Deuterocohnia meziana subsp. pedicellata ( Till 2004: 42 ) N. Schütz

Deuterocohnia meziana subsp. pedicellata ( Till 2004: 42) N. Schütz View in CoL stat. et comb. nov.

≡ D. pedicellata W. Till (basionym).

Type:— BOLIVIA. Dept. Chuquisaca: Prov. Belisario Boeto, 30 km after crossing the Río Grande on the road from Vallegrande to Villa Serrano, 18 km before Siberia al Nuevo Mundo , 18°54'03'' S, 64°17'49'' W, 1200 m, 21 October 2001, Vargas 6285 (holotype: WU! (5 sheets) GoogleMaps , isotypes: LPB GoogleMaps , MO! GoogleMaps ).

Leaf blade length 50–80 cm. Inflorescence lax, many-flowered. Floral bracts inconspicuous. Flowers 23–28 mm long (without pedicel), shortly to conspicuously pedicellate, pedicels up to 15 mm. Sepals 7–10 mm long, greenish. Petals 20–25 mm long, yellow, with greenish apex.

Distribution:— BOLIVIA: Dept. Chuquisaca. 18°30'– 19°00'S; 64°15'– 64°30' W.

Habitat and ecology:—Ecoregion: Bolivian montane dry forests. At elevations of 900–1400 m. Terrestrial, on slopes in dry forests of Intern-Andean valleys. Flowers reported in October and November. Pollinated probably by hummingbirds and insects as it is the case for the other subspecies of D. meziana .

Etymology:—The epithet refers to the conspicuous flower stalk. (Latin pedicellatus = stalked).

Affinities:— Deuterocohnia meziana subsp. pedicellata is distinct from the other remaining subspecies, due to the long pedicels and the greenish sepals. Usually the flowers are slightly shorter. Some plants that occur in the border region of Chuquisaca and Santa Cruz or Cochabamba may actually represent intermediate forms between D. meziana subsp. pedicellata and D. meziana subsp. carmineo-viridiflora . Southwards, in Tarija, hybrids with D. longipetala may be located.

Notes and comments:—(a) The type voucher Vargas 6285 notes “Villa Seroño”, probably “Villa Serrano” was meant.

(b) The protologue mentions the petal colour as distinct from a typical yellow or yellow–greenish colour of many Deuterocohnia species , probably in relation to the description on the type voucher (“flores de color café amarillo en la base”). Nevertheless, field collections revealed yellowish petals with green tips.

Specimens examined:— BOLIVIA. Dept. Chuquisaca: Prov. Belisario Boeto: 5 km after crossing the bridge Santa Rosa over the Río Grande   GoogleMaps , on the road from Pucara   GoogleMaps to Villa Serrano   GoogleMaps , 18°46′22′′ S, 64°18′48′′ W, 956 m, 29 November 2009, Schütz et al. 09-010 (LPB); 10 km after crossing the bridge Santa   GoogleMaps Rosa over the Río Grande   GoogleMaps , on the road from Pucara to Villa Serrano, 18°47′ S, 64°19′ W, 1000 m, 29 November 2009, Schütz et al. 09-015 (LPB); 25 km after crossing the bridge Santa   GoogleMaps Rosa over the Río Grande   GoogleMaps , on the road from Pucara to Villa Serrano, 18°51.67′ S, 64°18.22′ W, 1400 m, 29 November 2009, Schütz et al. 09-009 (FR (2 sheets), LPB (2 sheets)). 30 km after crossing the Río Grande   GoogleMaps on the road from Vallegrande to Villa Serrano, 18 km before Siberia al Nuevo Mundo, 18°54'03'' S, 64°17'49'' W, 1200 m, 21 October 2001, Vargas et al. 6285 (LPB, MO, WU (5 sheets)).