Miconia aurantiaca ( Almeda & Kriebel 2009: 211–214 ) Gamba & Almeda 2014

Gamba, Diana & Almeda, Frank, 2014, Systematics of the Octopleura Clade of Miconia (Melastomataceae: Miconieae) in Tropical America, Phytotaxa 179 (1), pp. 1-174 : 60-62

8. Miconia aurantiaca ( Almeda & Kriebel 2009: 211–214) Gamba & Almeda , comb. nov. Basionym: Clidemia aurantiaca Almeda & Kriebel. Type: COSTA RICA. Prov. Limón: Pococí. P.N. Braulio Carrillo. Cuenca del Sarapiquí. Estación Quebrada González, sendero Las Palmas, 10°09’50”N, 83°56’24”W, 400–500 m, 6 June 2003, Kriebel 3342 (holotype: INB-internet image!; isotypes: CAS-2 sheets!, CR, INB, MO, NY-internet image!, PMA).

Shrub or small tree (1.25–) 1.5–4 m tall with lax branching, bark green-brownish. Upper internodes 1–4 cm long, terete like the nodes, nodal line absent. Indumentum on branchlets, petioles, surface and primary vein of young leaves adaxially, primary, secondary and tertiary leaf veins abaxially, inflorescence axes, bracts, bracteoles, hypanthia, calyx lobes and calyx teeth densely to copiously composed of brownish clavate stipitate dendritic trichomes 0.15–0.25 mm long with short to moderately long thin-walled (flattened) arms, on the older internodes, nodes and petioles sparsely intermixed with elongate smooth trichomes 2.5–7 mm long. Leaves of each mature pair slightly unequal in size; the semiterete petioles 0.3–1.5 cm long, canaliculate adaxially, convexly following the primary vein abaxially, greenish; larger blades 7.5–17(–19.5) × 3.5–6.5 cm, smaller blades 4.8–9.8 × 2.1–4 cm, elliptic or rarely obovate-elliptic, the base attenuate to acute, the margin entire, the apex acuminate to gradually long acuminate, membranaceous; adaxial surface of mature leaves with the primary vein glabrescent, the secondary, tertiary and higher order veins glabrous; abaxial surface superficially glabrous except for a few glands on the venules, microscopically papillose with rounded glands, the tertiary and higher order veins densely to sparsely beset with white furrowed sessile glands 0.03–0.04 mm long, typically intermixed with fewer resinous glands of the same type; 5-nerved, including the tenuous marginals, areolae 0.25–0.3 mm, adaxially the primary and secondary veins impressed, the tertiary and higher order veins slightly impressed, abaxially the primary and secondary veins elevated and terete, the tertiary and higher order veins slightly elevated to flat. Inflorescences an axillary cluster of pseudofasciculate cymes 0.25–1.15 cm long, sessile, branching poorly developed with multiple axes arising from a common point at the base (fascicle-like) and elongating in fruit, paired mainly on defoliated nodes, the rachis green; bracts and bracteoles 0.2–0.65 × 0.2–0.4 mm, thick-triangular, erect and somewhat concave, green, early deciduous at anthesis but occasionally persistent in fruit. Flowers 4-merous, sessile at anthesis, pedicels somewhat elongating in fruit to 0.2 mm long, densely covered with the same type of trichomes as the general indumentum. Hypanthia at anthesis 2–2.5 × 1.2–1.5 mm, free portion of hypanthium (0.9–) 1.25–1.5 mm long, subcylindric and narrowly campanulate above the ovary apex, bluntly 8-ribbed, green, the indumentum frequently sparsely intermixed with caducous white furrowed sessile glands 0.03–0.04 mm long, inner surface ridged, glabrescent with a sparse indumentum like the hypanthium, torus adaxially sparsely and minutely resinousglandular. Calyx open in bud and persistent in fruit, green, becoming brownish in fruit; tube 0.25 mm long (to 0.5 mm long in fruit), with the same vestiture as the inner torus, and outer hypanthium; lobes 0.75–1.35 × 0.75–1.25 mm, triangular, the margin entire to vaguely undulate, the apex acute to rounded, reflexed at anthesis; exterior calyx teeth 0.85–1.45 mm long, subulate, inserted half way up the calyx lobes and widely spreading. Petals 2.65–3.5 × 0.85–1.5 mm, ovate-oblong, with a minute and inconspicuous subapical abaxial tooth, the margin entire, the apex bluntly and widely acute to rounded, translucent-white, glabrous on both surfaces, conspicuously reflexed at anthesis. Stamens 8; filaments ca. 1.5 × 0.25 mm, white, glabrous; anther thecae 2.85–3 × ca. 0.5 mm, linear-oblong and clavate, emarginate at the apex, opening by one dorsally inclined pore 0.1 mm in diameter, light green to white at anthesis, turning brown with age; connective light green to white, its prolongation and appendage 0.4–0.5 mm long, the appendage oblong-lanceolate, bluntly acute to obtuse at the apex, copiously beset with glandular trichomes from the edges to the center, with fewer glands of the same type throughout the connective, the latter also somewhat prolonged and gland-edged but unappendaged ventro-basally. Ovary 4-locular, 2/3 inferior, 0.85–1.2 mm long at anthesis, the apical collar absent, the apex 0.25–0.35 mm in diameter, shallowly bowl-like with a slightly raised perimeter, moderately but inconspicuously glandular-puberulent; style 3.5–5 mm long, parallel-sided (i.e. terete), white, glabrous; stigma capitellate at anthesis (truncate when dry). Berries 3–4 × 3.5–4.5

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GAMBA & ALMEDA

mm when dry, globose-oblate, bright orange when mature, the hypanthial indumentum persistent at maturity. Seeds 0.54–0.57 × 0.5–0.6 mm, pyramidal, yellow-brown; lateral symmetrical plane triangular, the highest point near the central part of the seed, with a foot-like projection near the raphal zone toward the micropylar side; antiraphal symmetrical plane suboblong; raphal zone circular to suboblong, ca. 33 % the length of the seed; multicellular sculpture rugose throughout the seed; individual cells elongate, anticlinal boundaries channeled, somewhat undulate to irregularly curved; periclinal walls convex, low to high-domed, microrelief striate.

Additional specimens studied:— COSTA RICA. Alajuela: Along road from San Ramón northward through Balsa , ca 4.6 km Nof bridge over Quebrada Volio and ca 4.6 km Nof bridge over Río Balsa ?, at small stream ( Río San Luis ?), 10°12’N, 84°31’W, 900–1000 m, 29 August 1979, Stevens 13794 ( CAS); (Upala) , No protegida, Cuenca del Zapote, Entrada La Carmela asalir ala estación, 10°43’15"N, 84°59’45"W, 600–700 m, 19 May 2004, Kriebel 4608 ( NY) ; 17–20 km NNW of San Ramón by road on way to San Lorenzo, 4 to 7 km Nof Balsa , 10°13’N, 84°32’W, 750 m, 24 April 1983, Liesner & Judziewicz 14680 ( MO) . Limón: (Limón), Vallede la Estrella, Z.P, Río Banano, Cuenca del Banano, Fila Matama, cerca de 9 km SW del pueblo de Aguas Zarcas, Sitio El Hotel, Alrededores del campamento, Faldas de la Flla Matama , 9°49’26.976"N, 83°9’42.012"W, 700–800 m, 31 October 2007, Solano et al. 4858 ( INB, NY, PMA) . San José: P.N. Braulio Carrillo, La Montura, 1100 m, 25 July 1982, Todzia 2004 ( NY) . ECUADOR. Carchi: Gualpi Chico, Awá encampment, trail on Awá reservation border, going S, 0°58’N, 78°16’W, 1330 m, 15 January 1988, Hoover et al. 2622 ( MO, US) ; Near encampment in Gualpi Chico area of Awá Reserve , 0°58’N, 78°16’W, 1330 m, 20 January 1988, Hoover et al. 2864 ( MO, US); (Tulcán) , Reserva Etnica Awá. Comunidad San Marcos, 25 km al NW de El Chical, parroquia Maldonado , 1500 m, 16–30 November 1990, Rubio et al. 1069 ( MO, US) . Carchi / Esmeraldas: Near Lita , 600 m, 19 May 1987, van der Werff et al. 9487 ( MO) . Esmeraldas: (Eloy Alfaro ), R.E. Cotacachi-Cayapas, Charco Vicente, Río San Miguel, Bosque húmedo tropical, bosque primario, 0°43’N, 78°53’W, 200 m, 20–31 September 1993, Tirado et al. 376 ( US); ( Quininde ) , Bilsa Biological Station, R.E. Mache-Chindul, 40 km NW of Quinindé, Loma de los Guerrilleros, Permanent plot #2, 0°22’N, 79°44’W, 650 m, 12 March 1997, Clark et al. 4032 ( CAS, QCNE); ( Quininde ) , Bilsa Biological Station, Mache mountains, 35 km Wof Quinindé 5 km Wof Santa Isabel, SE ridge trail, 0°21’N, 79°44’W, 400–600 m, 20 September 1994, Clark & Adnepos 87 ( CAS); ( Quininde ) , Bilsa Biological Station, Montañas de Mache, 35 km W of Quinindé, 5 km Wof Santa Isabel, Behind Manuel's house, 0°21’N, 79°44’W, 400–600 m, 16 May 1995, Clark & Watt 885 ( CAS); ( San Lorenzo) , R. Indígena Awá, Parroquia Ricaurte, Comunidad Balsareño , Río Palabí , 1°9’N, 78°31’W, 100 m, 15 April 1991, Rubio & Quelal 1391 ( CAS, MO, QCNE) . Manabí: (Pedernales), Cerro Pata de Pájaro, A 10 km al Ede Pedernales, A 5 km del rancho de la familia Arroyo , 0°1’N, 79°58’W, 850 m, 11 March 1997, Vargas et al. 1334 ( MO, QCNE); ( Pedernales ) , Cerro Pata de Pájaro, 10 km Eof Pedernales, Finca of the family Arroyo , 0°1’N, 79°58’W, 300–700 m, 21 June 1996, Clark et al. 2730 ( CAS) . Pichincha: Carretera Quito- Pto. Quito , km 113, 10 km al Nde la carrtera principal, bosque virgen y alrededores de la reserva, 0°5’N, 79°2’W, 800 m, 7 April 1984, Betancourt 174 ( US) ; Carretera Quito-Pto. Quito , km 113, 10 km al Nde la carrtera principal, bosque virgen y alrededores de la reserva, 0°5’N, 79°2’W, 800 m, 29 February 1984, Betancourt 149 ( US) . PANAMA. Bocas del Toro: Fortuna Dam, Pipeline road off Chiriquí Grande road at Continental Divide , 2–8 road miles from divide point, 25 June 1986, D'Arcy 16400 ( CAS) . Panamá: El Llano-Carti Road in vicinity of Gorgas Lao Mosquito Control Project Site at km 12, 1 August 1974, Croat 26064 ( MO) . San Blas: Nusagandi, El Llano- Carti Road , 19 km from Interamerican Hwy , Along tho old road parallel to the new one, Eof camp, 9°19’N, 78°55’W, 350 m, 26 August 1984, de Nevers & de León 3768 ( CAS, MO) ; Along newly cut road from El Llano to Carti-Tupile, Continental Divide to 1 mi from divide, 300–500 m, 30 March 1973, Liesner 1281 ( MO) . Veraguas: NW of Santa Fe, 8.8 km from Escuela Agrícola Alto de Piedra, Pacific slope, 25 February 1975, Mori & Kallunki 4852 ( CAS) ; Valley of Río Dos Bocas, 11–13 km beyond Agriculture School at Santa Fe , 350–500 m, 25 July 1974, Croat 25764 ( CAS, NY) ; Valley of Río Dos Bocas along road between Escuela Agrícola Alto Piedra and Calovebora , 15.6 km NW of Santa Fe, along trail to Santa Fe , steep forested hill Eof river, 450–550 m, 31 August 1974, Croat 27667 ( CAS) ; Valley of Río Dos Bocas on road between Alto Piedra (above Santa Fe ) and Calovebora , 350–400 m, 29 August 1974, Croat 27371 ( CAS, NY) ; NW of Santa Fe, 11 km from Escuela Agrícola Alto de Piedra, in valley of Río Dos Bocas, Atlantic slope, 450–550 m, 20 December 1974, Mori et al. 3811 ( CAS) .

Illustration:— Kriebel & Almeda 2009: 212, fig. 4.

Common names and documented uses:— None recorded.

Habitat, distribution and ecology:— Miconia aurantiaca is known from primary rain or cloud forest understory on the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica from the Cordillera de Tilarán, Cordillera Central and Cordillera

SYSTEMATICS OF THE OCTOPLEURA CLADE OF MICONIA

Phytotaxa 179 (1) © 2014 Magnolia Press 61 de Talamanca to the Carribean slope in Panama, disjunctly south to the Pacific slope of the Andes in Ecuador ( Fig. 12 ), at 200–1330 m. This species has been considered uncommon throughout its range. Although it has been poorly collected in northwestern Ecuador, where it is probably rare, M. aurantiaca is certainly expected in the southwestern part of the Chocó in Colombia.

Phenology:— Collected in flower intermittently throughout the year, from February through March, May through August, October and December; in fruit from February through August and in October.

Etymology:— The specific epithet refers to the mature orange berries that characterize this species.

Discussion:— Miconia aurantiaca is characterized by tertiary veins on the abaxial leaf surface that are copiously beset with white furrowed sessile glands, granulose-furfuraceous vegetative indumentum, fascicle-like short inflorescences mainly on defoliated nodes, and anther connective also somewhat prolonged and gland-edged but unappendaged ventro-basally. Within the Approximata subclade, M. aurantiaca is more similar to M. evanescens with which it has been confused; a detailed discussion of similarities and differences between these species is given in Kriebel & Almeda (2009). In M. alboglandulosa , as in M. aurantiaca , the anther connective is also prolonged and gland-edged ventrobasally. However, these two species are clearly different in leaf shape (elliptic, rarely obovate-elliptic with attenuate to acute base in M. aurantiaca vs. elliptic-lanceolate with broadly and bluntly acute to rounded base in M. alboglandulosa ). Moreover, in M. alboglandulosa , the glands on the abaxial leaf tertiary veins are densely intermixed, and frequently replaced by resinous glands of the same type, the granulose furfuraceous indumentum is notably smaller (0.053 –0.093 mm vs. 0.15–0.25 mm), the inflorescences are longer (1.5–3.5 cm vs. 0.25–1.15 cm). Miconia alboglandulosa and M. renatoi are more similar to each other, and distinguishable from M. aurantiaca by their bright pink hypanthium at anthesis (vs. green) and purple-black mature berries (vs. bright orange).

The presence of white furrowed glands on the abaxial tertiary and higher order leaf veins is fairly consistent in M. aurantiaca , but the quantity (dense vs. moderate) and color (white vs. resinous) of these glands is variable. A moderate number of resinous glands was found in specimens at 600–700 m (Kriebel 4608, Clark et al. 4032 and van der Werff et al. 9487), but no thorough studies have been conducted on the variation of this character with respect to elevation. These glands are also present, typically in lesser quantity, in other species of this complex, including M. alboglandulosa , M. approximata , and M. chocoensis .

In the protologue there is mention of an additional perhaps new species belonging to this complex that is close to M. aurantiaca . It is represented by seven specimens: Betancourt 149 ( US!), Betancourt 174 ( US!), Clark & Adnepos 87 (CAS!, MO, US!), Clark & Watt 885 (CAS!, MO, US!), Rubio et al. 1069 ( US!), Rubio & Quelal 1391 (CAS!, MO!, US!, QCNE), and Sparre 18048 (S, US), from the province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador. Although the second specimen mentioned was collected with flowers, all the floral parts except for the calyx and hypanthium have fallen away. This entity is indistinguishable macroscopically from M. aurantiaca , but consistently differs in lacking the white furrowed glands on the abaxial tertiary leaf veins, and has fimbriate scales on the torus. These distinctions were noted by Kriebel & Almeda (2009) and confirmed in this study. We agree that the description of this taxon as a new species should be postponed until more specimens are collected, especially with good mature flowers and fruits. Taking into account the variability in the quantity of the white glands mentioned above, population studies (morphological and genetic) may be needed to better understand the geographic variation in this character.

In the Flora of Ecuador (1980) Wurdack cited various specimens under M. approximata that he thought represented a related undescribed taxon. The specimens cited by Wurdack are a mixture of M. aurantiaca and other taxa in this species grouping. Among these collections, the ones that correspond to M. aurantiaca are Croat 25764, Mori & Kallunki 4852, and Sparre 17268. Romero-Castañeda 2800 (COL-internet image!) and Schnell 99 (F!) most certainly correspond to M. evanescens . Asplund 10104 (S), with more developed inflorescences ( Wurdack 1980), was not examined in the course of this study.

Conservation status:— This species would be considered Endangered EN B2ab(iii) based on IUCN criteria. A status of Vulnerable VU is warranted, because it occurs in few protected areas of Costa Rica and Ecuador, but it is not protected in Panama. Protected in Costa Rica in the Río Banano Protected Zone (Limón) and in the Braulio Carrillo National Park (San José). In Ecuador it is protected in the Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve, in the Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve, and in the Awá Indigenous Reserve (Esmeraldas).

Figures

FIGURE 12. Distributions of Miconia anchicayensis and M. chocoensis, M. approximata, M. atropurpurea, M. aurantiaca and M. aff. aurantiaca.