Lepidaploa amambaia Robinson (1998: 40)

Marques, Danilo, Farco, Gabriela Elizabeth, Nakajima, Jimi Naoki & Dematteis, Massimiliano, 2018, The genus Lepidaploa (Vernonieae, Asteraceae) in southern South America, Phytotaxa 362 (2), pp. 115-142 : 118-119

1. Lepidaploa amambaia Robinson (1998: 40) .

Type :— BRAZIL. Mato Grosso do Sul state, Rod. MT 642, “ 20 km de Amambai’, 16 December 1983, G. Hatschbach & L. Callejas 47289 (holotype MBM! [photo!]; isotype US! [photo!]). Figure 1

Herbs or erect subshrubs 0.4–0.7 m tall; branches strigose-tomentose, slightly ribbed. Leaves distichous, cauline, internodes 2.4–2.8 cm long, petioles 1.5–2.6 mm long; blade 3.5–5.3 × 0.7–1.9 cm, chartaceous, smooth, ovate-lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, apex largely apiculate, margins denticulate, base attenuate to cuneate, both surfaces strigose; venation eucamptodromous-brochidodromous. Capitulescence seriate-cymose with capitula sessile, 8.3– 17. 4 cm long, axis strigose-tomentose, green or whitish. Involucre largely campanulate, 8–10 mm in diam., phyllaries 5–6-seriate, chestnut, greenish, membranaceous, strigose, outer elliptic-lanceolate, apex apiculate, inner lanceolate, apex apiculate. Florets 17–18, corolla violet, tube 4–6 mm long, glabrous, lobes 2.5–3 mm long, lanceolate, apex setose; apical anther appendages obtuse, base obtuse; basal stylar node enlarged. Cypsela turbinate to obconic, 1.5–2 mm long, velutinous; carpopodium annular. Pappus white.

Selected specimens examined — PARAGUAY. Amambay: 25 km N of J. P. Caballero, 10 December 1997, M. Dematteis & A. Schinini 867 (CTES). Caaguazú: Fazenda La Esmeralda, 11 December 1982, A. Schinini s.n. (CTES 22903). Central: Limpio, 13 March 1985, E. Bordas 3674 (CTES). Concepción: 25 km of San Carlos from Apa, Estancia Arrecifes, 06 March 2009, M. Dematteis 3336 (CTES, FCQ).

Distribution and habitat —In southern South America this species occurs only in the departments Amambay, Caaguazú, Central and Concepción in Paraguay. According to Dematteis & Cabrera (2009), L. amambaia also occurs in the department Canindeyú, Paraguay. It was found on fields of Cerrado ( Figure 2 ).

Phenology —Collected with flowers and fruits between December and March.

Notes —It is similar to L. psilostachya , L. remotiflora and L. setososquamosa which also occur in southern South America. Lepidaploa amambaia can de differentiated from L. psilostachya by its usually greater size, 0.4–0.7 (versus 0.3–0.45) m tall, leaves present only on the stem (versus at the base and on the stem), leaf apex long apiculate (versus acute) and venation eucamptodromous-brochidodromous (versus camptodromous). In turn, L. amambaia differs from L. remotiflora by the apiculate (versus acute) apex of its leaves, a smaller (17–18 versus 21–23) number of florets and the absence (versus presence) of glandular trichomes on the style branches and corolla lobes. Finally, L. amambaia is distinguished from L. setososquamosa by 17–18 (versus 23–25) florets per head, involucre 8–10 (versus 14–15) mm long, petiolate leaves (versus sessile) and velutinous cypselae (versus sericeous-glandular).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Lepidaploa amambaia. A. Plant. B. Stem detail. C. Abaxial leaf surface detail. D. Abaxial leaf surface detail. E. Capitula. F. Cypsela and pappus. G. Floret. H. Floret dissected with anther detail. I. Style. J. Corolla lobe detail. K–M. Inner phyllaries. N–O. Outer phyllaries.

FIGURE 2. Geographical distribution of L. amambaia (circle) and L. argyrotricha (square) in Cone Sur.