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Issue: Vol. 748 No. 2: 20 Mar. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-03-20
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.748.2.5
Page range: 211-220
Abstract views: 0
PDF downloaded: 0

Blakea alatibracteata (Pyxidantheae, Melastomataceae), a new enantiostylous species from Colombia, with an elaboration of the wet bud clade

Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington, North Carolina 28403, U.S.A.
California Academy of Sciences, Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability, Department of Botany, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California 94118-4503, U.S.A.
Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna, Austria
Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington, North Carolina 28403, U.S.A.; Department of Biology, University of Oxford, S Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3EL, U.K.
Chocó bioregion enantiostyly endemic neotropics Eudicots

Abstract

Blakea alatibracteata is described as a new species from Chocó and Valle del Cauca, Colombia. This novelty is readily distinguished from closely related species within the wet bud clade by its long-decurrent, winged outer floral bracts. Only two other members of the genus, B. attenboroughii and B. mcphersonii, have similar outer floral bracts, but neither have calyx lobes and calyx tubes with anastomosing veins, anther connective appendages that are paired, elongate humps, nor capitate stigmas, all of which are putative synapomorphies of the wet bud clade. For B. alatibracteata, an illustration, photo plate, distribution map, recommended conservation assessment, and discussion of related species based on morphological similarities are provided. A thorough description of the Blakea wet bud clade morphological characteristics, and a key to its 11 species, are also included.

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How to Cite

Penneys, D.S., Almeda, F., Urrea, J. & Burns, C. (2026) Blakea alatibracteata (Pyxidantheae, Melastomataceae), a new enantiostylous species from Colombia, with an elaboration of the wet bud clade. Phytotaxa 748 (2): 211–220. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.748.2.5