| Maianthemum flexuosum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asparagaceae |
| Subfamily: | Nolinoideae |
| Genus: | Maianthemum |
| Species: | M. flexuosum |
| Binomial name | |
| Maianthemum flexuosum (Bertol.) LaFrankie | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Maianthemum flexuosum is a perennial, terrestrial understory herb of cloud forests from southern Mexico to Nicaragua. [2] It has been found at sites from 1300 to 2800 m elevation. [3]
Maianthemum flexuosum grows 40–75 cm (16–30 in) [2] tall from spreading rhizomes with roots clumped near the base of leafy shoots. Leafy, arching stems are hairless and slightly ribbed.
There are 7-9 (sometimes up to 12 leaves) set 3.5–6 cm (1–2 in) apart; more closely spaced near the tip of the plant. [2] Leaves have short petioles, less than 5 mm long and are 8–12 cm (3–5 in) long by 3–5 cm (1–2 in) wide [2] with evident veins. Leaf blades sometimes have small hairs but are usually hairless, lance- to egg-shaped with pointed tips and rounded to slightly tapered bases and with undulating edges.
25 to 65 flowers are set in a complex raceme with a main axis 5 – 18 cm long that is drooping and flexuous. The axis is smooth to slightly ribbed, green, and smooth. There are 10 to 16 nodes along the main axis, 1-8 (up to 20) mm apart and arranged in 2 rows along the main axis. Each node has 2 to 4 (sometimes up to 6) flowers set on drooping pedicels that are usually 8-21 mm long.
The flowers have tepals that are spreading to bent back, 5-11 mm long and usually lavender to pink (rarely white to green-white). Stamens are inserted slightly (about 1 mm) above the tepal bases. Fruits are distinctly 3-lobed, 7-11 mm across, green when immature, ripening to red. Flowering is from January to June; fruits set May to August. Plants sometimes have both flowers and fruits.
Maianthemum flexuosum has been found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua [1] and several states in Mexico Southeast including Chiapas, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Oaxaca, and Veracruz. [3]
This is an understory herb of wet, broad-leaved cloud forests. It is often solitary or sometimes loosely colonial and typically found at sites from 1450 to 2200 m elevation [2] although it has been found at sites as low as 1000 m to others at over 2500 m. [3]