Costera (plant)

Costera is a genus in the Ericaceae found in the Malesian floristic region. It is a small genus of often epiphytic shrubs that grows in tropical rainforests.[1][2]

Costera
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Subfamily: Vaccinioideae
Tribe: Vaccinieae
Genus: Costera
J.J.Sm.
Type species
Costera ovalifolia
Synonyms[1]
  • Cymothoe
  • Iaera

Description

Costera is a small genus of shrubs with glabrous, leathery, unlobed leaves arranged in alternate phyllotaxy. The inflorescences are axile and sessile; flowers emerge in bundles directly from the stem.[2]

The flowers are small and tetramerous or pentamerous. They are directly attached to the stem via a pedicel with 2 basal bracts. The calyx is mostly fused and forms 4 or 5 apical teeth, which are the unfused tips of the sepals. The 4 or 5 petals are also fused into a short tube, and the inner surface of the corolla contains minute laciniate projections toward the base. The alternating stamens are lightly appressed to the corolla and have a short linear filament. The anthers are elongated, tubular, and erect. They face inward and release pollen through an apical pore. The ovary is inferior and is divided into 4 or 5 locules with many ovules; the original description notes that the number of locules may vary by species. The style is straight, with a stigma that is minutely thickened. The nectary disc is ring-shaped and inconspicuous. The fruit is subspherical and is crowned by the calyx.[2][3]

Members of Costera may be confused with Vaccinium, from which they can be distinguished by their glabrous leaves and lack of a line of articulation in the pedicel that is found in Bornean Vaccinium species.[4] Their bundled, sessile inflorescences resemble those of Diplycosia.[2]

Taxonomy and naming

Costera was described in the fourth volume of the Icones Bogoriensis in 1914 by Johannes Jacobus Smith.[2] It is placed in the Vaccinieae, where it may be one of the most genetically divergent members.[5] Smith named the genus after his mentor, Jan Constantijn Costerus. Smith records tjapien djanten as an indigenous name for the plant originating from the Karimata Islands.

As of February 2023, it consists of 10 accepted species:[1]

  • Costera borneensis J.J.Sm.
  • Costera cyclophylla (Airy Shaw) J.J.Sm. & Airy Shaw
  • Costera endertii J.J.Sm.
  • Costera lanaensis (Merr.) Airy Shaw & J.J.Sm.
  • Costera loheri (Merr.) Airy Shaw & J.J.Sm.
  • Costera lucida (Merr.) Airy Shaw & J.J.Sm.
  • Costera macrantha Argent
  • Costera ovalifolia J.J.Sm.
  • Costera sumatrana J.J.Sm.
  • Costera tetramera Sleumer

References
  1. "Costera". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  2. Kebun Raya Indonesia.; Indonesia, Kebun Raya (1897). Icones Bogorienses. Leiden: E. J. Brill. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.82100.
  3. Airy-Shaw, H. K. (1935). "Studies in the Ericales: II.: A New Genus of Vaccinioïdeae from Borneo". Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew). 1935 (3): 150–156. doi:10.2307/4107114. ISSN 0366-4457.
  4. Argent, G. (2018-12-17). "RIGIOLEPIS AND VACCINIUM (ERICACEAE) IN BORNEO". Edinburgh Journal of Botany. 76 (1): 55–172. doi:10.1017/S0960428618000276. ISSN 1474-0036.
  5. Kron, Kathleen A.; Powell, E. Ann; Luteyn, J. L. (February 2022). "Phylogenetic relationships within the blueberry tribe (Vaccinieae, Ericaceae) based on sequence data from MATK and nuclear ribosomal ITS regions, with comments on the placement of Satyria". American Journal of Botany. 89 (2): 327–336. doi:10.3732/ajb.89.2.327. ISSN 0002-9122.
  • Media related to Costera at Wikimedia Commons
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.