Symplocos abietorum Standley & Steyermark (1947: 221)

Kelly, Lawrence M., Almeda, Frank & Fritsch, Peter W., 2016, A taxonomic revision of Mexican and Central American Symplocos (Symplocaceae), Phytotaxa 264 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

3. Symplocos abietorum Standley & Steyermark (1947: 221) . Type:— GUATEMALA. Dept. Huehuetenango: moist cool mixed cloud forest, with Pinus ayacahuite and Abies guatemalensis , around Rancho de Teja, 3 mi W of San Mateo Ixtatán, Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, 3330 m, [15°49′42″N, 91°29′42″W], 9 July 1942, J. A. Steyermark 48482 (holotype F!, isotype US!)

Shrubs or trees 2–9 m tall; juvenile branchlets and vegetative buds sparsely to moderately stiff-pilose, trichomes 0.75–1.5 mm long, spreading, brownish. Petioles 2–6 mm long; leaf blades bicolorous, elliptic to oval or obovate, 3–5 × 1.8–2.5 cm, coriaceous, abaxially glabrous to sparsely pilose (more densely so on midvein), adaxially glabrous, secondary veins not adaxially impressed, base obtuse, margins serrulate-denticulate distally, entire in proximal 1 cm, apex obtuse to rounded (rarely acute or abruptly short-acuminate). Inflorescences 1-flowered; peduncles 3–4 mm long,

18 • Phytotaxa 264 (1) © 2016 Magnolia Press

KELLY ET AL.

A TAXONOMIC REVISION OF SYMPLOCOS

Phytotaxa 264 (1) © 2016 Magnolia Press • 19 glabrous; bracts and bracteoles not readily distinguishable, persistent, 6–8, distributed from the base of the flower and further down along peduncle, ovate to broadly ovate, 3–5 × 2–3 mm, glabrous, margins ciliate. Hypanthium glabrous. Calyx lobes 5, ovate, 5–6 × 3–4 mm, glabrous, margins ciliate. Corolla pink, 5-lobed, 9–11 mm long; tube 2–3 mm long; lobes adnate to filament tube for 3–4 mm, obovate, glabrous. Stamens 3-seriate; filament tube 4–5 mm long; distinct portions of filaments 1.5–2.5 × 0.6–0.8 mm. Disk sparsely villous; style 6–7 mm long, pilose basally; stigma conspicuously and irregularly lobed. Fruits green maturing to dark bluish purple, ellipsoid to globose, 1.5–1.8 × 1.1–1.3 cm, glabrous, apex rounded to base of erect calyx lobes; disk convex, apex surpassed by calyx lobes but slightly exposed between them; endocarp 3-locular, perimeter rounded.

Vernacular name —Manzanote (Steyermark 48482 [F, US]).

Illustration — Figure 6 .

Phenology —Flowering February and April; fruiting February, April, and August.

Distribution and habitat —Western Guatemala (Sierra de los Cuchumatanes), in cool montane forests with Abies , Quercus , and Pinus at 2900–3350 m elev. Figure 7 .

Conservation status —This Guatemalan endemic is restricted to a narrow high elevation belt in the western mountains. None of the known populations occur in a protected area and the area, extent, and quality of habitat is projected to be in decline. The EOO is 2.6 km ² and the AOO is 12 km ². We classify this species as Critically Endangered (CR): B1ab(iv).

Discussion —This infrequently collected Guatemalan endemic is easily recognized by the combination of relatively small leaves with serrulate-denticulate margins, solitary flowers with glabrous sepals and petals, and large fruits (1.5–1.8 cm long) with persistent erect sepals.

Additional specimens examined — GUATEMALA. Huehuetenango: Santa Eulalia, 6 mi N of Santa Eulalia along rd to San Mateo Ixtatán , 9200 ft, [15°47′09″N, 91°30′43″W], 5 February 1965, Breedlove 8584 (DS!, F!) ;

20 • Phytotaxa 264 (1) © 2016 Magnolia Press

KELLY ET AL.

San Mateo Ixtatán , 3 mi NW of San Mateo Ixtatán along rd to San Pedro Soloma , 9600 ft, [15°50′02″N, 91°28′57″W], 6 February 1965, Breedlove 8645 (DS!, F!); San Mateo Ixtatán , along rd to San Pedro Soloma, 3 mi SW of San Mateo Ixtatán, 9600 ft, [15°49′42″N, 19°29′42″W], 5 August 1965, Breedlove 11551 (DS!, F!); E of Toequia , Sierra Cuchumatanes , 3200 m, 27 April 1948, Holdridge 2346 (F!, US!); Rancho de Teja , 3 mi W of San Mateo Ixtatán, Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, 3333 m, [15°49′42″N, 19°29′42″W], 9 July 1942, Steyermark 48467 (F!, US!); San Mateo Ixtatán, Aldea Pet., 3100 m, [15°50′02″N, 91°28′57″W], 15 February 2005, Véliz 15671 ( MO!) .

Figures

FIGURE 6. Symplocos abietorum. a. Branchlet with flowers. b. Close-up of (a) showing pubescence of abaxial leaf surface. c. Closeup of (a) showing leaf blade margin. d. Flower bud. e. Flower. f. Corolla opened with attached stamens. g. Style and stigma. h. Fruit. i. Fruit, cross section. (a–c drawn from D. E. Breedlove 8645, DS; d–i drawn from L. Holdridge 2346, F.)

FIGURE 7. Geographic distribution of Symplocos abietorum, S. austin-smithii, and S. austromexicana.