Nothotalisia karsticola Londoño-Ech. & A.M.Trujillo, 2023

Londoño-Echeverri, Yeison & Trujillo-López, Ana María, 2023, Taxonomic studies in Colombian Picramniaceae (Picramniales): new species of Aenigmanu, Nothotalisia and Picramnia from the Pacific and Magdalena Valley regions, Phytotaxa 622 (5), pp. 281-297 : 287-291

Nothotalisia karsticola Londoño-Ech. & A.M.Trujillo , sp. nov. ( Figs 4–6 )

Type:— COLOMBIA. Antioquia: Mun. Maceo, DRMI del Río Alicante, vereda Santa Barbara, cerca a los predios de la Hacienda Santa Barbara, unidad agrícola familiar número 10, 462 m, 6°32ʹ57.69ʹʹN, 74°37ʹ28.90ʹʹW, 19 Dec 2021 (fr), Trujillo et al. 291 (holotype: HUA!; isotypes: MEDEL!, JAUM!) .

Nothotalisia karsticola can be distinguished from N. piranii Thomas (2011: 54) by its puberulous abaxial leaflet surface (vs. glabrous), eucamptodromous leaflet secondary veins becoming brochidodromous distally (vs. brochidodromous across the blade, festooned brochidodromous toward the middle length), usually longer inflorescences, staminate 8.7–17.2 (–25.4) cm long and pistillate (1.1–) 3.0– 18.9 cm long (vs. staminate 5.0–12.0 cm, pistillate 4.0–10.0 cm); pistillate inflorescences racemose, i.e., racemes bearing solitary flowers (vs. pistillate inflorescences in thyrses, i.e., racemes bearing glomerules), staminate flowers with longer petals 2.3–2.7 mm long (vs. 1.3–1.5 mm), anthers apically mucronate (vs. blunt) and mature fruits beaked apically (vs. usually rounded apically).

Shrub or tree 2–6 m tall, indumentum of simple trichomes, buds densely shortly strigose to puberulous, young branchlets shortly strigose, glabrescent. Leaves imparipinnate, 1–3 (–4)-foliolate, alternate, commonly crowded at floriferous nodes, petiole (1.0–) 5.2–11.0 cm long, terete, slightly basally pulvinate, puberulous, rachis (1.7–) 3.1–9.6 cm long, terete, puberulous, petiolule (0.2–) 0.5–0.7 cm long, puberulous; leaflets largest toward leaf apex; blades 8.2–27.0 × 2.6–10.8 cm, the larger lateral blade (2.6–) 3.7–8.7 cm wide, ovate to elliptic (oblong), basally acute to obtuse and cuneate to slightly decurrent, apically acute and broadly long-acuminate or rarely cuneate, the acumen and midvein usually curved apically; all blades puberulous abaxially, sparsely puberulous only over the primary and secondary veins adaxially; primary vein raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, secondary veins 5–9 on each side, raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, eucamptodromous becoming brochidodromous distally, tertiary veins raised abaxially, flat adaxially, percurrent or occasionally irregularly reticulate; margin entire. Inflorescences in thyrses in staminate plants or racemes in pistillate plants, terminal, but with axillary appearance because of the branchlet reorientation, erect, (1.1–) 3.0–18.9 (–25.4) cm long, axes puberulous, glabrescent at base; peduncle 0.9–4.2 cm long, terete, rachis (0.2–) 1.0–17.1 (–24.1) cm long, complanate; staminate thyrses 8.7–17.2 (–25.4) cm long, peduncle 1.3–2.9 cm long, rachis 6.9–15.3 (–24.1) cm long, primary bracts ca. 1.0 × 0.4 mm, ovate, apically acute and cuneate, shortly strigose abaxially, glabrous adaxially, margin entire; secondary inflorescences forming dense cymules, elongate with age and then as scaly short shoots, up to 4 mm long, sometimes once-forked, bearing 1–4 flowers at time; secondary bracts ca. 0.5 × 0.2 mm, ovate, apically acute and cuneate, shortly strigose abaxially, glabrous adaxially, margin entire; pedicel 1–2 mm long, terete, shortly strigose to puberulous, bracteoles 1–2 per pedicel, each ca. 0.2 × 0.2 mm, ovate, apically acute and cuneate, abaxially shortly strigose, adaxially glabrous, attached at base of pedicel, margin entire; (the features for pistillate racemes and flowers were taken from specimens with young fruits) pistillate racemes (1.1–) 3.0– 18.9 cm long, peduncle 0.9–4.2 cm long, terete, rachis (0.2–) 1.0– 17.1 cm long, primary bracts 0.9–1.2 × 0.4 mm, ovate, apically acute and cuneate, shortly strigose abaxially, glabrous adaxially, margin entire, no secondary inflorescences, i.e., flowers solitary; pedicel 3–8 mm long, 1–2 mm thick, terete, shortly strigose to puberulous, bracteoles 2 per pedicel, ca. 0.6 × 0.4 mm, ovate, apically acute and cuneate, shortly strigose abaxially, glabrous adaxially, attached at base of pedicel, margin entire. Flowers pentamerous, greenish in vivo; staminate flowers with quincuncial calyx aestivation, sepals 1.5–1.9 × 0.8–0.9 mm, narrowly ovate, apically obtuse and rounded, shortly strigose to puberulous abaxially, glabrous adaxially, margin entire; corolla aestivation imbricate, petals 2.3–2.7 × 0.7 mm, narrowly oblanceolate to oblong above the claw, apically acute and rounded, puberulous on both surfaces, margin entire; androgynophore ca. 1.2 × 0.4 mm (measured to the anther and pistillodium insertion), sparsely puberulous; stamens 5, filament nearly obsolete, ca. 0.2 mm long, anthers ca. 0.5 × 0.3 mm (including mucro), broadly elliptic, basally rounded, apically rounded and mucronate, dorsifixed but near base, thecae glabrous, mucro from the connective extension, ca. 0.1 mm long, sparsely puberulous, pistillodium ca. 0.8 × 0.2 mm, densely puberulous; pistillate flowers with sepals (1.0–) 1.2–1.9 × 0.8–1.0 mm, ovate to elliptic, apically acute, cuneate to slightly rounded, shortly strigose to puberulous abaxially, glabrous adaxially, margin entire; calyx aestivation, corolla, staminodes, disc and complete ovary not seen; style obsolete, stigma 2-lobed, each ca. 0.6 × 0.7 mm, apparently papillate. Fruits 1.6–2.6 × 0.9–1.7 cm, ellipsoid, basally narrowed, apically beaked, shortly strigose to puberulous, glabrescent, surface smooth to finely verrucose, yellow at maturity in vivo, pericarp ca. 1.5 mm thick. Seed 1, ca. 1.2–2 × 0.8–1.3 cm, testa glabrous, reddish in sicco, cotyledons distinct, plano-convex, each ca. 3.8 mm thick.

Distribution and habitat:— Endemic to Colombia, where it has been recorded only from the Department of Antioquia, in the municipalities of Maceo, Puerto Berrío and Remedios( Fig. 3 ), in the Magdalena Valley Biogeographical Region in the understory of forests on karst (i.e., over calcareous rocky outcrops), under equatorial monsoon and rainforest climate types (Am, Af), at elevations of 380– 556 m.

Phenology:— Flowering March and December, fruiting March, August and December. Due to the persistent inflorescences (See Thomas 2011: 53), it is possible that the staminate plants flower throughout the year.

Etymology:— Referring to inhabiting karst areas.

Conservation status:— Known from two subpopulations with AOO = 24 km 2 and EOO = 182 km 2. Its habitat is continuously decreasing in quality because it is composed of small (<100 km 2) and fragmented forest patches, surrounded by a matrix of livestock farming under continuous expansion. Although all subpopulations are less than 15 km from population centres, only one is partially inside a protected area, resulting in one location in a protected area and two outside (for location definition see IUCN 2012). Although there is some presence in protected areas, the endangered category, EN, is proposed according to criteria B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) because of its small, restricted distribution, low connectivity among subpopulations, apparent requirements for karst (unusual in Colombia where many of these are threatened by mining), continuous decrease in quality of its habitat and direct threats of mining and deforestation, the latter well documented in the Magdalena River Valley, a hotspot of deforestation in Colombia ( Sanchez-Cuervo & Aide 2013).

Additional specimens examined:— COLOMBIA. Antioquia. Mun. Maceo: Corregimiento La Susana, alrededores del río Cupiná , cerro Mauro y cerro El Desquite , 556 m, 6°37ʹ17.79ʹʹN, 74°38ʹ5.63ʹʹW, 24 Oct 2020 (st), Londoño et al. 763 ( HUA) ; DRMI del Río Alicante , vereda Santa Barbara, cerca a los predios de la Hacienda Santa Barbara, unidad agrícola familiar número 10, 462 m, 6°32ʹ57.69ʹʹN, 74°37ʹ28.90ʹʹW, 18 Dec 2021 (♁bud), Londoño et al. 1019 ( HUA, MEDEL, COL) ; ibid., 18 Dec 2021 (fr), Londoño et al. 1022 ( MEDEL, COL) ; ibid., 4 Jun 2022 (im fr), Pérez et al. 3323 ( MEDEL) ; vereda Santa Bárbara, fragmento de bosque asociado a ecosistema karstico de la quebrada Alejandria, 456 m, 6°32ʹ49.73ʹʹN, 74°37ʹ39.39ʹʹW, 7 Dec 2020 (fr), Posada et al. 530 ( JAUM) ; cañon del Río Alicante , margenes de la quebrada Guardasol, 500 m, [6°33ʹ32.30ʹʹN, 74°37ʹ38.39ʹʹW], 14 August 2010 (fr), Tuberquia et al. 3211 ( HUA) . Mun. Puerto Berrío: vereda Alicante, finca Penjamo , en la via de San Juan de Bedout-La Cabaña , a lo largo de la quebrada de la quebrada Penjamo , 380–410 m, 6°39ʹ0ʹʹN, 74°32ʹ0ʹʹW, 1 Mar 1990 (♁fl), Callejas et al. 9272 ( HUA, US-3712279 digital image) ; vereda Alicante, 1 km S de finca Penjamo, en la via de San Juan de Bedout-La Cabaña , 500 m, 6°39ʹ0ʹʹN, 74°33ʹ0ʹʹW, 2 Mar 1990 (fr), Callejas et al. 9309 ( HUA) . Mun. Remedios: vereda El Costeñal, carretera Remedios-Puerto Berrío, km 10, hacia río Duguito , 800 m, 6°55ʹ0ʹʹN, 74°48ʹ0ʹʹW, [400 m, 6°52ʹ54.77ʹʹN, 74°28ʹ30.12ʹʹW] 13–14 Dec 1997 (fr), Roldán et al. 3050 ( HUA, JAUM) .

Notes:— Nothotalisia karsticola shares with N. piranii the number of leaflets, 1–3 (–4)-foliolate (up to 5-foliolate in description of N. piranii ), large leaflets, and fruits with a smooth to verrucose, not cancellate surface. The previous record of N. peruviana ( Standley 1936: 165) Thomas (2011: 55) from Colombia was based only on a staminate specimen Callejas et al. 9272. Thomas (2011) stated that this specimen exhibited some unusual morphological features for N. peruviana , which was recognised by him as the most variable and widely distributed. Here, this specimen is placed under N. karsticola , which along with the pistillate specimen, Roldán et al. 3050, represent the extreme lower size of leaflets known for the new species. The Callejas et al. 9272 specimen was collected close to the Callejas et al. 9309 pistillate specimen with leaflet size more typical for N. karsticola .

The Callejas et al. 9272 and Londoño et al. 1019 specimens share the diagnostic features for staminate plants of N. karsticola : leaves 1–3 (–4)-foliolate, leaflet blades puberulous abaxially, with the secondary veins eucamptodromous becoming brochidodromous distally, longer inflorescences and anthers apically mucronate.The Callejas 9272 specimen is the only available one with open staminate flowers, providing the size of petals known for the new species, which are also diagnostic and longer than those of N. peruviana and N. piranii .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Distribution of Aenigmanu chococola, Nothotalisia karsticola and Picramnia vinacea.

FIGURE 4. Holotype of Nothotalisia karsticola.

FIGURE 5. Nothotalisia karsticola.A. Flowering branchlet of staminate plant.B. Indument at leaflet abaxial surface.C. Fruiting branchlet of pistillate plant. D. Cymules of staminate inflorescences. E. Staminate flower, one sepal and two petals removed. F. Details of staminate flower, petal at right, androecium and gynoecium at left, two anthers removed. G. Young infructescence. H. Stigma on immature fruit. I. Mature fruit. (A–B from Londoño et al. 1019; C, I, from the holotype; D–F from Callejas et al. 9272, G–H from Pérez et al. 3323; illustration by Ana Cristina Pareja, HUA).

FIGURE 6. Photographs of habitat (A–B) and live plants of Nothotalisia karsticola (C–E) and Picramnia vinacea (F–I). A. Habitat at landscape-scale. B. Understory habitat. C. Leaf of pistillate plant. D. Fruiting branchlet of pistillate plant. E. Immature but fully expanded fruit. F. Mature branchlet of pistillate plant. G. Fruiting raceme. H. Fruit details. I. Open fruit with one seed. (A–B, from the type locality of N. karsticola and P. vinacea; C–E, from Londoño et al. 1022; F–I from David et al. 4043; composed by Ana Cristina Pareja, HUA. A. by Jorge Pérez (MEDEL); B, D–E by A.M. Trujillo; C by Y. Londoño, F–I by Heriberto David, HUA).