''Acostia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

n plants in the

grass family Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

. The only known species is ''Acostia gracilis'', found only in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. It is listed as an endangered species. The genus name of ''Acostia'' is in honour of

Misael Acosta Solís Misael Acosta Solís ( Ambato, December 16, 1910 – Quito, April, 1994) was an Ecuadorian naturalist. He earned a doctorate degree from the School of Natural Science of the Central University of Ecuador. In 1939 he became a corresponding membe ...

(1910–1994), an Ecuadorian naturalist. The Latin

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

of ''gracilis'' means "slender". Both the genus and the species were first described and published in Bol. Soc. Argent. Bot. Vol.12 on page 109 in 1968.

References

Panicoideae Monotypic Poaceae genera Endemic flora of Ecuador Endangered plants Plants described in 1968 {{Panicoideae-stub

See also

References