Alloplectus

Alloplectus

Full name and orig. publication: Alloplectus Mart., Nov. gen. sp. pl. 3: 53, t. 223 (Jan.-June 1829).

Etymology: From the Greek άλλος, allos = diverse, and πλεκτος, plectos = pleated, folded, alluding to the calyx whose lobes are folded backwards (recurved).

Synonyms: - 

Infrafamilial position: Gesnerioideae-Gesnerieae-Columneinae (Weber et al. 2013).

Description: Epiphytic subshrubs with fibrous roots. Stems terete or quadrangular, usually scandent, prolifically branched. Leaves opposite, ± isophyllous, petiolate, lamina elliptic to ovate, margin entire or serrate, secondary venation inconspicuous in dry leaves. Cymes axillary, 1- to 3-flowered, bracteolate. Flowers densely crowded or solitary, non-resupinate, peduncle ± absent. Sepals nearly free, green or colored, broadly ovate, entire to strongly serrate, pubescent or pilose. Corolla oblique to horizontal in the calyx, tubular and usually ampliate, yellow or red, constricted at the throat, base gibbous, often ventricose just below the mouth, limb of usually 5 small lobes. Stamens 4, included; filaments adnate to base of corolla tube; anthers transversely oblong, coherent or becoming free, dehiscing by longitudinal slits. Nectary a 2-lobed (rarely single-lobed) gland. Ovary superior, pilose, style included. Fruit a fleshy bivalved capsule surrounded by the persistent calyx. Seeds numerous, longitudinally striate.

Chromosome number: 2n = 18.

Species number: 5-6.

Species names: (1) A. aquatilis C.V.Morton, (2) A. dimorphobracteatus Hoehne (fide Clark et al. 2020, not accepted in Clark's 2005 revision), (3) A. hispidus (Kunth) Mart., (4) A. inflatus J.L.Clark & L.E.Skog, (5) A. tessmannii Mansf., (6) A. weirii (Kuntze) Wiehler.

Type species: Alloplectus hispidus (Kunth) Mart., typ. cons. [Basionym: Besleria hispida Kunth].

Distribution: From Costa Rica to the Andes of Colombia, northern Ecuador and Peru.

Ecology: Obligately epiphytic, growing in moist and wet forests, usually occurring at higher elevations (500-) 2000 - 3500 m.

Notes:
(1) For a long time, the genus Alloplectus was a taxonomical wastebasket, with more than 140 species referred to it. It was drastically remodelled by Wiehler (1973), and more recently reduced to 5 species, mainly on the basis of molecular data (Clark 2005, 2006, Clark et al.  2006). The large remainder of the species were distributed among seven other genera. The closest relatives of Alloplectus are the genera Glossoloma, Crantzia, Drymonia, and Columnea.
(2) Characteristic features of Alloplectus include: obligate epiphytic habit, stems extensively branched, leaves ± isophyllous, with inconspicuous secondary veins (at least when dry), flowers non-resupinate, corolla pouched below the mouth, longitudinally split anthers, and  fleshy capsules.

Selected references: Wiehler, Phytologia 27: 309-328 (1973); Skog, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 65: 793-802 (1979), reg. rev. (Panama); Feuillet & Steyermark, Fl. Venezuel. Guayana 5 (1999), reg. rev.; Skog, Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 85: 1114-1128 (2001), reg. rev. (Nicaragua); Clark, Skog & Salinas, Novon 15: 70-79 (2005), new spp. (some later transferred to Glossoloma); Clark, Selbyana 25: 182-209 (2005), rev. of  Alloplectus; Clark, J.L., Herendeen, P.S., Skog, L.E., Zimmer, E.A., Taxon 55: 313-336 (2006), molec. syst.; Clark, Gesneriads 56(3): 20-25 (2006), surv.; Clark et al., Rheedea 30(1): 190–256 (2020), index to neotrop. taxa.

Tax. details, cytology, and bibliography: Gesneriaceae Resource Centre (GRC). Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Page content and update responsibility/contact: John L. Clark.
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