''Cochliostema'' is a genus of plants with two species in the family Commelinaceae (the spiderwort and dayflower family). The genus occurs from southern Nicaragua to southern Ecuador.

Systematics

''Cochliostema'' is a member of the subtribe Dichorisandrinae of the tribe Tradescantieae of the flowering plant family Commelinaceae. Its closest relative in the Dichorisandrinae is ''

Plowmanianthus ''Plowmanianthus'' Faden & C.R.Hardy is a genus of plants with 5 species and 2 subspecies in the family Commelinaceae (the spiderwort and dayflower family). The genus is distributed from Panama to Amazonian Peru and Brazil. Systematics & Distrib ...

'', followed by ''

Geogenanthus ''Geogenanthus'' is a genus of plants with 3 species in the family Commelinaceae (the spiderwort and dayflower family). The genus is distributed from Colombia to Amazonian Peru and Brazil. Two of its species (''Geogenanthus ciliatus'' and ''Geog ...

''. All three genera share the possession of flower petals fringed with moniliform trichomes. Within ''Cochliostema'' there are two species: ''

Cochliostema velutinum ''Cochliostema'' is a genus of plants with two species in the family Commelinaceae (the spiderwort and dayflower family). The genus occurs from southern Nicaragua to southern Ecuador. Systematics ''Cochliostema'' is a member of the subtribe Di ...

'' R.W.Read and ''

Cochliostema odoratissimum ''Cochliostema'' is a genus of plants with two species in the family Commelinaceae (the spiderwort and dayflower family). The genus occurs from southern Nicaragua to southern Ecuador. Systematics ''Cochliostema'' is a member of the subtribe Di ...

'' Lemaire. ''

Cochliostema jacobianum ''Cochliostema'' is a genus of plants with two species in the family Commelinaceae (the spiderwort and dayflower family). The genus occurs from southern Nicaragua to southern Ecuador. Systematics ''Cochliostema'' is a member of the subtribe Di ...

'', a 19th-century name thought to represent another species and still popular among horticulturists, is considered as part of the latter species.

Morphology

Rosette, typically unbranched herbs with somewhat

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

, strap-shaped leaves. In the wild, plants grow as epiphytes; however, terrestrial plants are found on or around tree falls suggesting that these ground-dwelling plants had been growing epiphytically. One species, ''Cochliostema odoratissimum'', is a tank-epiphyte, resembling certain bromeliads in this respect. This species also attains the greatest size for the genus, with its leaves reaching to 1 m in length, and plants sometimes reaching 2 m in height. Flowers are borne in large thyrses and are generally the largest (ca. 2.5 cm diam.), among the most fragrant, and arguably the most complex in the spiderwort family. They consist of 3 sepals, 3 blue to blue-violet and fringed

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s, 3 stamens fused by their filaments in the upper half of the flower, and 3 carpels fused into a single trilocular

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

. The fused

stamina Stamina may refer to: Biology and healthcare * Endurance, the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fat ...

l structure has 3 spirally coiled

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s enveloped and concealed by petaloid extensions of the filaments of the two lateral stamens contributing to the 3-staminate structure. These structures, termed "cuculli", are narrowed into two distal hose-like extensions.

References

*Hardy CR, DW Stevenson (2000) Development of the flower, gametophytes, and floral vasculature in ''Cochliostema odoratissimum'' (Commelinaceae). ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'' 134 (1): 131-157. *Hardy CR (2001) Systematics of ''Cochliostema'', ''Geogenanthus'', and an undescribed genus in the spiderwort family, Commelinaceae. Ph.D. Dissertation, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5139392 Commelinaceae Commelinales genera Epiphytes