Maguirellaria Iamonico, 2023

Iamonico, Duilio, 2023, Maguirellaria (Caryophyllaceae), a new genus from Dominican Republic, Phytotaxa 598 (3), pp. 237-244 : 240

Maguirellaria Iamonico , gen. nov.

Type:— Maguirellaria howardii (Maguire) Iamonico.

Diagnosis: — Maguirellaria differs from Triplateia by stem pubescence (glabrous to glandular vs. glabrous to sparsely pubescent in Triplateia ); leaves [petioled (the basal and middle ones), and glandular-pubescent or glabrescent on the abaxial surface vs. sessile, and glabrous in Triplateia ]; pedicels of flowers (reflexed, 1.0– 2.5 cm long vs. erect, 2–10 mm long in Triplateia ); sepals (3-veined, and 2–3 × 1.7–1.8 mm vs. 1-veined, 1.0–2.2 × 0.5–1.2 mm in Triplateia ); petals (clearly longer than the sepals, with apex bifid vs. as long as or slightly longer then the sepals, with apex obtuse or rounded in Triplateia ); diameter of the seeds (0.8–1.3 mm vs. 1.5–2.0 mm in Triplateia ).

Description: —Plants perennial with stem prostrate, up to 30 cm height, glabrous to glandular, branched, terete. Leaves lanceolate to linear, shorter than the internodes, sessile or petioled (the basal and middle ones), base cuneate, apex acute, glandular-pubescent on the abaxial surface; stipules short, ovate, pubescent. Inflorescence terminal cymes and/or flowers solitary and axillary; pedicel present; sepals 5, elliptic-ovate (2–3 × 1.7–1.8 mm), 3-veined, acute to obtuse, green; petals 4–5, oblanceolate, longer than the sepals, bifid (lobes 1–2 mm long), white; styles 3, 1.5–2.0 mm long; fruit an ovoid capsule, about as long as the sepals; seeds reniform to orbicular, tuberculate, 0.8–1.3 mm in diameter.

Etymology: —My intent was to dedicate the new genus to Bassett Maguire (1904–1991), an American botanist and head curator of the New York Botanical Garden who first described Stellaria howardii and S. minutifolia , the two members of Maguirellaria . Unfortunately, the name Maguirea (derived from the surname Maguire) was already published by Hawkes (in Maguire 1948: 635, for a genus in the family Araceae Juss. ) and my proposal would be illegitimate (later homonym according to the Art. 53.1 of ICN). So, aiming to maintain “Maguire” in the generic epithet, a name which results from a combination of “Maguire” (Maguire -) and “ Stellaria ” (- llaria) was created.

Proposed vernacular name: —Maguire’s starwort.

Species richness: —A genus comprising two species [ Maguirellaria howardii (Maguire) Iamonico, and Maguirellaria minutifolia (Maguire) Iamonico ].

Chorology: — Maguirellaria is endemic to the Dominican Republic in the Provinces of Barahona , Benefactor, and Independencia.