Besleria laxiflora
Description
Terrestrial suffrutescent herb or low shrub, 0.5-4(-7) m tall. Stem sappy, more or less erect, strigose at apex, glabrescent below. Leaves subequal in a pair; petiole 1.5-7 cm long, sparsely strigillose; blade membranous when dry, elliptic, narrowly oblong, or rarely ovate, 3-21 x 1-8.5 cm, margin shallowly toothed, apex acuminate, base cuneate, above sparsely strigillose on midvein to glabrate, below sparsely strigillose on veins. Flowers umbellate to cymose, in 1- to several-flowered inflorescences; peduncle 1.5-4.5(-6.5) cm long, sparsely strigillose; pedicel 0.8-2.5 cm long, sparsely strigillose. Calyx tubular-campanulate, green to yellow or orange, lobes free or rarely connate to 1/4 their length, tube 0.6-1.7 cm long, free portion of lobes erect, equal, ovate to narrowly lanceolate, 0.5-0.7 x 0.2-0.5 cm, margin entire to minutely fimbriate or ciliate, apex mucronate, outside glabrescent, inside glabrous; corolla erect in calyx, yellow, orange, salmon red, pink to golden red, 1.3-2.3 cm long, tube cylindric, 1.2-2 cm long, base not spurred or gibbous, 0.3-0.7 cm wide, middle slightly ventricose, throat slightly constricted, 0.4-0.7 cm wide, outside glabrous, inside with pubescent ring near attachment of filaments and second ring in throat, limb 0.3-0.5 cm wide, lobes subequal, spreading, ovate, ca. 0.2 x 0.1-0.3 cm wide, margin entire; stamens included, inserted below middle of corolla tube; ovary ovoid, 0.2-0.4 x 0.2-0.3 cm, glabrous, style ca. 0.8 cm long, puberulent, stigma stomatomorphic (in the Guianas). Mature berry orange or red, globose to ovoid, 0.7-1.2 x 1-1.2 cm.
Distribution
Guianas present, Guyana present, Northern America, Southern America: Colombia (Colombia present); Venezuela (Venezuela present), Suriname present
Mexico through Central America to Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Guyana and Suriname; > 450 specimens studied, 24 from the Guianas (GU: 13; SU: 11).