Aphelandra rusbyi Britton

Aphelandra rusbyi Britton

Aphelandra rusbyi Britton, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 27:77. 1900.

Aphelandra cryptantha Rusby, Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 7:364. 1927.

Suffrutescent, 40–60 cm high or more; stems terete, the upper portion pilose, the hairs whitish, to 2 mm long, appressed or somewhat spreading; leaves sessile or the lower with very short broad petioles, the blades oblanceolate to oblong-obovate, 10–22 cm long, 2–9 cm wide, narrowly cuneate at base, acute and spine-tipped at apex, both surfaces sparingly pilose or glabrous, the hairs spreading and confined chiefly to the costa and lateral veins (8–10 on each side), the upper surface green, the lower paler, the upper fourth of the margin entire and ciliate, the remainder spinose-dentate, the teeth (2–5 pairs) produced by the continuation of the lateral veins, successively larger and more spinose toward base, the spines 3–4 mm long; interpetiolar bracts small, oblanceolate, about 4 mm long, spine-tipped; spike single, terminal, solitary or several, the lower in the axils of the upper leaves, to 9 cm long, about 2 cm in diameter, the bracts closely imbricate, the peduncles 3–5 cm long, these and the rachis rather densely pilosulous; bracts lanceolate to ovate, the upper side reddish, the lower green with reddish and orange-yellowish spots, 1.5–2.4 cm long, 5–7 mm wide, acute and spine-tipped, puberulent, the margins pilose and bearing on each side 4–6 slender, spinose teeth, these ascending, the spines to 7 mm long; bractlets linear-falcate, acuminate, 11–14 mm long, 1.5–2 mm wide, puberulent and pilose, carinate, 1-nerved; calyx segments thin, almost transparent, puberulent, striate-nerved, the posterior segment oblong, obtuse, 13 mm long, 3 mm wide at base, 4.5 mm wide about two-thirds the distance from base, the anterior pair lanceolate, slightly oblique, acuminate, 14 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, the lateral pair linear-lanceolate, 8 mm long, 1 mm wide; corolla reddish orange (red at the summit, yellowish below), slightly exceeding the calyx, 15 mm long, the lips subequal, about 3.5 mm long, the upper erect, 2-lobed, the lobes triangular, 2 mm long, acute, the lower lip 3-lobed, the lobes ovate, obtuse; stamens reaching the base of the corolla lips; capsule 1 cm long.

TYPE.—H. H. Rusby 1108 (holotype NY, isotypes K, P, US), Bolivia, Beni, Yucuma, Reis, 450 m alt, June 1886.

DISTRIBUTION.—Restricted to the Bolivian Andes. BOLIVIA. BENI: Yucuma: Rurrenabaque at the Rio Beni (vicinity of Reyes), 10 Dec 1930, Fleischmann 313 (S); LA PAZ, Sur Yungas: Huachi, head of the Beni River, 540 m alt, 12 Aug. 1921, White 542 (NY, holotype of A. cryptantha Rusby, isotypes K, US). SANTA CRUZ: Sara: Buenavista, 27 Jun1925, J. Steinbach 7157 (S); Angostura, 550 m alt, 16 Jul 1966, R. Steinbach 338 (US); May 1892, O. Kuntze s.n. (NY).

Aphelandra rusbyi is distinguished by its spiny bracts and papery calyx segments the lateral pair of which are comparatively small. With the availability of additional material, the differences noted by Rusby between A. rusbyi and A. cryptantha can no longer be substantiated.