Magnolia picopijolensis A.Vázquez, 2022

Vázquez-García, J. Antonio, Kelly, Daniel L., Mejía-Valdivieso, Darío A., Morales, Wilson, Dahua-Machoa, Alex, Vega-Rodríguez, Hermes, Peña, Alondra Salomé Ortega, Padilla-Lepe, Jesús & Muñiz-Castro, Miguel Á., 2022, Magnolia (Magnoliaceae) in Honduras: a synopsis with six new taxa, Phytotaxa 570 (2), pp. 109-149 : 133-136

Magnolia picopijolensis A.Vázquez , sp. nov. ( Figs. 16–17 )

Type:— HONDURAS. Yoro: Valley of Río Pijol, NW slope above a small stream, ca. 100 m NE of its confluence with Río Pijol , ca. 3 km SE of Cerro Pajarillos, ca. 7 km S of Nueva Esperanza; Parque Nacional Pico Pijol , primary forest, 1600 m, 5°12’ N, 87°35’ W, 28 May 1993, Evans 1748 (holotype: MO! [two sheets: fl & fr]; isotypes: BM!, EAP!, ENCB!, INB!, MEXU!, TEFH!) .

Magnolia picopijolensis differs from M. poasana in its narrower petals 1.0–1.1 vs. 2.5–3.6 cm, less numerous stamens, 38–42 vs. 50–54, and carpels 13–14 vs. 24–26, more numerous lateral leaf veins per side and shorter peduncles, 2.0–2.5 vs. 3.0–4.0 cm long ( Table 4 ).

Trees 25 m tall, terminal twig internodes 7.4–11.1 × 2.8–4.2 cm, blackish when dried, with lenticels, petioles 1.6–2.1 × 0.2–0.3 cm, laminas elliptic to oblanceolate 11.0–13.5 × 3.3–5.0 cm, acute at the base, apex acute with a drip tip 4.0–5.0 mm long, lateral veins per side 16–17, peduncle 1–2 internodes, 2.0– 2.5 cm long. Flower colour unknown,10.0– 11.1 cm in diam., sepals 3.9 × 0.6 cm, petals 4.0–4.6 × 1.0– 1.1 cm, stamens 38–42, 8.0–9.0 × 1.2–1.5 mm, gynoecium 13.0 × 8.0 mm, stigmas curved outward, fruit 3.4–3.5 × 1.8–1.9 cm, ellipsoid, carpels 13–14, basally 1.7–1.8 × 0.6–0.7 cm, apical carpels 1.2–1.3 × 0.4–0.5 cm, dorsally gibbous, beaked apically, seeds unknown.

Etymology:— Refers to Pico Pijol in Yoro department, currently protected in a national park.

Distribution, habitat and phenology:— Endemic to Honduras, rare, 1600 m in cloud forest, known only from the valley of Río Pijol, Pico Pijol National Park ( Fig. 1 ; Table 2 ). Flowering April–May, fruiting May–June.

Ethnobotany:— No ethnobotanical information has been recorded for the species.

Conservation status:— Critically endangered (CR), according to the IUCN criterion B1ab(iii). This species is only known from the original collection nearly three decades ago. In recent explorations by some of the authors, no evidence has been found of the presence of this species in other nearby locations. It is estimated that this species has an extent of occurrence (EOO) <10 km 2, and a continuing decline in the area, extent, and quality of its habitat has been observed. Its particularly narrow distribution indicates this species requires further exploration and urgent protection ( Table 1 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Geographic distribution of Honduran Magnoliaceae.

FIGURE 16. Magnolia picopijolensis. A. flowering branch. B. Fruit with peduncle. C. Leaf variability. Drawing by Esaú Vázquez- Verdejo.

FIGURE 17. Magnolia picopijolensis. A. flowering branch. B. Flower about to open and leaf. C. Fully open flower showing gynoecium and a stamen. D. Fruit with peduncle.All from type material. Photographs by A. Vázquez.