AUREISTELLA   Pino & Cieza, 2009

Distribution : Peru (Dept. Cajamarca)

Description (according to Haseltonia 15, 2009) :

A succulent glabrous herb, 28 – 30 cm tall when flowering.

Stem decumbent, apices erect, 6 – 10 mm diam. at base, gray-brownish, branching profusely.

Primary branches 1 – 4 (-6), erect, 3 – 5 mm diam., up to 15 cm long; secondary branches numerous, vegetative shoots (1-) 3 – 6 cm long, flowering shoots up to 30 cm long, reddish.

Leaves succulent, sessile, spirally attached to stem, denser on young shoots, attached to stem at a right angle, tip later recurving upwards, narrowly ovate to oblong, 8.5 – 10 (-13) mm long, 1.8 – 2.5 mm wide, 1.5 – 1.8 mm thick, obtuse-subacute, upper side flat to slightly convex, lower side convex, yellowish green, reddish near tip, margins entire.

Inflorescence a terminal spike 4 – 6 (-8) cm long.

Flowers 16 – 32, sessile, flower buds 6 x 5 mm, light green, bracteoles three per flower, the largest opposite the stem and the other two lateral, placed at 90° one at each side, 5 – 8 mm long, 1.5 – 1.8 mm wide, sepals narrowly ovate to oblong, obtuse, 4 -6 mm long, 1.5 – 1.8 mm wide, light green, petals oblong, acute-deltoid at tip, united at the base, recurving along the distal two-thirds, 7.5 – 8 mm long, 2.2 – 2.6 mm wide, greenish yellow to bright yellow, paler at base, filaments white, anthers yellow.

Note :

Young plants have erect reddish stems with terete, almost linear yellowish-green leaves, a character they share with Villadia paniculata, making the two indistinguishable without flowers.

V. aureistella is unique among the known species of Villadia in Peru in having showy flowers with petals totally recurved, forming loops as is found in the Mexican Villadia recurva. The name “aureistella” refers to the golden, star-shaped flowers.

Link to photos In Haseltonia 15, 2009.