''Maianthemum macrophyllum'' is a perennial

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

. It is a rare epiphtic herb

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Veracruz and Oaxaca, Mexico and is known only from primary

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

s, usually growing on limbs of oaks or sweetgum ('' Liquidambar styraciflua'').

Description

Plants grow from tall off a forked

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

with evenly scattered roots. Stems are slightly arching, hairless and leafy. There are 13-18 leaves set apart; more closely spaced near the tip of the plant.

Leaves

Leaves have a 5–9 mm long petiole. Leaf blades are hairless, shiny, egg- to lance-shaped with pointed tips and rounded bases and with flat (not undulating) edges. The veins are evident. Upper leaves are long by wide. Lower leaves tend to be shorter but of similar width; long by wide.

Flowering clusters

60 to 120 flowers are set in a dense, complex

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

. It is composed of a main axis that arches upwards and is straight, stiff, 10–20 cm long, green, smooth and of uniform width. 25 to 50 nodes 5–10 mm apart are arraigned in a helix around the main axis. Each node has 2 to 4 flowers set on drooping

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

s that are usually 4–6 mm long.

Flowers and fruits

The flowers are yellow-green to green-white and cup-shaped with

tepals A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

4.5-5.5 mm long. Stamens are inserted at the base of the tepals. Blooming takes 3–4 weeks, with lower flowers opening first, and proceeding up the axis. Fruits are rounded, 8–9 mm across, green when immature, ripening to red. Flowering is from April to June, fruiting through to October.

Distribution

''Maianthemum macrophyllum'' has only been documented in Veracruz and Oaxaca, Mexico.

Habitat and ecology

It is known only from primary

s, usually growing on limbs of oaks or sweetgum ('' Liquidambar styraciflua'') at 1300 to 2600 m.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15522373, from2=Q38492239

macrophyllum The long-legged bat (''Macrophyllum macrophyllum'') is a member of the Phyllostomidae family in the order Chiroptera. Both males and females of this species are generally small, with wingspans reaching 80mm with an average weight ranging betwee ...

Flora of Veracruz Flora of Oaxaca