This page contains photos and description of a species, form or cultivar of Costaceae.

Gingersrus Database Taxon ID 7780

Costus douglasdalyi


OLD NAME: Costus sp. nov.

NEW NAME: Costus douglasdalyi

NAME CHANGE NOTES: New species published March 22, 2023 in PhytoKeys 222: 75-127, similar to erythrothyrsus but with narrow leaves.

FULL SCIENTIFIC NAME: Costus douglasdalyi Maas & H.Maas

STATUS : sp. nov.

CONTINENT: Neotropical

FIELD OBSERVATIONS:(If field observations are available, you can click on the link to open in a new window.)
FIELD OBSERVATIONS

PHOTOS:(If photos are available, you can click on the link to open in a new window.)
GOOGLE PHOTO ALBUM

SYNONYMS:


BOTANICAL NOTES:
Costus douglasdalyiwas published March 22, 2023 in PhytoKeys 222: 75-127 by Paul and Hiltje Maas. Paul Maas recognized that there is a discrete narrow leaf form of the species Costus erythrothyrsus that is common in the area around Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil when he visited the region in the 1970's and he has now decided to describe it as a new species, to be named in honor of Doug Daly of the New York Botanical Garden who has done so much for research in western Brazil.

Paul selected as the type specimen a collection, Daly 8606, from the Rio Tarauacá in the state of Acre, Brazil. This new species is distinguished from Costus erythrothyrsus by having very narrow, linear leaves and often flowering from the base (as in the Daly type specimen) instead of terminal on a leafy shoot.

I visited the area around Cruzeiro do Sul in Acre in 2019, assisted by Dr. Marcus Athaydes of the federal university (UFAC, Cruz. do Sul campus). I went to sites where Dr. Maas has recorded this new species and made detailed measurements of the flower parts and took photos to assist him in the description. A few of these plants flowered at the base on leafless shoots, but mostly were terminal flowering plants on tall leafy stems. The leaves did not to me seem to be quite as narrow or on as small a plant as the Daly type specimen, but I showed the photos to Paul Maas and he identified them as this new species. I also collected leaf tissue (my R3479) from one of the sites where Paul had seen this new species (Rondon site of Croat 85008).

I have had much difficulty in distinguishing this new species from another new species that Paul Maas is describing called Costus pseudospiralis. That species also occurs in Acre, Brazil but apparently only from the more southerly parts of that Brazilian state, in the Rio Acre region.

DNA has been extracted from my sample near Cruzeiro do Sul and from Paul's sample of C. pseudospiralis from Beni, Bolivia. Both those samples were found to be in a clade close to samples of Costus acreanus. Additional sampling may be needed to obtain a clear delination of these species.

HORTICULTURAL NOTES:
As of July 2022, my collections R3482, R3483 from Cruzeira do Sul, and R3489 (which was from the same river - Rio Tarauacá - as the type) have all flowered in my garden. They have produced both terminal inflorescences on the tall leafy stems and basal inflorescences on completely leafless shoots. These plants seem to be very easy to grow and easy to bring to flower.

ACCESSIONS:Click links (if any) to see details of individual collections. R3470- R3479- R3482- R3483- R3489-


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Photos (if available) of Taxon ID 7780
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Costus dalyi type specimen - Click to see full sized image
Photo# 480 Accession# R0
Costus dalyi type specimen


Costus sp. nov. dalyi (narrow leaf form aff. C. erythrothyrsus) Skinner R3482-83 from SESC, Cruz. do Sul, Acre, Brazil - Click to see full sized image
Photo# 389 Accession# R3482
Costus sp. nov. dalyi (narrow leaf form aff. C. erythrothyrsus) Skinner R3482-83 from SESC, Cruz. do Sul, Acre, Brazil


Costus dalyi, photo from Skinner R3482, grown from seeds - Click to see full sized image
Photo# 577 Accession# R3482
Costus dalyi, photo from Skinner R3482, grown from seeds