Asterogyne yaracuyense Information
Identification:
Stem solitary, erect, sometimes basally decumbent, 3-6 m tall, 5-8 cm diam., brown, occasionally with basal and lateral vegetative branches; internodes 2-3 cm long; aerial roots forming a short basal cone; pneumatodes very short. Leaves 18-25(-31), reddish brown when young, green when mature, the older ones briefly persistent; sheath 12-30 x 7-9 cm, reddish brown tomentose, the margins slightly fibrous; petiole (18-)25-35 x 1-1.5 cm, flat to channelled adaxially, angled to rounded abaxially, the indumentum same as on sheath, the margin slightly fibrous near base; midvein 56-95 cm x 0.3-0.6 cm, loosely brownish grey tomentose, flat to channelled adaxially, rounded to flat abaxially; blade 0.70-1.20 x 0.23-0.30 m, dull green adaxially, greyish green and covered with a whitish farinose indumentum abaxially, deeply bifid at apex for ca. 42 cm; primary veins 40-70 per side, emerging at 25-30 angle at midvein, mostly prominent abaxially, loosely brown tomentose. Inflorescence branched to 1 order; peduncle 85-95 cm long, 1.5-2 cm diam., dorsiventrally compressed; prophyll 27-35 cm long, 2-3.5(-5) cm diam., chartaceous, inserted at base of peduncle or 1 cm above it; peduncular bracts 2, with indumentum same as on prophyll, chartaceous, brown; first peduncular bract 45-58 x 2-2.5(-4) cm, inserted 3 cm above base of peduncle, second peduncular bract 58-60 x 2.5-3.5 cm, inserted 4 cm above base of peduncle; inflorescence rachis 5-10 cm long, 0.5 cm diam., dorsiventrally to irregularly compressed, pale green at anthesis, almost glabrous; rachillae 9-16, slightly peiident, the same colour as inflorescence rachis, glabrous; basal rachillae 28-32 cm long, 0.5 cm diam.; middle rachillae 27-29 cm long, 0.5 cm diam.; apical rachillae 24-28 cm long, 0.5 cm diam., the sterile apex acute, 0.2-0.6 cm; flower pits spirally arranged, 2-3 mm apart from each other, covered with an inflexed lower lip, 2.5-3 x 2-5 mm. Staminate flowers obovoid, 6-8 mm long, 2 mm diam., slightly fragrant, white at anthesis, the pedicel to 1 mm long; sepals oblong-obovoid, 4 x 1-2 mm; petals oblong-obovoid, 6-7 x 1.5-2 mm; stamens 8-10; filaments united into a tube to 4 mm long, the free parts 3-3.5 mm long, 0.5 mm diam., white, conspicuously thinner at apex, lacking a papillate epidermis; connective 1 mm long; thecae 1.1-1.2 mm long; pistillode 2 mm long. Pistillate flowers oblong-ovoid in bud, 4 mm long, 3 mm diam., the pedicel to 1 mm long; sepals oblong-ovate, 3 x 2- 2.5 mm; petals oblong, 3 x 2 mm; ovary I mm long, 1.2 mm diam.; style 1.5 mm long; stigmatic branches 1 mm long; staminodial tube 2 mm long, the lobes 7-8 or sometimes fewer by congenital union of 2 of them, 2 mm long. Fruits not known.
Work in progress
Species Information currently being revised!
Distribution:
Native to, Venezuela
Known only from the understory of the Cerro La Chapa cloud forest, in the northern Coastal Cordillera, state Yaracuy, Venezuela; recently reported on the Cerro El Zapatero of the same state; between 1200-1400 m.
Location: Venezuela (10.199143°N, -68.604813°E)