Mastigostyla chuquisacensis

Mastigostyla chuquisacensis occurs at 3,100 to 3,800 m above sea level, in Chuquisaca Department, Bolivia. It has been found only on Cerro Chataquila and Cerro Obispo near Sucre.

Mastigostyla chuquisacensis  (Image: Darwin Project 11-010)

An erect, perennial herb, measuring 20-45 cm in height, with a brown, ovoid bulb about 3 × 1.6 cm, with papery tunics splitting into narrowly linear segments, and a neck up to 6 cm long. The plant is hairless with the exception of the leaf veins and margins which have a covering of minute stiff hairs. The leaves have parallel veins and longitudinal folds, and are linear, tapering to a long tip. There are one or two basal leaves, each of 16.5-38 × 0.1-0.2 cm, and one on the stem of 15.5-31.2 × 0.1-0.4 cm. The 1-3 flowered inflorescences are cymose, with grooved peduncles (stalks) 16-65 mm long and two or three bracts of 26-44 x 4-6 mm, which are reddish at the base for about 1 cm. The erect flowers have horizontally-spreading, free tepals. The outer tepals are 25-33 × 10-14 mm, whitish-blue on the upper surface and blue with a white blotch in the centre and irregular dark blue markings on the lower surface. The base of each outer tepal is 5-8 mm long, not clawed but weakly differentiated from the rest of the tepal. The pale blue inner tepals are 4-6 × 1-1.5 mm. The filaments are united to form a column. The narrowly oblong anthers are appressed to each of the three style branches. The style branches have a longitudinal central furrow and are divided into two at the tip on each side of the furrow. The oblongoid to club-shaped ovary is 6-9 × 1-2 mm. Details of the fruit and seeds are unknown.

Mastigostyla chuquisacensis (Image: Darwin Project 11-010)

Mastigostyla chuquisacensis is known from only two localities, although it is common at both. Despite its very restricted range, it is under no obvious threat and is therefore considered to be of Least Concern (LC). There remains the possibility that this attractive species could be collected from the wild for use as an ornamental, but currently this is not known to be a threat.

No uses are known, although Mastigostyla chuquisacensis has potential as an ornamental.

Pressed and dried specimens of Mastigostyla chuquisacensis are held in the Herbarium, one of the behind-the-scenes areas of Kew. Details, including an image, of one of these can be seen on-line in the Herbarium Catalogue.

Search Kew's databases for more information on this species

Kew’s Lilioid & Alismatid Monocots Team

Darwin Initiative project to study plant endemism in the Inter-Andean valleys of Bolivia