Symplocos schiedeana Schlechtendal (1833: 527)

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

25. Symplocos schiedeana Schlechtendal (1833: 527) . Lectotype (designated here):— MEXICO. [Veracruz:] Barranca de Tioselo inter Tioselo et Jicochimalco , [19°22′30″N, 96°55′47″W], 29 August 1828, C. J. W. Schiede 181 (lectotype HAL-98594-n.v., online image!, isolectotypes K-644494-n.v., online image!, P-761307-n.v., online image!, photo ex P at F! and US!)

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= Symplocos johnsonii Standley (1927: 169) . Type:— GUATEMALA. Alta Verapaz: Samac, near Cobán, 1350 m, [15°28′23″N, 90°26′44″W], 20 October 1920, H. Johnson 874 (holotype US!, isotypes F!, US!) .

Trees 9–21 m tall; juvenile branchlets and vegetative buds glabrous, juvenile branchlets occasionally striate from petiole bases. Petioles 1–2.5 cm long; leaf blades bicolorous, elliptic or oblong to obovate, 10–23 × 4–9 cm, subcoriaceous, glabrous, secondary veins not adaxially impressed, base acute, margins entire, apex obtuse or abruptly short-acuminate. Inflorescences condensed sessile or subsessile spikes 1.4–3 cm long, 5–8 flowered; peduncle 0–1 mm long; rachis 5–15 mm long, glabrous or sericeous, trichomes if present 0.5–. 75 mm long; bracts persistent, ovate, 1–2 × 1–2 mm, sparsely sericeous, margins ciliate; bracteoles persistent, 3–7, ovate to broadly ovate, lowermost 1–1.5 × 1–1.5 mm, uppermost 1.5–2 × 1.5–2 mm distally on the pedicel, sparsely sericeous, margins ciliate; pedicels absent. Hypanthium glabrous to puberulent. Calyx lobes 5, suborbicular, 1–2 × 2–2.5 mm, sericeous to occasionally glabrous, margins sparsely ciliate toward apex. Corolla white or pink, 5-lobed, 9–15 mm long; tube 5–6 mm long; lobes adnate to filament tube for 6–7 mm, linear-oblong to oblanceolate, glabrous or sparsely to densely sericeous medially. Stamens 3–4-seriate; filament tube 9–12 mm long; distinct portions of filaments 3–5 × 0.5–0.75 mm. Disk densely pilose; style 9–15 mm long, densely pilose basally or up to ± halfway; stigma conspicuously and irregularly lobed. Fruits green maturing to dark bluish purple, ± cylindrical, 1.7–3.5 × 0.8–1.5 cm, glabrous, apex gradually narrowed to base of spreading calyx lobes; disk conical, apex partly visible, surpassed by calyx; endocarp 3-locular, perimeter shallowly and irregularly fluted.

Vernacular name —None.

Illustration — Figure 31 .

Phenology —Flowering August through November; fruiting May and June.

Distribution and habitat — Mexico (Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Chiapas) and Guatemala, in cloud forests and montane rain forests at (850–) 1350–2000 m elev. Figure 32 .

Conservation status —Largely confined to southeastern Mexico, Symplocos schiedeana has a fragmented distribution extending from Veracruz and northeastern Oaxaca to Chiapas and north-central Guatemala. The 28 known collections represent some 16 populations, none of which occur in protected areas. The EOO is 117,535 km ² and the AOO is 72 km ². Deforestation threats throughout the region indicate a projected decline in area, extent, and quality of habitat. Based on these data, we assign a classification of Endangered (EN): B2ab(iii) to this species.

Discussion — Symplocos schiedeana Schlechtendal (1833: 527) is relatively well collected in Chiapas but represented by very few specimens from Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Guatemala. This species is distinguished by the combination of striate juvenile branchlets, large, glabrous leaves, flowers with glabrous or very sparsely pubescent sepals and densely pubescent styles, and large fruits. The sericeous corolla lobes in the specimens from Oaxaca and Veracruz are atypical for the species.

Brand (1901) excluded Symplocos schiedeana from his treatment because flowers and fruits are missing from the type material and because, from the general appearance of the plant, he thought that it was unlikely to be included in the American species of Symplocos . From our examination of a leaf fragment at F and three online images of the type material, however, we are confident that this species is one and the same as S. johnsonii published 94 years later. The branchlets of the specimens from the type material of S. schiedeana are glabrous and faintly striate from the petiole bases, the vegetative buds are glabrous, and the leaves are large (17–23 cm long) and obovate. Although open flowers and fruits are lacking on the specimens, young inflorescences are present, and these are sessile or nearly so and multiflowered, with ovate sericeous bracts and bracteoles. These characters all match the type material of S. johnsonii and clearly delimit S. schiedeana from other species.

No specimens were specifically cited in the protologue of Symplocos schiedeana . Schlechtendal was based at B from 1819–1833 ( Stafleu & Cowan, 1985); thus it is likely that the holotype of S. schiedeana was at B and we assume that it has been destroyed. The former existence of a specimen at B is corroborated by Brand (1901), who cited only the specimen “Schiede n. 181 in herb. Berol. ex Mexico.” The specimen at HAL has Schlechtendal’s annotation of “ Symplocos Schiedeana , n. sp.,” and (like the K specimen), has the original collection label of C. J. W. Schiede with locality information that precisely matches that in the protologue of S. schiedeana . Because the HAL specimen is the only sheet among the type material we have seen with the author’s annotation, and because the author was based at HAL from 1833–1866 ( Stafleu & Cowan, 1985), we designate the HAL specimen as the lectotype even though it lacks the collection number (181) apparently indicated on the holotype.

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Additional specimens examined — MEXICO. Chiapas: Cintalapa, SE of Cerro Baúl on the border with the state of Oaxaca, 16 km NW of Rizo de Oro along a logging rd to Colonia Figaroa , 1600 m, [16°33′23″N, 94°10′11″W], 6 September 1972, Breedlove 27608 (DS!, F!, MEXU!, MO!, NY!) ; Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Cerro Hueco near Federal Prison above Tuxtla Gutiérrez , 850 m, [16°43′34″N, 93°05′11″W], 3 October 1974, Breedlove 38000 (DS!, F!, MEXU!, MO!) ; Cintalapa, SE of Cerro Baúl on the border with the state of Oaxaca, 16 km NW of Rizo de Oro along a logging rd to Colonia Figaroa , 1600 m, [16°33′23″N, 94°10′11″W], 14 November 1983, Breedlove & Almeda 60227 (CAS!, GH!, MEXU!, MO!) ; Cintalapa, SE slope of Cerro Baúl , 1850 m, [16°33′N, 94°10′48″W], 3 May 1988, Breedlove 67089 ( CAS!) ; Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, Clinica La Yerbabuena , 1900 m, 17°11′N, 92°54′W, 23–26 October 1989, Heath & Long 2082 ( MEXU!) ; Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán , 3 km NW of Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, 6700 ft, [17°11′04″N, 92°54′18″W], 22 October 1971, Lathrop & Thorne 46772 ( MEXU!) ; Pantepec–Tapalapa , [17°11′36″N, 93°06′37″W], 17 August 1950, Miranda 2841 (DS!, MEXU!) ; Pantepec–Tapalapa , 17 August 1950, Miranda 6528 ( MEXU!) ; Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, camino Pueblo Nuevo a Simojovel , [17°10′24″N, 92°50′47″W], 29 December 1959, Miranda 9172 (DS!, MEXU!) ; Cintalapa, arriba del camino a la Colonia Rodolfo Figueroa, cerca de Cerro Baúl , 1450 m, [16°33′N, 94°10′48″W], 3 May 1988, Palacios E. 362 ( CAS!) ; Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán , ca. 3 mi N of Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, 6700 ft, [17°11′04″N, 92°54′18″W], 23 June 1970, Thorne & Lathrop 40307 (B!, DS!, LL!) ; Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán , 3 km NW of Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, 6700 ft, September 1971, Thorne & Lathrop 41772 ( DS!) ; Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, Jitotol Ridge , 3 km N of Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, 6600–6700 ft, 17°08′N, 92°53′W, 9 August 1972, Webster et al. 17788 (CAS!, MEXU!) ; Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán , 3 km NW of Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, 6700 ft, 21 August 1970, Zuill 287 ( DS!) ; Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán , 3 km NW of Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, 6700 ft, 10 September 1970, Zuill 334 ( DS!) ; Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán , 3 km W of Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, 6700 ft, 27 September 1970, Zuill 718 ( DS!) . Oaxaca: 9.5 km E of the Mitla to Choapam Rd

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Phytotaxa 264 (1) © 2016 Magnolia Press • 83 on rd to Zacatepec, NE slope of Cerro Zempoaltepetl, 2130 m, [17°11′40″N, 95°59′37″W], 27 September 1986, Breedlove & Almeda 64783 ( CAS!) ; Mpio. Comaltepec , La Esperanza, 1600 m, 17°37′N, 96°21′W, 13 April 1991, López L. 692 ( CAS!) ; San Miguel Chimalapa , Cerro de la División, ca. 5 km al E de Benito Juárez, 1400–1600 m, 16°43′N, 94°05′W, 1 May 1986, Maya J. 3269 ( MEXU!) ; San Miguel Chimalapa , Arroyo entre Cerro Verde y Cerro Amargo , al S del camino Benito Juárez–La Ciénaga, ca. 8 km en línea recta al SE de Benito Juárez, ca. 32 km en línea recta al NNE de San Pedro Tapantepec, 1200 m, 16°39′N, 94°06′W, 4 August 1986, Maya J. 3717 ( MEXU!) ; Valle Nacional , Cerro Mirador, 15 km NNW de Valle Nacional, 1000–1200 m, 17°93′N, 96°22′W, [17°53′51″N, 96°22′10″W], 16 October 1992, Meave del Castillo et al. 1511 ( NY!) ; San Miguel Chimalapa , Cerro Salomón , ca. 2 km en línea recta al NNO del Cerro Guayabitos , ca. 43 km en línea recta al N de San Pedro Tapanatepec, cerca del límite con Mpio. Santa María Chimalapa, 1850 m, 16°45′N, 94°05′30″W, 23 August 1986, Wendt et al. 5392 ( MO!) . Veracruz : Catemaco, camino a Bastonal, NW de Tebanca, [18°23′53″N, 95°00′48″W], 3 August 1985, Cedillo T. 3305 ( MO!) ; Coatepec , entre Coatepec y Coatepec Viejo, cerca de la Cascada de la Cravada, 1450 m, [19°28′32″N, 97°00′36″W], 24 August 1986, Cházaro B. et al. 3988-A (CAS!, GH!) ; Coatepec , cerca de la cascada de la Granada, [19°28′32″N, 97°00′36″W], 29 March 1991, Cházaro B. & Hernández de C. 6594 ( MO!) ; Huayacocotla , vicinity of shrine and “Bienvenidos a Huayacocotla” arch over the hwy, SW entrance to Huayacocotla on rd from Palo Bendito, 2150 m, 20°32′N, 98°29′W, 21 July 1982, Diggs & Nee 2949 ( NY!) .

Figures

FIGURE 31. Symplocos schiedeana. a. Branchlet with inflorescences. b. Inflorescence with young flowers. c. Flower. d. Calyx (partly cut away), disk, and gynoecium. e. Corolla opened with attached stamens. f. Fruit. (a–e drawn from E. Lathrop & R. F. Thorne 46772, MEXU; f drawn from F. Miranda 9172, MEXU.)

FIGURE 32. Geographic distribution of Symplocos schiedeana.