GUATEMALENSIS Rose, 1909
Series Nudae
Type : Maxon 3726, Vocan de Agua, 2700 - 3000 m, Dept. Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, March 22, 1905 US399713).
Etymology : Referring to the type locality in its widest sense.
Distribution : Guatemala (Depts. Chimaltenango, El Progreso, Jalapa, Quetzaltenango, Sacatepéquez, San Marcos, Sololá, Totonicapán and Zacapa); Nicaragua (Depts. Esteli, Jinotega and Madriz). See Notes below.
Stems branching especially at base, resembling somewhat both in habit and foliage Sedum praealtum, 10 - 15 cm high.
Leaves equally distributed on the stem, alternate, spreading nearly at right angles to the stem, fleshy but flattened and thinner than in most species of this genus, 2 - 4 cm long, 2 cm or less broad, spatulate, with a flat surface above, rounded at apex but with a decided mucro, rounded below into a broad petiole, pale green, slightly glaucous, the margins sometimes tinged reddish.
Flowering branch 20 - 30 cm long, from the axil of a leaf near the middle of the stem, reddish, bearing numerous reddish leaves.
Inflorescence an equilateral raceme bearing 20 or more flowers, pedicels 3 - 4 mm long.
Flowers : Sepals linear, acute, spreading nearly at right angles to the pedicels, corolla buds broadly ovoid, acute, the corolla when open 10 mm long and broad in proportion, pinkish below, yellowish above, the lobes acute, stamens 10, shorter than the corolla.
Cytology : n = 26
Note :
1. Kimnach's short description in the Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants, 2003, is of no use because it is based on Walther's re-description of Echeveria guatemalensis (Echeveria, 286-287, 1972) which was made from "living plant obtained from Don B. Skinner of Los Angeles, California" - that means from a plant of unknown origin, therefore it is to be ignored.
2. The text in Flora Mesoamericana is likewise of no use because it is also based on Walther's re-description.
3. If herbarium specimens accessible online are correctly identified, they do not provide evidence that E. guatemalensis is occurring in Honduras, only E. maxonii can be found there.
A great many herbarium specimens have been wrongly determined by F.R. Barrie :
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago nrs
1637652,
1389756,
1765103,
1765099,
1857339,
1652017,
1656651,
1652016,
1058640,
2278404 and
R. Merrill 3180 - all represent E. guatemalensis, not E. maxonii as stated by F.R. Barrie, while
1146388,
1146387,
1622480,
1662437 and
1146364 also represent E. guatemalensis and not E. pittieri as determined by F.R. Barrie.
On the other hand
1767765,
2316657,
Missouri Bot. Garden nrs
04999035 and
04920279 represent E. pittieri and not E. guatemalensis.
And New York Bot. Gard. nr
04102076,
Field Museum Chicago
1034553 and
1660337 represent E. maxonii and not E. guatemalensis.
Moreover Flora Mesoamericana has found necessary to add coordinates to specimens collected at a time when such data were not yet be available - unfortunately in most cases completely wrong and therefore highly misleading.