Corytoplectus

Full name and orig. publication: Corytoplectus Oerst., Centralamer. Gesner. 45 (1858).

Etymology: Derived from κωρυς, kōrys = helmet, or (less probably) κωρυτος, kōrytos (Latin corytus) = leather pouch, quiver, and πλεκτος, plectos = pleated, folded, meaning that the calyx lobes look like helmets or pouches.

Synonyms: Diplolegnon Rusby (1900).

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

Description (from Rodríguez-Flores & Skog 2008, 97): Herbs to shrubs; stems erect, to 1.5 m tall, rarely more than 2 m, 3.5-7 (-10) mm in diameter, covered with sericeous, tomen-tose, strigillose, or hirsutulous indument distally, glabrescent at base, internodes 1-6 (-10) cm long. Leaves opposite, isophyllous to subequal; blades chartaceous or membra-nous when dry, (3.5-) 8-25 (-36) cm long, (2-) 3-14 (-20) cm wide, most commonly ovate to broadly elliptic, less commonly el-liptic, base cuneate, obtuse or attenuate (rarely cordate or oblique), apex acute, acu-minate or obtuse, margin mostly crenate-serrate to crenulate-serrulate, less common-' ly serrate, serrulate or crenate, strongly ru-gose to flat, adaxially dark green or dark green with paler veins, densely to sparsely strigose, strigillose, and with glandular in-dument, rarely long pilose, abaxially paler green, red or purple, the veins densely to sparsely strigillose and glandular (some-times strigose), or densely sericeous to stri-gose above, margin ciliate to hirsutulous, lateral veins (5-) 7-12 (-16) per side; pet-ioles (1-) 4-9 (-12) cm long, densely to sparsely strigillose, tomentose, hirsutulous or hirsute. Inflorescences vary from dense-ly congested umbel-like cymes to open cymes, pseudoterrninal and axillary in the apical part of the stem, less frequently dis-tributed along the stem, erect, of (1-) 3-7 (-15) flowers; peduncles 0-25 (-50) mm long, strigillose, tomentose, hirsute or seri-ceous; pedicels usually shorter than or equal to the peduncle (when the latter is present), 6-45 (-60) mm long, strigillose, tomentose, hirsute, or sericeous; bracts 2 (sometimes with 2 or 4 prophylls), varying from persis-tent to caducous, 7-29 (-40) mm long, (1.5-) 4-20 (-30) mm wide, most common-ly lanceolate, ovate, or orbicular, rarely ob-lanceolate, base obtuse, attenuate, or cune-ate, apex acute, acuminate, or obtuse, mar-gin varying from entire to denticulate or serrulate, flat to rugose, red, orange, pink, purple, or green flushed with red, outside densely or sparsely pubescent, inside gla-brescent covered with short glandular and strigillose indument. Calyx red, pink, or-ange, or purple, lobes free, subequal or un-equal, ovate, deltoid, lanceolate, orbicular, or elliptic, 9-15 (-30) mm long, (3.5-) 6.5-13 (-21) mm wide, varying from reflexed laterally to strongly concave (apical edge folded toward the base), base attenuate, cu-neate, or obtuse, apex acute, acuminate or obtuse, outside strigillose or strigose with short glandular hairs (rarely merely pubes-cent), midvein varying from densely seri-ceous to strigose, inside glabrescent covered with short glandular and strigillose indu-ment at apex, margin remotely denticulate, serrulate to entire (rarely serrate), hirsutu-lous to pilose. Corolla tubular-urceolate to tubular-ventricose, rarely tubular or urceo-late, slightly oblique and longer than calyx, 14-25 (-30) mm long, 5-11 (-16) mm in diameter at widest point, throat constricted 3-6 (-9) mm in diameter, yellow, orange, pink, or red, less frequently purple, outside glabrous at base and villous, lanate, or se-riceous apically, sometimes indument in stripes, inside puberulous or glabrous at base, glabrescent or glandular at middle, and with short-capitate glandular hairs at throat; limb purple, pink, orange, yellow, red, or purple, varying from constricted to broadly spreading, lobes (0.5-) 1.3-3 (-7) mm long and wide, subequal, rotund to or-bicular (sometimes almost reniform), entire to erose, outside glabrous or covered with indument, inside usually glabrous. Androe-cium of stamens with filaments (5-) 7-13 (-15) mm long (free part), adnate to base of corolla tube for ca. 1 mm, connate for (1-) 1.5-4 (-8) mm in an open sheath, sheath apex usually pubescent, free portion of fil-aments glabrous or pubescent, stamens equally distributed on the sheath, less fre-quently in pairs; anthers 1.5-3 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, dehiscing by longitudinal slits; staminode absent. Disc of nectary glands solitary or two (rarely four), to 3 mm high and 3.5 mm wide, glabrous. Gynoecium with the ovary ovoid, 1.5-3 (-5) mm long, 2.5-3.5 (-5) mm in diameter, glabrous or pubescent, sometimes sericeous; style 5.5-10 (-18) mm long, glabrous or pubescent with glandular hairs; stigma bilobed--capi-tate to stomatomorphic. Fruit a translucent berry, (3.5-) 7-10 (-13) mm in diameter, sparsely pubescent to glabrous; seeds nu-merous, fusiform to elliptic, to 1 mm long, 0.5 mm wide, striate, dark brown to black.

Chromosome number: 2n = 18.

Species number: 11.

Species names (only given in case of few species).

Type species: Corytoplectus capitatus (Hook.f.) Wiehler

Distribution: Northwestern South America (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela).

Ecology: Terrestrial plants, mainly growing in montane and cloud forests at high elevations.

Notes:
(1) Following the molecular-phylogenetic/taxonomic studies of Alloplectus (see there), Corytoplectus was revised by Rodríguez-Flores & Skog (2008), who recognised 11 species (including two ones described as new).
(2) Morphologically, the plants are characterised by a terrestrial habit (no climbers or epiphytes), an erect, (sub)quadrangular stem, often variegated leaves, a pleated, mostly red or orange calyx, a tubular-urceolate to tubular-ventricose corolla, 1-4 separated nectar glands, and translucent berry fruits that are partially covered by the accrescent calyx lobes.
(3) Pollination is possibly by butterflies and hummingbirds. Observations are lacking.

Selected references: Wiehler, Phytologia 27: 309-328 (1973), re-establ., Rodríguez-Flores & Skog, Selbyana 29(1): 02-124 (2008), rev.

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

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