RECURVA  Moran & al., 1998

Distribution : Mexico (Guerrero, Oaxaca); mountain regions, 1600 - 2200 m.

Description (by J. Thiede in IHSP, 2003) :

Herbs.

Roots thickened.

Stems annual, erect or basally ± procumbent, leafy ± throughout, 20 - 30 cm, reddish, base short, persistent, somewhat woody, richly branched, to :2: 3 x 0.5 cm.

Leaves ascending to divergent, triangular-lanceolate, basally truncate and hardly spurred, acute, apically somewhat papillose, 8 - 13 x 2 - 3 mm, green or reddish, first glaucous.

Inflorescences spikes, 2 - 15 (-20) cm, with 5 - 25 flowers, pedicels (almost) absent.

Flowers : Sepals triangular-lanceolate, conspicuously shortly spurred, acutely pointed, somewhat to conspicuously unequal, 3 – 7 x 1.5 - 2.2 mm, petals triangular-Ianceolate, deeply canaliculate, lower 1/2 keeled, 7 - 9 mm, outside white or dark violetish,tube 1 - 1.5 mm, lobes triangular-ovate, narrowly pointed, recurved, 7 - 9 x 2 mm.

Cytology : n = 14

Similar to V. diffusa according to the protologue, but the leaves are acute, the sepals longer and acute, and the petals longer and more acute with a shorter tube. A possibly new species similar to V. recurva, but with n = 12 only is reported from north-western Oaxaca (Uhl & Moran 1999).