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 Photo# 11397 Specimen# R0 Costus aff pauciflorus at Smithsonian Research Greenhouse, Washington, DC |
 Photo# 11398 Specimen# R0 Costus aff pauciflorus at Smithsonian Research Greenhouse, Washington, DC |
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PLANT FAMILY: Costaceae BOTANICAL NAME: Costus pauciflorus FORMAL SCIENTIFIC NAME: STATUS :synonym CONTINENT: African SYNONYMS: BOTANICAL NOTES: This African species is placed in synonymy with Costus tappenbeckianus (PID3439) in Paul Maas' monograph on African Costaceae, published on 16 December 2016. (Monograph of African Costaceae, H. Maas-van de Kamer, P.J.M. Maas, J.J. Wieringa, C.D. Specht, Blumea 61, 2016: 280 - 318, http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/nhn/blumea/2016/00000061/00000003/art00010) Costus pauciflorus, Schumann - Flora of Tropical Africa, 1898 - describes this species. Leafy stem under a foot long, arising from a creeping rootstock, with two sheaths in the lower half and two leaves in the upper half some distance apart. Leaves oblong, 4-6 in. long, 2-3 in. broad at the middle, moderately firm, obtuse, rounded at eh base, pubescent beneath; petiole and ligule both very short. Flowers 2-3 in a spike, arising direct from the rootstock on a short peduncle; bracts ovate, scariose, the outer 1 1/4 in. long. Calyx spathaceous, slit in the upper third,. Corolla lobes oblanceolate, membranous, obtuse, 1 1/4 in. long. Lip 2 in. long and broad, obovate-cuneate, tinged with lilac; petaloid filament obtuse, half as long as the lip; anther cells placed half way down it, 1/4 in. long. Lower Guinea, Gaboon; Sibange Farm, swamps iin forest clearings, A very distinct species with a flower spike and bracts like those of Amomum. |