Cataracta P. Zamora-Tavares, O. Vargas & M. Martínez, 2023

Zamora-Tavares, Pilar, Martínez, Mahinda & Vargas-Ponce, Ofelia, 2023, Cataracta, a new monotypic genus segregated from Physalis (Solanaceae), Phytotaxa 616 (3), pp. 247-257 : 252-254

Cataracta P. Zamora-Tavares, O. Vargas & M. Martínez , gen. nov.

Type: — Cataracta microphysa (A. Gray) P. Zamora-Tavares, O. Vargas & M. Martínez.

Basionym:— Physalis microphysa A. Gray. Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 21: 402. 1886.

Etymology:—The name Cataracta honors U.T. Waterfall, who extensively studied the genus Physalis .

Herbae erectae, circa 20–40 cm altae, radices perennes; foliis 12–20 mm longo et 10–23 mm lata crenato-repandis, floralibus 12 a 20 mm diameter; corolla ochroleuca maculis fusco-luteis, plano-rotata; calyce fructifero ovato tereti 9–12 mm longo et 8–12 mm lata, fructus non capsularis dehiscens, seminibus crassiusculis immarginatis favosorugulosis.

Erect perennial rhizomatous herb, branched from a woody base, 15 to 60 cm long, with a long and thin rhizome; the entire plant densely pubescent with simple eglandular and glandular multi-cellular trichomes of 0.2–1 mm long; leaves reniform to ovate or subhastate, 1.2–2.0 cm long and 1.0– 2.3 cm wide, margin entire or sinuous with one to three teeth; leaf trichomes more or less appressed, generally shorter than stem trichomes; petiole 0.5–1.2 cm long but the most basal ones up to 6 cm long; flowers solitary on pedicels of 2 to 5 mm long; floral calyx 4–6 mm wide at the base, lobes lanceolate to slightly acuminate, lobed from the middle to a third of their length; corolla rotated with five small lobed tips, 1.2–2.0 cm in diameter, whitish yellowish with yellow to greenish maculas composed by tiny dots at the base of the lobes, anthers ovate-oblong, yellow, 1–1.5 mm long, on glabrous filaments 2–3 mm long; fruiting calyx terete, ovate-oblong to campanulate, 9–12 mm long and 8–12 mm wide, lobes acuminate, 2–4 mm long, lobes sometimes reflexed; fruit dehiscent dry berry, pericarp dry that breaks into irregular portions exposing the seeds, 5 to 7 seeds per fruit; seeds reniform with reticulate dark brown testa, 2 mm in diameter.

Comparison: — Cataracta microphysa is a perennial herb ( Fig. 3A ) with a solitary axillary flower as in Physalis , but the rotate whitish-colored corollas with a slight yellow or greenish tinge resembling those of Chamaesaracha spp. and the corolla shape resembling those of Quincula ( Fig 3B ). The fruiting calyx is terete, ovate-oblong to campanulate, inflated like in Physalis , but differing in being open-flaring apically and the lobes of the calyx are rolled outward ( Fig 3C ). The fruit is not a fleshy, non-dehiscent berry as in Physalis , but is a dehiscent, dry berry with a thin, dry pericarp closer to the dry fruits of Chamaesaracha and Oryctes , with the unique feature of dehiscing along irregular lines ( Figs. 3D–E ). The seed testa is dark brown and faveolated-rugous, while seeds of Physalis and Chamaesaracha species do not have such ornamentation ( Fig 3D ). A full comparison of the five morphologically closely genera is shown in Table 1 and Figure 4 .

Phenology: —This species flowers and fruits from May to October, with a peak in fruiting from September to October.

Distribution: —Endemic to Mexico; states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas ( Fig. 5 ).

Habitat: —In xerophytic scrub and in transition with pine-oak forests.

Representative specimens examined. MEXICO. Chihuahua: Santa Eulalia Mts , C.G. Pringle 317 ( MO, MEXU) ; Batopilas de Manuel Gómez Morín, E of La Bufa, on S side of Barranca de Batopilas , 3300 ft, 27–31 Oct 1973, R. Bye 5677 ( MEXU) ; Coyame, 16 miles SW of Coyame along Hwy 16 in narrow alluvial arroyo in Chihuahua Desert Scrub, near 29°16’N, 105°16’W, 16 Sep 1972, J. Henrickson 7649 ( ANSM, IEB, MEXU); Julimes, ca 31 (air) miles NW of Julimes in a SW facing canyon above Rancho El Recuerdo in Sierra de Carrasco (S. of Sierra de Chorreras ), 4500 ft, 28°47’N, 105°09’W, 15 Sep 1973, J. Henrickson 12940 ( MEXU) ; Camargo, Sierra de las Pampas west of Hacienda El Berrendo , 1600–1800 m, 27°20’N, 104°43’W, 25 Aug 1972, F. Chiang et al. 8829 ( MEXU) . Coahuila: Cuatro Cienegas, 22 (air) miles WNW of Cuatro Cienegas, in lower Canyon de la Hacienda of limestone Sierra de la Madera , 2–3 miles from roads end, 5200 ft, 27°03’N, 102°25’W, 26 Sep 1973, J. Henrickson 13556 ( MEXU) ; Cuatro Cienegas, 35 (air) km of Cuatro Cienegas, in the lower limestone Canyon de la Hacienda on northside of Sierra de la Madera , 4700 ft, 27°05’N, 102°25’W, 4 Aug 1973, J. Henrickson 11850 ( ANSM, MEXU) ; Cuatro Cienegas, 28 (air) miles WNW of Cuatro Cienegas, on the N slope of the Sierra de la Madera, 7.5 (air) miles W of Rancho Cerro de la Madera , at base of Cañon Desiderio , in upper Cañon Posos , 1700–1800 m, 27°19’N, 102°30’W, 13 Aug 1976, J. Henrickson 15311 ( MEXU) ; Tlahualilo de Zaragoza, 29 (air) miles NE of Tlahualilo on west-facing shale slope on the east side of Sierra de los Remedios , 3750 ft, 26°36’N, 103°05’W, 9 Aug 1973, J. Henrickson 12174b ( MEXU) ; Ramos Arizpe, Valle de los Angeles , Sierra de la Paila, without collector data ( ENCB) ; Arteaga, al norte del Ejido Chapultepec, Sierra La Laja , 2473 m, 25°15’24’N, 100°51’54”W, 14 Jul 2004, F.J. Encina 116 ( ANSM) ; Arteaga, Puerto San Lorenzo, Cerro La Campana , Sierra Hermosa , 2460 m, 2 Aug 1979, L. Arce s.n. ( ANSM) ; Arteaga, Sierra de la Madera in Cañada de la Hacienda , NW of Cuatro Cienegas, 1850 m, 27°04’N, 102°25’20” W, 15 May 1992, M.H. Mayfield 1395 ( ANSM) . General Cepeda, km 20 de la brecha La Paz-La Casita , 300 m al S de La Casita rumbo al Tejocote , 2092 m, 25°11’40”N, 101°26’26”W, 10 Sep 2017, A. Castro et al. ( CIIDIR) . Nuevo León: Aramberri, La Escondida-San Francisco , 1750 m, 26 Aug 1992, G.B. Hinton et al. 22355 ( ANSM, IEB, MEXU) . Tamaulipas: Bustamante, 4.8 mi NW of Hwy 101 on road to Bustamante ; W-facing, steep slope overlooking deep valley, 1670 m, 23°25’N, 99°40’W, 15 Jun 1987, G. Nesom et al. 5977 ( MEXU, QMEX) .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Cataracta microphysa comb. nov. A. Perennial herb with a rhizome of 30–40 cm long. B. One flower per axil, corolla plane rotated with a slight yellowish or greenish tinge. C. The fruiting calyx is teretish, ovate-oblong to campanulate, and open-flaring apically. D. Fruit with a thin, dry pericarp, with dark brown seeds and faveolated-rugous testa. E. The dry fruits dehiscing along irregular lines (Photos of Pilar Zamora-Tavares and Mahinda Martínez).

FIGURE 4. Comparisons of habit, flower and fruit traits among Cataracta gen. nov. (A1–A3), Chamesaracha (B1–B3), Oryctes (C1–C3), Physalis (D1–D3), and Quincula (E1–E3) (Photos of Pilar Zamora-Tavares, Mahinda Martínez and Ofelia Vargas-Ponce, B3 provided by Juan Carlos Delgado, C1–C3 by Sophie Winitsky, and E3 by Rocio Deanna).

FIGURE 5. Geographic distribution of Cataracta gen. nov.