Bertolonia hirsutissima Bacci et al. (2016: 251)

Bisewski, Gessica C. A., Bacci, Lucas F., Amorim, André M. & Goldenberg, Renato, 2022, The Genus Bertolonia (Melastomataceae) In The State Of Bahia, Brazil, Phytotaxa 548 (2), pp. 153-183 : 166-167

6. Bertolonia hirsutissima Bacci et al. (2016: 251) . Figures 2f , 8 .

Herbs 15–20 cm tall, rupiculous. Stem 4–5 mm wide, rounded, densely glandulose-punctate (trichomes less than 0.1 mm long) and moderately to densely glandulose-villose (trichomes 3.7–3.8 mm long). Leaves opposite; petioles 2–5 cm long, rounded, sparsely glandulose-punctate and densely glandulose-hirsute (trichomes 3–5 mm long); blades 6.1–9.4 × 4.5–7.5 cm, bullate, widely elliptic to ovate, base cordate, apex obtuse to rounded, margins denticulate, moderately ciliate, adaxial surface green, sparsely glandulose-punctate (trichomes less than 0.1 mm long, brownish), abaxial surface purplish, sparsely glandulose-punctate and sparsely glandulose-hirsute (trichomes 1.5–2.6 mm long, brownish), main veins 5, plus one pair that do not reach the leaf apex, basal. Inflorescences terminal, 5.3–9.3 cm long (5.3–7.5 cm long in infructescences), branches moderately glandulose-punctate and sparsely glandulose-pilose, sparsely glandulose-punctate and sparsely glandulose-pilose when old. Bracts ca. 2.5 mm long, elliptic, apex acute, margins ciliate, both surfaces glandulose-punctate and glandulose-hirsute; bracteoles ca. 1.5 mm long, lanceolate, apex acute, both surfaces glandulose-punctate. Hypanthium 2.2–2.8 × 2.2–2.6 mm, short terete, glandulose-punctate. Sepals elliptic, apex obtuse to rounded, margins entire, ciliate, both surfaces glandulose-punctate. Petals 8.5–10.5 × 4–5 mm, light pink, elliptic, base cuneate, apex apiculate, the apiculum ca. 0.7 mm long, with a caducous gland head, margins entire, eciliate, both surfaces papillose, otherwise glabrous. Stamens 5–6.5 mm long; filaments 3–3.4 mm long; anthers 2.1–3 mm long, cream colored, narrowly oblong, surface undulate, pore rounded, non-thickened margins, extrorse; connective prolonged (ca. 0.5 mm), unappendaged. Style 5.5–6.4 mm long, curved, glabrous. Fruits 0.4–0.6 × 0.6–0.9 cm. Seeds reniform.

Examined material: — BRAZIL. Bahia: Wenceslau Guimarães, Bacci 273 ( CEPEC!); Goldenberg 1756 ( CEPEC!); Thomas 9285 ( CEPEC!, NY, RB!).

Conservation Status: — Bertolonia hirsutissima occurs inside the “Estação Ecológica Estadual Wenceslau Guimarães”. The species has an EOO of 7 km ² and AOO of 15 km ², and should be classified as “Critically Endangered” (CR), following IUCN (2017) categories.

Notes: — Bertolonia hirsutissima is endemic to Bahia, occurring in montane rainforests ( Fig. 3f ) on rocky, shaded and wet stone walls. Collected with flowers in January and December, and fruits in April. The species is characterized by the widely elliptic to ovate leaf blades with bullate surfaces and petioles densely glandulose-pilose (trichomes 3–5 mm long). It also has petals with an apiculate apex ending in a caducous glandular head and anthers dehiscing through an extrorse pore. It is sympatric to B. reginatoi Bacci & Michelangeli (in Bacci et al. 2018: 783) and both share the wide ovate to cordiform leaf blades, petioles and abaxial leaf surfaces densely glandulose-punctate, and flowers with a light green hypanthium and pink petals. Bertolonia hirsutissima differs from B. reginatoi by the bullate/foveolate leaf surfaces (vs. flat in B. reginatoi ), hypanthium only glandulose-punctate (vs. hypanthium glandulose-punctate and glandulose-villose) and anthers dehiscing through an extrorse pore (vs. introrse). In the state of Bahia, B. hirsutissima have the same bullate/foveolate leaf blades as in B. bullata and B. kollmannii . From these, it differs mainly by the broader leaf blades, flowers with the hypanthium only glandulose-punctate and anthers dehiscing through an extrorse pore. For more details see Bacci et al. (2016) and Table 1 .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Specimens in vivo. A. Bertolonia alternifolia. B. B. angustipetala. C. B. bullata. D. B. carmoi. E. B. cuspidata. F. B. hirsutissima. Photos:A, C, and E by A. M. A. Amorim; D by G. C. A. Bisewski; B and F by L. F. Bacci.

FIGURE 3. Distributions of species of Bertolonia in Bahia.A. Bertolonia alternifolia. B. Bertolonia angustipetala. C. Bertolonia bullata. D. Bertolonia carmoi. E. Bertolonia cuspidata. F. Bertolonia hirsutissima. G. Bertolonia igrapiuna. H. Bertolonia kollmannii.

FIGURE 8. Bertolonia hirsutissima. A. Fertile branch. B. Trichomes on the petiole. C. Leaf base, abaxial surface. D. Short and longstalked glandular trichomes on the abaxial leaf surface. E. Inflorescence. F. Hypanthium and calyx, abaxial surface. G. Petals apex. H. Stamen, dorsal (left) and lateral (right) views, note the extrorse pore on dorsal view. [A–H: Goldenberg 1756].