Strychnos atlantica Krukoff & Barneby (1969: 61)

Brandão, Ellen Kallyne De Sousa & Rapini, Alessandro, 2017, Novelties in Strychnos sect. Breviflorae (Loganiaceae), Phytotaxa 329 (3), pp. 262-268 : 266-267

Strychnos atlantica Krukoff & Barneby (1969: 61) . ( Fig. 1L–N )

Type: — BRAZIL. Bahia, Belmonte. 15°51’47”S, 39°52’58”W, 31 January 1966 (fr.), R. P. Belém 3228 (holotype UB!, isotype CEPEC!).

Epitype (designated here):— BRAZIL. Espírito Santo, Linhares, Km 22, Linhares highway to Bananal, 19°23’27”S, 40°43’19”W, 24 November 1973 (fl.), R. S. Pinheiro 2281 ( CEPEC!, isoepitype NY!).

Treelet to liana, 1–5 m high; branches greyish, cylindrical, glabrous, puberulous or hirtellous, spines and tendrils present; stipules linear. Leaves opposite; petiole 0.3–7 mm long or absent, glabrous, puberulous or hirtellous; blade olive-ochre to dark brown when dry, discolor, 4–16.8 × 2.7–6.2 cm, elliptic, ovate-elliptic to ovate-oblong, cuneate to rounded at base, acute to acuminate at apex, glabrous to sparsely puberulous along the margins, subcoriaceous to chartaceous, glabrous on both sides, 3- or 5-plinerved. Thyrses with 15–24 flowers, congested, terminal; peduncle absent or up to 9 mm long, glabrous to hirtellous; bracts 3–4 mm long, lanceolate, acute to attenuated at apex, ciliated at margins; bracteoles 0.3–0.5 mm long, ovate-lanceolate, acute at apex, ciliated. Flowers sessile or pedicel up to 1 mm long, glabrous or puberulous; calyx 5-merous, tube green, lobes yellowish-green, 1.2–1.8 × 0.6–0.8 mm, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, acute to attenuated at apex, ciliate along the margins; corolla 5-merous, whitish to yellow when dry, short-infundibuliform, tube 0.4–0.5 mm length, lobes 1.2–1.3 × 0.5–0.8 mm, ovate, abaxially papillose, adaxially bearded; stamens 5, filaments cream, 0.2–0.3 mm long, glabrous, anthers yellow, 0.4–0.5 mm long, oblong-obcordate, pilose at base; ovary 0.3–0.4 mm long, style 0.6–0.8 mm long, stigma capitate. Berries yellow, 3.1–5 × 3.3–5 cm, pericarp leathery, rugose, glabrous; seeds 1 or 2, becoming dark when mature, 1.2–1.5 × 1.2–1.5 cm, discoid, coat smooth, glabrous.

Distribution and habitat: — Strychnos atlantica is endemic to Brazil occurring in the states of Paraíba, Pernambuco, Bahia and Espírito Santo, typically in dense montane and submontane ombrophilous forests ( Guimarães et al. 2015).

Phenology: —This species was found with flowers in November and with fruits in March and June.

Notes: — Strychnos atlantica is an erect shrub, 3–5 m high. The stems are glabrous, puberulous or hirtellous, with rusty to dark trichomes, usually without spines or tendrils, but when present they are woody, long, straight to curved in the tip. The leaf blade is glabrous, usually lustrous on both sides, with primary and secondary veins immersed adaxially and prominent abaxially, distinct from the lamina in colour, and tertiary veins reticulated. The inflorescences are terminal, with whitish, small flowers (1.6–1.8 mm vs. more than 1.8 mm long in the other species of the sect. Breviflorae ) and berries varying from yellow to yellowish-brown, with leathery peel resembling the orange peel when dry. The holotype and most herbaria collections consist only of sterile specimens or specimens in fruit. There is only one specimen with flowers, which is here designed the epitype of S. atlantica .

Figures

FIGURE 1.A–I. Strychnos nana: A. branch with buds and flowers; B. leaf, adaxial side; C. leaf, abaxial side; D. inflorescence with buds and flowers; E. bract, abaxial side; F.flower (4-merous form); G. calyx (5-merous form), open to show abaxial side and margins; H. pistil, showing the capitate stigma; I. stamen. J–K. S. alvimiana: J. berry, half in cross section to show the sub-woody pericarp and seed; K. seed, ventral view. L–N. S. atlantica: L. branch with terminal inflorescence; M. Dicasium of a thyrse; N. corolla, open to show the indument of the adaxial side of corolla and the stamens. (A–I from C.W. Fagg. 3671 in HUEFS; J–K from T.S. Santos 2683 in CEPEC; L–N. from R.S. Pinheiro 2281 in CEPEC).