Miconia alatissima 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 : 40-41

2. Miconia alatissima Gamba & Almeda , spec. nov. ( Fig. 19 )

Distinguished by the dense vegetative and hypanthial indumentum consisting of white furrowed glands, and prominently winged internodes.

Type: ECUADOR. Prov. Carchi: Tulcán, Reserva Indígena Awá, Comunidad El Baboso, 12 km al Nde Lita , 00°53’N, 78°20’W, 1600 m, 20 September 1991, Rubio et al. 2176 (holotype: MO!; isotype: US!, QCNE-internet image!) .

Tree 6 m tall. Upper internodes quadrate, 1.7–2.3 cm long, conspicuously winged, cauline nodes strongly quadrate with a prominent nodal ridge that is confluent with the petiole. Indumentum on branchlets, petioles, primary, secondary, tertiary and higher order veins abaxially, inflorescence axes, bracts, bracteoles, hypanthia, calyx lobes and calyx teeth densely to copiously composed of a mixture of white furrowed subsessile glands and a resinousglandular squamate-amorphous indumentum (these appearing like brown amorphous glandular scales), both ca. 0.08–0.1 mm long. Leaves of each pair isophyllous; the quadrate petiole 1.9–3.3 cm long, deeply canaliculate adaxially, bluntly ridged abaxially; blades 16.8–22.2 × 7.2–9.9 cm, elliptic to more or less obovate-elliptic, the base acute, the margin entire to obscurely crenulate, the apex bluntly acuminate, chartaceous; adaxial surface of mature leaves, primary, secondary, tertiary and higher order veins sparsely beset with resinous short stalked glands 0.2 mm long with thin-walled elongate heads; abaxial surface glabrous except for a few glands on the venules; 5-plinerved, including the tenuous marginals, innermost pair secondary veins diverging slightly asymmetrically from the primary vein 0.5–1 cm above the base, areolae ca. 2 mm, adaxially the primary vein impressed and canaliculate, the secondary, tertiary and higher order veins impressed, abaxially the primary and secondary veins elevated and terete, the tertiary and higher order veins slightly raised. Inflorescences a terminal dithyrsoid 16–24.5 cm long, including a quadrate peduncle 1.81–6 cm long, the paracladia multiflorous and highly branched, erect and spreading, 3–5-furcate from the peduncle apex, the rachis and secondary axes quadrate and ridged with

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GAMBA & ALMEDA

conspicuous linear outgrowths at the inflorescence nodes, along with bracts and bracteoles, the resinous-glandular squamate-amorphous indumentum seemingly composed of resinous slightly furrowed more or less stalked glands (probably deformed during the drying process); bracts 0.65–0.8 × 0.4–0.5 mm, oblong to oblong-triangular, the margin inconspicuously serrulate, somewhat swollen at the base to the area of insertion, the swollen bases of each pair of bracts confluent with the pedicel base to form a swollen ring, early deciduous at anthesis and leaving conspicuous scars; bracteoles 1.4 × 0.3 mm, spatulate-oblong, early deciduous at anthesis. Flowers 5-(6-) merous on pedicels 0.3–0.5 mm long. Hypanthia at anthesis 2.5–2.6 × 1 mm, free portion of hypanthium to 1 mm long, campanulate, obscurely 10-ribbed, ridged on the inner surface, glabrous, the torus adaxially sparsely glandularpuberulent, the glands rounded and sessile. Calyx open in bud and persistent at anthesis; tube 0.5 mm long, vaguely undulate, with the same vestiture as the torus adaxially and the hypanthium abaxially; lobes to ca. 1 mm long or obsolete, the margin vaguely undulate, the apex blunt, cream, glabrescent adaxially; exterior calyx teeth <0.1 mm long, inconspicuously linear-tuberculiform, inserted at the base of the calyx lobes or the tube, not projecting or barely equaling the lobes. Petals 4.5 × 0.4 mm, oblong, the margin entire, the apex rounded, cream, densely papillose on both surfaces, erect to slightly spreading at anthesis. Stamens 10; filaments 1.8–2 × 0.25 mm, cream, sparsely beset with short to somewhat elongate stalked glands with thin-walled short heads; anther thecae 1.5–2 × 0.3–0.5 mm, oblong-subulate, slightly compressed laterally, bluntly acuminate at the apex, opening by one dorsally inclined pore 0.1 mm in diameter, cream; connective darker than the thecae when dry, its prolongation and appendage 0.5 mm long, the appendage oblong and somewhat enveloping the filament, the margin obscurely cleft, rounded-truncate at the apex, the surface minutely and sparsely resinous glandular, the glands covering the entire connective extension, the connective also somewhat prolonged and resinous-glandular but unappendaged ventrobasally. Ovary 5-locular, 3/4 inferior, 2.4–2.5 mm long at anthesis, the apical collar absent, the apex 0.3–0.4 mm in diameter, somewhat conic-truncate with a slightly raised perimeter, glandular-puberulent; style 6 mm long, parallel-sided (i.e. terete), white, glabrous; stigma expanded truncate to capitellate. Berries and seeds not seen.

Additional specimens studied:— ECUADOR. Cotopaxi: (Cantón La Maná), Reserva Ecológica Los Illinazas, Cerro Tilipulo , vertiente N, Cordillera Tilinche , bosque primario, 0°45’46”S, 79°06’14”W, 1375 m, 24 July 2003, Silverstone-Sopkin et al. 9409 ( CAS, CUVC) .

Illustration:— Fig. 18 .

Common names and documented uses:— None recorded.

Habitat, distribution and ecology:— This species is known from only two collections, one at the Awá Reserve in Carchi and another from the Illinazas Ecological Reserve in Cotopaxi, Ecuador ( Fig. 11 ). It grows in flat areas of primary premontane rainforests at 1375–1600 m .

Phenology:— Collected in flower in September, and in fruit in July.

Etymology:— The specific epithet refers to the prominently winged internodes.

Discussion:— Miconia alatissima differs in the dense indumentum on vegetative parts and hypanthia which consist of white furrowed glands combined with resinous glands or scales. It is also distinctive in having prominently winged and quadrate cauline internodes and densely papillose petals. One collection of this new species was misidentified as M. variabilis which has a totally different indumentum and anther morphology. The combination of furrowed glands and papillose petals may indicate that this species is more closely related to those belonging either to the Quinquenervia subclade, or to the Approximata subclade.

Conservation status:— Critically endangered CR D. Known only from two protected areas in Ecuador; in the Awá Ethnic Reserve and in the Illinazas Ecological Reserve. No recent collections from the type area locality seen in this study .

Figures

FIGURE 11. Distributions of Miconia aguilarii, M. alatissima, M. albertobrenesii, and M. alboglandulosa.

FIGURE 18. Miconia alatissima. A. Habit, showing details of abaxial foliar surface. B. Flower. C. Stamen, abaxial view (left), lateral view (right) with detail of anther connective appendage. D. Style. Based on Rubio et al. 2176, MO. Drawn by Sean V. Edgerton.

FIGURE 19. Miconia anchicayensis. A. Habit, showing detail of abaxial foliar base. B. Flower. C. Stamen, lateral view (left), abaxial view (right). D. Berry, top view (top), lateral view (bottom). E. Seed, from immature fruit. Based on Almeda et al. 10266, CAS. Drawn by Sean V. Edgerton.