Maianthemum comaltepecense

Maianthemum comaltepecense is a rare perennial, terrestrial herb found as an understory species in moist forests and endemic to southwest Mexico.

Description
Plants grow 10 – tall tall from branching rhizomes with roots only at the nodes. Stems are hairless, recurved and flexuous.

Leaves
Plants have 4 or 5 (sometimes 6) leaves that are sessile or short stalked. Leaf blades are 3 – long by 1 – wide and lance- to egg-shaped with pointed tips and rounded bases.

Flowering clusters
4 to 12 flowers are set on a compound raceme with 1 or 2 flowers per node. The raceme is 1.5 to 4.5 cm long and flexuous.

Flowers and fruits
Information on flower size and color not available. Fruits are 3-lobed, 6–9 mm across, ripening to purple with white spots.

Distribution
Maianthemum comaltepecense is known only from one population in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Habitat and ecology
Found growing in moist, shaded oak forests at 2900 m. Mosses, lichens and ferns abundant.

Similar species
The complex raceme of Maianthemum comaltepecense, with 2 flowers at some nodes, is similar to that of Maianthemum canadense and Maianthemum dilatatum, however the leaves are quite different and the distributions are well separated. Maianthemum scilloideum is similar and also found in Mexico, but plants are more robust, generally have 8 to 12 leaves per stem and the fruits are usually spherical and red at maturity.