Main | Family List (MO) | Family List (INBio) | Cutting Edge Draft Treatments | Guidelines | Checklist | Citing | Editors The Cutting Edge Volume XI, Number 4, October 2004 News and Notes | Recent Treatments | Leaps and Bounds | Germane Literature | Season's Pick | Annotate your copy SEASON'S PICK: Pilocosta erythrophylla (Gleason) Almeda & Whiffin (Melastomataceae) The aptly named, Pilocosta erythrophylla, is a small, prostrate herb (the leaves are less than 1.5 cm long) endemic to Costa Rica's Tilarán and Central mountain ranges. It is one of nearly 50 Costa Rican endemic species of Melastomataceae, a family with a current total of 300 described species from the country (do the math; that's a whopping 16%). Its known flowering period (July to October) coincides precisely with this issue's coverage, so we here honor its humble beauty and use it to herald what are sure to be many new discoveries in this family...now that the final treatment of the Melastomes for the Manual (due out in the next volume) is in hand, translated, and fully edited! Thanks and a tip-of-the-hat to Manual Melastome collaborator, Ricardo Kriebel, for the fine photos and idea for this season's pick, vouchered by Kriebel 4547. TOP