Cuatresia anomala and Cuatresia physalana (Physaleae, Solanaceae): two new species from Colombia and Ecuador

Two new species of Cuatresia are described, Cuatresia anomala and Cuatresia physalana, from southwestern Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. Cuatresia anomala is the only species of the genus with sympodial unifoliate units and anthers with apparent poricide dehiscence; because of these characters, specimens of this species were identified as Lycianthes and Solanum. Other distinctive characters are the laminae of the leaf slightly asymmetrical, inflorescence straight, long-pedunculate, and the presence of a callus where flowers are inserted. Cuatresia physalanct can be easily distinguished from other species of the genus by the aristate plications in the accrescent calyx of the fruit, reminiscent of the accrescent calyx of species of Nicandra or Physalis, zigzag pattern of the pendulous inflorescence, sessile or shortly pedunculate, and the red or pink fruit.