Syagrus menzeliana Noblick & Lorenzi, 2014

Noblick, Larry R., Lorenzi, Harri & Souza, Vinicius C., 2014, Four new taxa of acaulescent Syagrus (Arecaceae) from Brazil, Phytotaxa 188 (1), pp. 1-13 : 7-10

Syagrus menzeliana Noblick & Lorenzi , sp. nov. (Figs. 4, 5A).

A short palm that resembles Syagrus loefgrenii Glassman (1967: 240) with similar inflorescences (Fig. 4C), a short and subterranean stem, a waxy bloom on the adaxial surface of its leaves (Fig. 4D) and the tendency of the young plants to lean. It differs from S. loefgrenii by being more robust (to 100–135 vs. 50–80 cm tall), thicker leaf blades with larger veins and fibers (Fig. 5A vs. 5B). Maturing fruits often with a reddish ring around its apex (Fig. 4B).

Type: — BRAZIL, Goiás: Chapada do Céu: Fazenda Campo Bom , near km 23 S of the city on GO-050, and S of Rio Prato , elevation ca. 804 m, 18°33’58.2’’S, 52°37’40.8’’W (-18.566167, -52.628), 9 January 2014, L . Noblick & H . Lorenzi 5631 (holotype ESA!,

isotypes HPL!, UB!, RB!, SP!, K!, FTG!, NY!, MO!, US!).

Small solitary to clustering palm to 100–135 cm. Stem short and subterranean. Leaves number 3–5 in the crown, sheathing leaf base ca. 18–22 cm long; pseudopetiole (true petiole plus part of the sheath) 13–32 cm long, true petiole 11–30 × 0.5–1.1 cm by 0.3–0.6 cm thick, channeled adaxially and rounded abaxially; rachis 43–78 cm long; leaflets dark bluish-green, lighter on the abaxial surface, newer leaflets with a whitish waxy bloom on the abaxial surface, leaflets numbering 10–29 along one side, in clusters of 2–3 or singly along rachis and inserted at various angles, giving the leaf a slight plumose appearance, ramenta scales or tomentum absent where the leaflets are inserted on the rachis and none along the abaxial midvein; basal leaflets 11–15 × 0.2 cm, middle leaflets 11–25 × 1.0– 1.3 cm, apical leaflets 8–26 × 0.2–0.8 cm with an asymmetric tip. Inflorescence interfoliar branching to one order, with prophyll 8–16.5 × 1.5–2.0 cm, 2-keeled; peduncular bract narrow, woody, sulcate, exterior with scattered scales, total length 21–34 cm and with expanded or inflated portion 12–25 cm long including a 0–1.5 cm beak, 1.6–3.5 cm diameter and a 3.6–5.4 cm perimeter and a 1–2 mm thickness; peduncle tomentose, ca. 9–20 × 0.3–0.7 cm and slightly flattened in crosssection; total branched inflorescence as measured from the first basal rachillae to the apex 6.5–14 cm long; rachis 0–6 cm long; rachillae numbering 1–5 (–7), glabrous, 8–13.5 cm long at the apex and 7–13 cm long at the base; staminate flowers green to yellow, arranged in triads on the lower portion or in staminate diads or singly on the upper portion of the rachillae, 7.0– 7.2 mm long at apex, 7.5–7.7 mm long at base and 3.0– 3.1 mm wide, sepals and petals 3 in number, sepals 1.5–1.8 × 0.7–1.5 mm, glabrous, no visible nerves, keeled and connate at the base, petals valvate, 6.0–6.2 × 2.0– 2.6 mm with acute tips, nerves indistinct, stamens numbering 6, 3.5–3.6 mm long, anthers 2.5–3.1 mm long, filaments 1.5–2.1 mm long, pistillode trifid and less than 1 mm long, basal pistillate flowers elongate conical, glabrous, 14–15 × 8 mm (apical flowers 10.5–11 × 5.5–5.8 mm), sepals and petals 3 in number and yellow in color, sepals 9.5–11.7 × 4.4–5.8 mm, glabrous, no visible venation, imbricate, petals 8.7–12.5 × 4.4–6.6 mm, glabrous, obscurely nerved, imbricate at the base but valvate at the tips, the valvate portion ½ or more of the length of the petals, pistil 7.3–11 × 3.6–5.5 mm, glabrous, stigmas 3 in number, and less than 4.4 mm long, glabrous, staminodial ring ca. 1.5 mm high and truncate; Fruit nearly globose, yellow at the base, green in the middle and rusty at the apex with the very tip black, sometimes with a reddish ring around the tip (Fig. 4 B) when maturing later becoming brown, often nearly glabrous and glossy on the upper more exposed portions of the fruit, sometimes lower parts covered with a mealy tomentum on the less exposed portions, ellipsoid, ca. 2.0–2.5 × 1.5 cm, epicarp less than 0.5 mm thick, mesocarp not measured, sweet, fleshy-fibrous and endocarp not measured, with 3 visible endocarp pores on the basal end and seed elliptical not measured, endosperm homogeneous. Germination remote tubular. Eophyll simple and entire.

Common name:— Not recorded.

FIGURE. Syagrus menzeliana . A. Habit, B. Infructescence, C. Inflorescence, D. Waxy bloom on abaxial side of leaf. Scale = ca. 1 cm. Noblick & Lorenzi 5631.

FIGURE. Leaflet cross-sections. A. Syagrus menzeliana showing thicker leaf and larger veins, Noblick & Lorenzi 5631, B. S. loefgrenii showing thinner leaflets, note same scale as A., Noblick & Lorenzi 5630 (HPL), C. S. guimaraesensis showing thicker leaflet with very large veins, smaller adaxial fiber strands or bundles between the veins and a few adaxial minor veins near the margin, Noblick & Lorenzi 5640, D. S. petraea showing thinner leaflet (note larger scale), smaller veins, large fiber strands or bundles along the adaxial side of the leaf and no adaxial minor veins near the margin. L. Moreno et al. 245 (USC). Scale = 0.1 mm.

Etymology:— The specific epithet “menzeliana” honors Gilmena (Jill) Menzel, a citizen of both the U.S.A. and

Brazil, for her generous support of the Montgomery Botanical Center and the International Palm Society.

Distribution and habitat:— Southwestern Goiás in fragmented cerrado forest. Terrain is flat with deep sandy clay soils, highly prized by soybean farmers.

Conservation:— Only known from one locality, a cerrado fragment, but fairly common in this locality. It has not yet been found within the boundaries of the Parque Nacional das Emas, which is ca. 30 km away. The area surrounding this cerrado fragment has been converted to soybean agriculture. Since the area is so highly fragmented and so little of the natural vegetation has survived, this species should by IUCN ver. 3.1 criteria be classified as critically endangered, CR A2c; B1ab(i,iii,iv).

Phenology:— Old inflorescences with some fruiting and only a few fresh flowers in January.

Uses:— None recorded. However, this palm may be used in small gardens as a landscape plant.

Additional specimens examined:— BRAZIL, Goiás: Chapadão do Céu, coletada na estrada para Chapadão do Sul, a cerca de 21 km da cidade de Chapadão do Céu , em vegetação de cerrado sobre solos arenosos, 800 m, 18°33’35”S, 52°37’46”W (-18.559722, -52.629444), 6 June 2011, H . Lorenzi & A. Campos-Rocha 7120 (HPL!).

Notes:— This species resembles a robust S. loefgrenii with similarly branched inflorescences of approximately the same size (Fig. 4C) and a waxy bloom on the abaxial surface of its leaves (Fig. 4D). Both species have a habit of leaning from the center from where they grow and stems lean away from each other when in a cluster, especially in younger plants. However S. menzeliana is more robust (100–135 vs. 50–80 cm tall) with a stronger, more upright stem as it gets older (Fig. 4A). Its leaflet anatomy differs by having thicker leaflets, larger veins and larger fiber bundles than S. loefgrenii (Fig. 5A vs. 5B). Leaflet anatomy alone suggests that this is a different species. Maturing fruits often have a reddish ring around its apex (Fig. 4B), which Noblick has not observed in any other Syagrus species.