Monochaetum Talamancense (Melastomataceae): A new species endemic to Costa Rica

Monochaetum talamancense is described from the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica. It is compared toM. macrantherum Gleason, a species to which the few previous collections have been attributed. Its diffuse, sprawling habit, smooth appressed cauline and hypanthial trichomes, and tightly cochleate, smooth seeds markM. talamancense as unique among Mexican and Central American species.