Waikane Valley Cyrtandra

Description

Cyrtandra kaulantha, a member of the African violet family (Gesneriaceae), is a shrub.--Several stems usually arising from a horizontal stem, these erect, 1---3 m long, unbranched or occasionally with short lateral branches that have 2 or 4 leaves to 10---17 cm long, both erect and horizontal stems producing adventitious roots.--Leaves opposite, decussate, clustered on upper 3---6 nodes, those at a node slightly unequal, symmetrical, fleshy, drying thin and chartaceous, oblanceolate to elliptic oblanceolate, 30---60 cm long, 12---24 cm wide, upper surface sparsely pilose along veins and with a few scattered hairs over surface, lower surface with veins slightly raised, sparsely appressed short pilose, becoming moderately so toward and on veins, these hairs darker brown and slightly longer than surface hairs, margins serrulate, apex acuminate, base long attenuate, sessile.--Flowers 7---30 in dense compound cymes arising on lower 1/3 of erect stems, but usually at base, also on horizontal stems or even on adventitious roots, moderately appressed dark brown pilose throughout, peduncles 2---6 mm long, pedicels 3---11 mm long, bracts slightly asymmetrical, elliptic lanceolate to lanceolate, 6---20 mm long, deciduous; calyx zygomorphic, short fusiform in bud, beak 2-- --3 mm long, 16---23 mm long in anthesis, deciduous after anthesis, tube 12---15 mm long, sparsely appressed brown pilose, moderately so within, the lobes separating, upper ones 9---11 mm long, lower ones 8---9 mm long; corolla white, tube narrowly funnelform, curved, 17---22 mm long, ca. 4 mm in diameter medially, glabrous externally, puberulent within, upper lobes broadly ovate to suborbicular, 4---6 mm long, 6---8 mm wide, lateral lobes broadly elliptic ovate, 7---11 mm long, ca. 8---10 mm wide; ovary glabrous, after anthesis sparsely glandular puberulent; style 12---16 mm long.--Berries (immature) ovoid ellipsoid to oblong ellipsoid, 1.4--1.8 cm long.--Seeds (immature) 0.3---0.5 mm long. This species needs to be analyzed to determine if it is truly a species derived via hybridization or the individuals assigned to it are recent hybrids formed many times.--