''Corytoplectus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

in the plant family

Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Gesnerioideae), wi ...

. Plants from ''Corytoplectus'' are found in Bolivia,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

North, Colombia,

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: ' ...

, Guyana,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Southwest,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, in the cloud-forests of the high

cordillera A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly u ...

. The genus contains c. 12 species. The genus differs from the closely related ''

Alloplectus ''Alloplectus'' is a genus of Neotropical plants in the family Gesneriaceae. A recent revision of the genus includes five species, with the majority of species in the genus as traditionally circumscribed being transferred to ''Crantzia ''Crant ...

'' in having an erect umbellate inflorescence and berries. The type species is '' C. capitatus''.

Description

''Corytoplectus'' species are herbs or shrubs ranging from 0.5–2 m tall. The stems are erect and subquadrangular, but becoming quadrangular near the top. The fruit is a

translucent In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale (one in which the dimensions ...

berry with dark striate (with parallel longitudinal ridges or lines) seeds. The leaves have dark green upper surfaces with veins which are paler. The inflorescences are mostly erect.

Etymology

According to Rodriques-Flores and Skog, ''Corytoplectus'' derives from the Latin (leather pouch) and (pleated or folded). They believe the name to be suitable, because, in profile, the calyces look like pleated leather pouches. However, an alternative view says that rather than deriving from the Latin , the name derives from the Greek (helmet), giving "pleated helmet".

List of species

* ''

Corytoplectus capitatus ''Corytoplectus'' is a genus in the plant family Gesneriaceae. Plants from ''Corytoplectus'' are found in Bolivia, Brazil North, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico Southwest, Peru, Venezuela, in the cloud-forests of the high cordillera. The gen ...

'' (

Hook. Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew h ...

) Wiehler * ''

Corytoplectus congestus ''Corytoplectus'' is a genus in the plant family Gesneriaceae. Plants from ''Corytoplectus'' are found in Bolivia, Brazil North, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico Southwest, Peru, Venezuela, in the cloud-forests of the high cordillera. The gen ...

'' ( Linden ex Hanst.) Wiehler * '' Corytoplectus cutucuensis'' Wiehler * '' Corytoplectus deltoideus'' ( C.V.Morton) Wiehler * '' Corytoplectus grandifolius'' (Britton ex Rusby) Rodr.-Flores & L.E.Skog * '' Corytoplectus longipedunculatus'' Rodr.-Flores & L.E.Skog * '' Corytoplectus oaxacensis'' Ram.-Roa, C.Chávez & Rodr.-Flores * '' Corytoplectus purpuratus'' Rodr.-Flores & L.E.Skog * '' Corytoplectus riceanus'' (Rusby) Wiehler * ''

Corytoplectus schlimii ''Corytoplectus'' is a genus in the plant family Gesneriaceae. Plants from ''Corytoplectus'' are found in Bolivia, Brazil North, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico Southwest, Peru, Venezuela, in the cloud-forests of the high cordillera. The gen ...

'' (Planch. & Linden) Wiehler * ''

Corytoplectus speciosus ''Corytoplectus'' is a genus in the plant family Gesneriaceae. Plants from ''Corytoplectus'' are found in Bolivia, Brazil North, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico Southwest, Peru, Venezuela, in the cloud-forests of the high cordillera. The gen ...

'' (Poepp.) Wiehler * ''

Corytoplectus zamorensis ''Corytoplectus'' is a genus in the plant family Gesneriaceae. Plants from ''Corytoplectus'' are found in Bolivia, Brazil North, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico Southwest, Peru, Venezuela, in the cloud-forests of the high cordillera. The genus ...

'' (Linden & André) Rodr.-Flores & L.E.Skog

References

External links

Smithsonian Institution: Checklist of Gesneriaceae.
Retrieved 28 April 2018.
Flora of the Guianas: ''Corytoplectus''.
Retrieved 28 April 2018. {{taxonbar, from=Q4233099 Gesnerioideae Gesneriaceae genera