| Maianthemum monteverdense | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asparagaceae |
| Subfamily: | Nolinoideae |
| Genus: | Maianthemum |
| Species: | M. monteverdense |
| Binomial name | |
| Maianthemum monteverdense LaFrankie | |
Maianthemum monteverdense is a perennial flowering plant of restricted distribution. It grows as an epiphyte on trees in high cloud forests of 1600 m + elevation [1] from Nicaragua to Costa Rica. [2]
Plants grow 60–85 cm (24–33 in) tall. Roots grow uniformly along forked rhizomes that are 4–6 cm (2–2 in) wide. Stems are arching and leafy; usually with 12-16 leaves set 4–8 cm (2–3 in) apart (closer near the top of the plant). [1]
Leaves usually clasp the stalk or sometimes have a short, 1–2 mm long petiole. Leaf blades are egg- to lance-shaped with pointed tips and rounded bases 13–15 cm (5–6 in) long by 9–10 cm (4–4 in) wide and with flat (not wavy) edges. Veins are prominent and the leaf surface is hairless and shiny.
Forty to 60 flowers are set on a branched flowering stalk (panicle). The main axis of the panicle is usually 15–20 cm long, pendent and slightly flexuous. It is hairless, shiny and light green. The side branches of the panicle are short, spreading, set at about 1–2 cm intervals along the main axis and are arranged in a helix. Each side branch has 4-6 flowers, set on 1–2.5 cm long stalks (pedicels). [1]
The flowers are cup-shaped and made up of yellow-green tepals 5-5.5 mm long and 2 mm wide. Stamens are inserted at the base of the tepals. Fruits are 3-lobed, 10–12 mm across, green ripening to red. Flowering occurs from December to February and fruits remain on the plant into August. [1]
Found in Costa Rica from the provinces of Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, and Puntarenas and in Nicaragua from Jinotega departmento. [3]
Maianthemum monteverdense is an epiphyte that grows on canopy trees of cloud forests, but will persist in blow-downs under an open canopy. It is generally found at sites from 1600 to 1700 m elevation, [1] but has been found at sites below 1000 m elevation in Nicaragua and up to 2300 m in Costa Rica. [3]
Maianthemum monteverdense is similar to Maianthemum amoenum . Both are epiphytes of cloud forests, but M. amoenum is a smaller plant with a shorter, erect flowering panicle with a red rather than green central axis. [1]
Syngonium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical rain forests in southern Mexico, the West Indies, Central and South America. They are woody vines growing to heights of 10–20 m or more in trees. They have leaves that change shape according to the plant's stage of growth, and adult leaf forms are often much more lobed than the juvenile forms usually seen on small house plants. The scientific name of the genus comes from the Greek words σύν and γονή and refers to the fused ovaries of female flowers.
Conocarpus erectus, commonly called buttonwood or button mangrove, is a mangrove shrub in the family Combretaceae. This species grows on shorelines in tropical and subtropical regions around the world.
Maianthemum is a genus of rhizomatous, herbaceous, perennial flowering plants. It is widespread across much of North America, Europe and Asia, and may be terrestrial, aquatic or epiphytic.
Maianthemum canadense is an understory perennial flowering plant, native to Canada and the north-eastern United States, from Yukon and British Columbia east to Newfoundland, into St. Pierre and Miquelon. It can be found growing in both coniferous and deciduous forests. The plant appears in two forms, either as a single leaf rising from the ground with no fruiting structures or as a flowering/fruiting stem with 2-3 leaves. Flowering shoots have clusters of 12–25 starry-shaped, white flowers held above the leaves.
Maianthemum racemosum is a species of flowering plant native to North America. It is a common, widespread plant known from every US state except Hawaii, and from every Canadian province and territory except Nunavut, as well as from Mexico.
Maianthemum trifolium is a species of flowering plant that is associated with extremely wet environments and is native to Canada and the northeastern United States as well as St. Pierre and Miquelon and Asia (Siberia).
Selenicereus costaricensis or Hylocereus costaricensis, known as the Costa Rican pitahaya or Costa Rica nightblooming cactus, is a cactus species native to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The species is grown commercially for its fruit, called pitaya or pitahaya, but is also an impressive ornamental vine with huge flowers. Its scientific name is problematic for several reasons. The species may not be distinct from Selenicereus monacanthus.
Maianthemum stellatum is a species of flowering plant, native across North America generally from Alaska to California to North Carolina to Newfoundland, plus northern Mexico. It has been found in every Canadian province and territory except Nunavut, and from every US state except Hawaii and the states of the Southeast. It has little white buds in the spring, followed by delicate starry flowers, then green-and-black striped berries, and finally deep red berries in the fall.
Guazuma ulmifolia, commonly known as West Indian elm or bay cedar, is a medium-sized tree normally found in pastures and disturbed forests. This flowering plant from the family Malvaceae grows up to 30m in height and 30–40cm in diameter. It is widely found in areas such as the Caribbean, South America, Central America and Mexico serving several uses that vary from its value in carpentry to its utility in medicine.
Scadoxus nutans is a herbaceous plant endemic to southwest Ethiopia. Its red to pink flowers face downwards as the top of the flowering stem bends over, unlike any of the other species of Scadoxus. It grows mainly as an epiphyte in tropical mountain forests, which are disappearing, making the species vulnerable to extinction. It is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental plant.
Maianthemum paniculatum is a perennial flowering plant; a species of monocot found from Mexico to Panama. It is often associated with montane environments and is found primarily in forest openings and along roadsides.
Leucospermum secundifolium is a low, evergreen shrub that grows along the ground, the tip of the branches slightly rising, which ihs been assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has narrowly elliptic leaves with a distinct leafstalk, and few-flowered and very small heads of 1–1½ cm (0.4–0.6 in) across. It is called stalked pincushion in English. The sweetly scented flower heads may be found around early December. It is an endemic species that only grows in a small area of the Western Cape province of South-Africa.
Maianthemum amoenum is a perennial flowering plant, growing as an epiphyte on trees in cloud forests from Mexico south to Honduras.
Maianthemum gigas is a perennial flowering plant. It is found in Mexico and Central America, growing in forest openings and along roadsides or sometimes as an epiphyte on trees.
Maianthemum paludicola is a perennial flowering plant. It is a rare terrestrial herb, endemic to Costa Rica. It has only been found in high-elevation bogs and wetlands and was first described in 1986.
Maianthemum macrophyllum is a perennial flowering plant. It is a rare epiphtic herb endemic to Veracruz and Oaxaca, Mexicoand is known only from primary cloud forests, usually growing on limbs of oaks or sweetgum ..
Maianthemum scilloideum is a perennial flowering plant. It is a terrestrial forest herb from southern Mexico and Guatemalaand also reported in Honduras.
Maianthemum flexuosum is a perennial, terrestrial understory herb of cloud forests from southern Mexico to Nicaragua. It has been found at sites from 1300 to 2800 m elevation.
Maianthemum salvinii is a rare perennial, epiphytic herb found in southern Mexico and Guatemala.
Maianthemum mexicanum is a perennial, terrestrial herb found as an understory species in moist forests. It is endemic to west-central Mexico.
LaFrankie (October 1986). "Morphology and taxonomy of the new world species of Maianthemum (Liliaceae)". Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. 67 (4): 371–439.