wide, the lateral lobes 12 mm long and 3.5 mm wide; stamens exserted beyond the mouth of the corolla tube but not exceeding the upper lip; filaments 3.3–4 cm long, pubescent toward base; anthers 5.5 mm long and 0.5 mm broad; pollen grains typical, 40μ–45μ long, 27μ wide; style 4–5 mm long; ovary glabrous; capsule not seen.

TYPE.—Funck & Schlim 1244 (holotype B, destroyed, isotype BR, G, P), Venezuela, Mérida, San Cristóbal, 950 m alt.

DISTRIBUTION.—Between the altitudes of 250 and 1240 meters in Venezuela and northern Colombia. VENEZUELA. MÉRIDA: Timotes, Jul 1948, Vogel 1499 (M). BARINAS: Ticoporo forest reserve, 370 m alt, 22 Jan 1964, Breteler 3528 (US, VEN); Feb 1969, Aristeguieta & Zabala 6958 (VEN); between Barinas and Pedraza, Apr 1959, Aristeguieta 3863 (US, VEN). APURE: Reserva Forestal San Camilo, 250 m alt, 28 Mar 1968, Steyermark, Bunting & Blanco 101437 (US). COLOMBIA. Anchuelita, along the Río Curbatico, 300–400 m alt, 10 Dec 1954, Bernardi 1713 (K); Pedraza LaVieja, 300 m alt, 16 Feb 1957, Bernardii 1111 (VEN). NORTE DE SANTANDER: Region del Sarare, valley of the Río Margua between Junin and Cordoba, 920–1240 m alt, 22 Nov 1941, Cuatrecasas 13374 (US). META: Between Villavicencio and Bogotá, 1898–99, Sprague s.n. (K).