Reldia Explained

Reldia is a genus of plants in the family Gesneriaceae.^[1] They are also in the Beslerieae tribe.^[2]

They are native to Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panamá and Peru in South America.^[1]

It contains the following species, according to Plants of the World Online;^[1]

• Reldia alternifolia Wiehler
• Reldia calcarata L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog
• Reldia grandiflora L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
• Reldia longipedunculata J.L.Clark
• Reldia minutiflora (L.E. Skog) L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
• Reldia multiflora L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog

The genus name of Reldia is in honour of Robert Louis Dressler (born 1927), an American botanist specialist of the taxonomy of the Orchidaceae family.^[3] It was first described and published in Selbyana Vol.2 on page 124 in 1977.^[1]

The genus is recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service, but they do not list any known species.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Reldia Wiehler Plants of the World Online Kew Science . Plants of the World Online . 20 January 2022 . en.
2. Web site: Olmstead . Richard . A Synoptical Classification of the Lamiales . 20 January 2022 . 12 April 2016.
3. Book: Burkhardt, Lotte . Verzeichnis eponymischer Pflanzennamen – Erweiterte Edition . Index of Eponymic Plant Names – Extended Edition . Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin . 2018 . 978-3-946292-26-5 . pdf . German . Berlin . 10.3372/epolist2018 . 1 January 2021.
4. Web site: Genus Reldia Wiehler . npgsweb.ars-grin.gov . 20 January 2022.