Aphelandra lingua-bovis Leonard

Aphelandra lingua-bovis Leonard

Aphelandra lingua-bovis Leonard, Contrib. U.S. Nat. Herb. 31:268. 1953.

Small shrubs; stems simple or sparingly branched, terete or subquadrangular toward tip, densely strigillose; leaf blades elliptic, oblong or broadly oblanceolate, to 36 cm long and 14.5 cm wide, acuminate, gradually narrowed to base and decurrent on the petiole, subchartaceous, entire or undulate, the upper surface drying green or olive, glabrous or the younger leaves sparingly strigose, the costa and lateral veins (14–20 pairs) flat or slightly raised, fairly conspicuous, the lower surface drying a somewhat lighter shade than the upper, finely strigillose, densely so on the costa and veins, these raised and fairly conspicuous; petioles (unwinged portion) to 3 cm long, the pubescence that of the stems; spikes solitary or several, terminal, to 25 cm long and 1.5 cm broad, the peduncles about 5 mm long, strigose, the rachis glabrous; bracts bright red (living), drying brownish red, entire, rhombic-ovate, 15 mm long, 11 mm wide, slightly obtuse, glabrous or bearing a few minute hairs toward tip, minutely and sparingly scurfy without, the costa prominent and excurrent, ending in a minute mucro, the lateral nerves rather prominent, reticulately anastomosing toward tip, the margins ciliolate, the ocelli replaced by dull brown, alveolar, elliptic areas to 3 mm long and 1 mm wide; bractlets lanceolate, 16 mm long, 3 mm wide, acuminate, the keel hirsute; calyx 18 mm long, the posterior segment oblong-lanceolate, 6 mm wide, hirsute-strigose dorsally, acute, the anterior pair narrowly oblong, about 3 mm wide, the lateral pair slightly narrower than the anterior, both pairs glabrous, acute to acuminate, ciliate at tip, all 5 segments delicately striate-nerved; corolla 5.5–6 cm long, bright red or reddish yellow, puberulous, the tube subcylindric, slightly curved, 3.5 mm broad at base, 6 mm broad at mouth, the upper lip erect, elliptic, 16 mm long, 7 mm wide, the lobes triangular, 4 mm long, partly adnate to the lower part of the upper lip, the free portions triangular, about 1.5 mm long and 1 mm wide, acute; stamens slightly exserted; anthers 6 mm long and 1 mm broad at base, apiculate at both ends, the tip arachnoid-pilose; capsule not seen.

TYPE.—W. A. Archer 2012 (holotype US), Colombia, Chocó, La Concepcion, 15 km E of Quibdó, 75 m alt, 30 Apr 1931.

DISTRIBUTION.—At low elevations, less than 100 meters, in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. COSTA RICA. PUNTARENAS: Between Golfo Dulce and Río Térraba, 30 m alt, Dec 1947, Skutch 5284 (US); Canton de Osa, vicinity Tinoco Station, area between Río Esquinas and Palmar Sur de Osa, 30 m alt, 16 Mar 1950, Allen 5477 (US); Palmar, 5 Mar 1956, Schubert 1156 (US); 10 km SE of Palmar Norte along Interamerican Hwy, 20 m alt, 26 Jan 1967, Burger & Matta 4650 (F, US). PANAMA. BOCAS DEL TORO: Pumpkin River, vicinity of Chiriqui Lagoon, 31 Jul 1941, von Wedel 2589 (US). DARIEN: Vicinity of Pinogana, 20 m alt, 6 Oct 1938, Allen 924 (MO, US). COLOMBIA. ANTIOQUIA: Villa Arteaga, 150 m alt, 4–8 Aug 1947, Hodge 7012 (US). CALDAS: Santa Cecilia, 800 m alt, 30 Nov 1945, von Sneidern 5080 (US). CHOCÓ: Between La Oveja and Quibdó, 1–2 Apr 1931, Archer 1731 (US); Río Atrato, Tanando, 60 m alt, 1 Apr 1958, Cuatrecasas & Llano 24118 (US); Río Taparal, off Río San Juan, 30 m alt, 17 Aug 1962. Robinson 229 (COL, US).