A NEW SPECIES OF MAIANTHEMUM (LILIACEAE) FROM COSTA RICA WITH AN UPRIGHT AND AERIAL RHIZOME

A new species of Maianthemum (Liliaceae) was discovered in a tropical montane bog at an elevation of 2,500 m in central Costa Rica. The leaf bearing stems and inflorescences are supported by a stiff, erect, branching sympodium that consists of the persistent lower portions of older shoots. This lower portion corresponds in morphology and anatomy to the horizontal subterranean rhizome that is characteristic of all previously described species of Maianthemum. An erect woody habit is rare in the Lily family; an upright aerial rhizome is unique within the genus.