NELSONII Rose, 1903
Synonyms :
Cotyledon nelsonii (Rose) Fedde (1904) / Altamiranoa nelsonii (Rose) E.Walther (1938)
Distribution : Mexico (Guerrero, Oaxaca); 1850 - 2550 m.
Description (according to IHSP, 2003) :
Shrublets, densely papillose except inner flower parts.
Roots sometimes thickened.
Stems ± strictly erect, unbranched or few-branched in the lower ½.
Flowering stems dying back in the upper ½, 10 - 60 cm, bark not peeling.
Leaves spreading, spatulate, rounded, 15 - 40 (-50) x 5 - 15 mm, only present in the uppermost 2 - 5 cm of sterile stems, mostly deciduous after flowering.
Inflorescences lax spikes or thyrses, 3 - 18 cm, with 6 - 20 short scorpioid branches with 1 - 3 fIowers each, pedicels almost absent.
Flowers : Sepals ascending, oblong, ± acute, spurred, 2.5 - 3 x 1.25 - 1.5mm, corolla pentagonal, basally campanulate, petals dorsally keeled, 4 - 6 mm, white, keel greenish,tube 1 - 1.5 mm, lobes spreading, triangular, acute, dorsally papillose (except the margins), 3 - 4.5 x 1.5 - 2 mm.
Cytology : n = 20