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 Photo# 16006 Specimen# R3200 Costus aff. laevis from Tulipe, Ecuador |
 Photo# 16007 Specimen# R3200 Costus aff. laevis from Tulipe, Ecuador |
 Photo# 16008 Specimen# R3200 Costus aff. laevis from Tulipe, Ecuador |
 Photo# 16009 Specimen# R3200 Costus aff. laevis from Tulipe, Ecuador |
 Photo# 16010 Specimen# R3200 Costus aff. laevis from Tulipe, Ecuador |
 Photo# 16011 Specimen# R3200 Costus aff. laevis from Tulipe, Ecuador |
 Photo# 16012 Specimen# R3200 Costus aff. laevis from Tulipe, Ecuador |
 Photo# 16013 Specimen# R3200 Costus aff. laevis from Tulipe, Ecuador |
 Photo# 16014 Specimen# R3200 Costus aff. laevis from Tulipe, Ecuador |
 Photo# 16015 Specimen# R3200 Costus aff. laevis from Tulipe, Ecuador |
 Photo# 16016 Specimen# R3200 Costus aff. laevis from Tulipe, Ecuador |
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PLANT FAMILY: Costaceae BOTANICAL NAME: Costus laevis aff. laevis 'Tulipe' FORMAL SCIENTIFIC NAME: STATUS : CONTINENT: Neotropical SYNONYMS: BOTANICAL NOTES: This plant was found in 2009 near the village of Tulipe in Imbabura Province of Ecuador. The plant was very tall and had a rounded inflorescence with yellow, open labellum flowers similar to Costus glaucus. The stems were dark purple in color unlike the normal glaucus new stems of the species by that name. I really do not know how this should be classified, and initially it was placed under C. glaucus. The plant flowered in cultivation in 2015 and is now determined to be closer to the species Costus laevis. It has the same sheathing of the inflorescence as other examples of C. laevis that are found in South America to the east of the Andes. It is also close to the cultivars 'Lemon Chiffon' and 'Nirvana' found in the mountains of Colombia. The location where this plant was found is at 1500 meters in the pre-montaigne forest of the Andes western flank in northern Ecuador near the town of Tulipe and the cultivar name derives from that locale. This area is known for its high number of endemics. More on the location at http://www.tulipecloudforest.org - Amigos del Bosque Tulipe-Pachijal Cloud Forest. A thumbnail page showing photos of this plant can be found at http://www.gingersrus.com/images/R3200 OBSERVATION NOTES:near Tulipe, about 45 km NW of Quito, Ecuador, Latitude 0.1137, Longitude -78.7378, at 1500 meters elevation. |