Ipomoea appendiculata

Wood, John R. I., Munoz-Rodriguez, Pablo, Williams, Bethany R. M. & Scotland, Robert W., 2020, A foundation monograph of Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) in the New World, PhytoKeys 143, pp. 1-823 : 1

58. Ipomoea appendiculata J.R.I. Wood & Scotland, Kew Bull. 70 (31): 57. (Wood et al. 2015: 57)

Type.

BOLIVIA. Santa Cruz, Prov. Gran Chaco, 10-20 km from Villamontes towards Palos Blancos, J.R.I. Wood, D. Villarroel & B. Williams 27607 (holotype USZ, isotypes OXF, K, LPB).

Description.

Vigorous liana climbing over other plants to c. 3 m, stems woody, pale brown, glabrous. Leaves petiolate, slightly succulent and often transversely folded, 5-7 × 4-5 cm, broadly ovate, shallowly cordate with rounded auricles, shortly acuminate to a mucronate apex, margin entire, both surfaces pale green and glabrous; petioles 2-3.5 cm, glabrous. Inflorescence of shortly pedunculate axillary cymes with up to five flowers; peduncles 2-3.5 cm, rigid, glabrous; bracteoles 2-4 × 1 mm, lanceolate, boat-shaped, scurfy puberulent, caducous; secondary and tertiary peduncles 1-2.5 cm; pedicels (1-)2.2-3 cm, straight, glabrous below, upwards thickened, scurfy puberulent; sepals subequal, 5-7 × 3-5 mm, ovate, puberulent, each with two swollen glabrous appendages on each side towards the base, outer sepals acute to obtuse, mucronate, inner sepals obtuse to rounded, minutely mucronate, margins scarious, glabrous; corolla 6.5-7 cm long, funnel-shaped, uniformly pink, puberulent in bud, glabrescent at anthesis, limb 5 cm diam., undulate but not lobed. Capsules ovoid, 6 × 7 mm, glabrous; seeds 1.6 × 1 mm. ovoid, obtuse, brown, glabrous.

Illustration.

Figures 2H , 39 .

Distribution.

Endemic to southern Bolivia where it grows in chaco scrub between Villamontes and Palos Blancos in the Andean foothills at 500-650 m.

BOLIVIA. Tarija: Prov. Gran Chaco, J.R.I. Wood et al. 28024 (LPB, USZ), 28027 (LPB, OXF, USZ).

Note.

This species shows some similarity to Ipomoea amnicola Morong in the somewhat succulent leaves, these often being deciduous on herbarium species, and also to I. tarijensis O'Donell in the commonly folded leaves. The 5-6 mm long sepals are shorter than those of I. hieronymi and lack the dark glands sometimes found in that species and in I. megapotamica . The distinctive swollen appendages on the dorsal surface of the sepals immediately separate this species from all others known to us.

Figures

Figure 2. Sepals of Ipomoea species. A I. setifera B I. dumetorum C I. aristolochiifolia D I. crinicalyx E I. plummerae F I. bahiensis G I. amnicola H I. appendiculata. Photographs of A (Wood et al. 27771) B (Wood et al. 27654) D (Wood et al. 27606) and G (Wood et al. 27706) by Beth Williams C (Wood 27926) H (Wood et al. 28024) by John Wood E by Mario Giorgetta F (Queiroz et al. 15950) by Hibert Huaylla.

Figure 39. Ipomoea appendiculata. A habit B immature fruit showing appendages C outer sepal D inner sepal E corolla opened out to show stamens F ovary and style G seed. Drawn by Rosemary Wise from Wood et al. 27633.