Anemopaegma nebulosum Firetti-Leggieri & L.G. Lohmann, 2015

Firetti-Leggieri, Fabiana, Demarco, Diego & Lohmann, Lúcia G., 2015, A new species of Anemopaegma (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae) from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Phytotaxa 219 (2), pp. 174-182 : 175-177

Anemopaegma nebulosum Firetti-Leggieri & L.G. Lohmann , sp. nov.

Anemopaegma nebulosum is similar to A. prostratum DC. , but differs by the orbicular prophylls, elliptic and coriaceous leaflet blades, and solitary gibbous flowers present in the axils of leaves ( Fig. 1 )

Type:— BRAZIL. Paraná: Guaratuba, Serra do Araçatuba, 15 Sep 1995 (fl), J. M. Silva et al. 1527 (Holotype: SPF-103981!, Isotype: ESA-048739!)

Lianas. Branchlets terete, striated, lenticelated with peltate glandular trichomes, puberulous with simple and multicelular non-glandular trichomes, without interpetiolar gland fields; prophylls of the axillary buds stipitate, orbicular, stipe 0.07–0.11 cm, blade 0.21–0.38 × 0.22–0.4 cm, with non-glandular and glandular (peltate and patelliform/cupular) trichomes, inconspicuous venation. Leaves 3–2-foliolate with the terminal leaflet modified into a simple tendril, pubescent; petioles 1.1–1.6 cm, semicircular, with the upper surface canaliculated, densely pubescent on the upper surface and glabrous on the lower surface in young leaves, trichomes restricted to the base in adult leaves; petiolules 0.3–0.7 cm; blades 3.5–5.5 × 1.8–3.0 cm, coriaceous, elliptic, apex acute to acuminate and mucronulate, base shortly atenuate, margin entire and slightly revolute, simple and multicellular non-glandular trichomes on the midrib of the abaxial surface, peltate glandular trichomes distributed on both sides; venation brochidodromous. Flowers solitary in the axil of each leaf, pedicellated; pedicel 1.2–1.45 cm, with a pair of bracts in the middle of the pedicel; bracts 1.0 mm, simple, sessile, with rounded apex; calyx 0.7–0.91 × 1.0– 1.3 cm, cupular, 5-costated, truncate or shortly dentate (lacinia 0.02–0.03 cm), glabrous or with non-glandular trichomes sparsely distributed, margin ciliate, persistent until fruit ripening, patelliform/cupular glandular trichomes clustered close to margins; corolla pale yellow outside and yellow inside, gibbous, 3.82–4.9 cm long, base 0.7–1.1 × 0.5–0.8 cm usually covered by the calyx, 5-lobed, lobes 0.6– 1.1 × 1.0– 1.6 cm, rounded, ciliate, externally lepidote (with peltate glandular trichomes), without patelliform/cupular glandular trichomes in the upper portion of the tube and lobes, glabrous internally, except at the region of insertion of the stamens in which capitate glandular trichomes with multicellular and non-secretory stalk and multicellular glandular heads are found; androecium with one staminode 0.6 cm long, cream and glabrous, fertile stamens attached at the same height, filaments cream with non-glandular trichomes sparsely distributed, longer filaments 3.0 cm long, shorter filaments 1.8 cm long, anthers cream, glabrous, thecae 0.3–0.4 cm, pollen grains in monads; gynoecium with pistil 4.2–4.3 cm long, ovary ca. 0.3 × 0.1 cm, cylindric, with ca. 24 ovules, with 2–4 series of ovules per locule, peltate glandular trichomes covering externally the ovary, stipe not evident, style 3.5–3.6 cm long, cream and glabrous, stigma rhomboid, lobes 0.4 cm, cream and glabrous; nectary 0.2 cm long, annular, in the base of the ovary. Fruit not seen; seeds 3.0 × 3.3 cm, winged, hyaline wings involving the whole embryo, embryo 0.9 × 1.1 cm, cordate. Fig. 2 .

Distribution and ecology: Anemopaegma nebulosum occurs in tropical montane cloud forests of southern Brazil, in the States of Paraná and Santa Catarina. This species blooms from September to December. No fruits have been observed to date.

Etymology: The epithet refers to the nebular forests of southern Brazil in which this species is distributed. Nebular forests, also called upper montane rain forests or cloud forests, are a type of vegetation found in the upper mountains, in several parts of the world, occurring in approximately 60 countries and several oceanic islands of the tropics ( Aldrich et al. 2000). In Brazil, this vegetation type is associated with the high mountains of the Serra do Mar (Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo), Serra da Mantiqueira (Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo; Bertoncello et al. 2011), Parque Nacional do Caparaó (Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais) and Parque Nacional do Itatiaia (Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro; Pompeu 2015). It occurs in a very wet environment, with average temperatures below 15˚C. In the upper mountains, the canopy is uniform and homogeneously composed of a dense and low woody vegetation, usually with small and sclerophyllous leaves and thin, tortuous and branched trunks, completely covered with mosses and epiphytes ( Portes et al. 2001). Some genera of plants are diagnostic of neotropical cloud forests, in particular Ilex ( Aquifoliaceae ), Drymis ( Winteraceae ), Podocarpus ( Podocarpaceae ), Miconia ( Melastomataceae ) and Clethra ( Clethraceae ) ( Koehler et al. 2002). Apart from presenting high biological endemism, cloud forests are responsible for important environmental functions such as the regulation of water supply due to the ability to trap the moisture from clouds, and stabilize the soils of high slopes ( Koehler et al. 2002; Sheer and Mocochinski 2009).

Conservation status:—This species is considered Data Deficient (DD) according to IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee (2014) since this taxon is only known from very few specimens, with little information about its distribution and abundance. Further field studies are needed so that its conservation status can be properly documented.

Additional material examined:— BRAZIL. Paraná: Guaratuba, Serra do Araçatuba, Mata nebular, 1250 m de altitude, 22 Nov 1959 (fl), G. Hatschbach 6495 (MBM). Guaratuba, Serra do Araçatuba, Mata nebular, 1,200 m de altitude, 19 Nov 1971 (fl), G. Hatschbach 28106 (MBM). Guaratuba, Serra do Araçatuba, 15 Sep 1995 (fl), J.M. Silva et al. 1527 (SPF). Guaratuba, Serra do Araçatuba, Matinha nebular, 1 Dec 1998 (fl), J.M. Silva et al. 2647 (SPF). Tijucas do Sul, Serra Papanduva, 4 Dec 2003 (fl), E. Barbosa & J.M. Silva 821 (ESA, MBM). Santa Catarina: Campo Alegre, Serra do Iqueriri, 19 Nov 1992 (fl), J. Cordeiro & C.B. Poliquesi 909 (SPF). Subida à Serra do Quiriri, 28 Dec 1999 (fl), J. Cordeiro et al. 1672 (SPF). Guaruva, Serra do Quiriri, 16 Oct 2004 (fl), J.M. Silva et al. 4143 (SPF).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Morphological comparison between Anemopaegma nebulosum and A. prostratum. A. Orbicular prophylls in A. nebulosum. B. Prophylls lacking in A. prostratum. C. Elliptic and coriaceous leaflets in A. nebulosum. D. Ovate and membranaceous leaflets in A. prostratum. E. Solitary flowers in the axil of each leaf in A. nebulosum. F. Flowers arranged in lax racemes in A. prostratum. G. Gibbous flower in A. nebulosum. H. Infundibuliform flower in A. prostratum. (Figs. A and C from J. Cordeiro & C.B. Poliquesi 909; Fig. B from P.H. Miyagi 253; Figs. D, F and H from SPF-84375; Figs. E and G from J.M. Silva et al. 1527). Scale bars = 0.8 mm (Figs. A and B); 1 cm (Figs. C, D, E, F, G, H).

FIGURE 2. Anemopaegma nebulosum. A. Branchlet with leaves, prophylls, tendrils and flowers. B. Open flower showing stamens and staminodes. C. Pistil. D. Ovary showing the ovules arrangements. (Drawm from J. Cordeiro & C.B. Poliquesi 909).