Heliconia section Perplexae W. J. Kress

1.1. 2. Heliconia section Perplexae W. J. Kress , sect. nov.

Figs 3 C, D View Figure 3

Type.

Heliconia impudica Abalo & Morales.

Description and taxonomic notes.

Medium-sized rhizomatous herbs with Musa - like habit. Inflorescence erect, with peduncle, rachis and cincinnal bracts variously colored with red and yellow; cincinnal bracts distichous or spirally arranged, horizontal to deflexed. Flowers with diurnal anthesis, resupinate; perianth uniformly curved, white to green to yellow, variously shaped; ovary green to yellow. Fruits blue, glabrous. This section includes four species native to Colombia and Ecuador, which were included in subgen. Stenochlamys sect. Lanea by earlier authors (e. g., Andersson 1992; Kress et al. 1999). According to the genomic data, a fifth species, H. brenneri Abalo & Morales , is also placed in this section. However, in this classification it is placed in subgen. Heliconia sect. Longae where it shares morphological traits with H. foreroi Abalo & Morales and H. attratensis Abalo & Morales with erect, red, distichous cincinnal bracts and non-resupinate flowers. Section Perplexae has 1.00 LPP support as a monophyletic group and 1.0 LPP support as sister to sect. Heliconiopsis in the phylogenomic analysis.

Species.

* Heliconia gaiboriana Abalo & Morales ; * H. impudica Abalo & Morales ; * H. virginalis Abalo & Morales ; * H. willisiana Abalo & Morales.

Distribution.

Tropical Andean South America ( Colombia, Ecuador).