Besleria physaloides O.L.Cortés, 2017

Cortés-Ceballos, Olga Lorena, Giraldo-Rodríguez, Andrés & Torres-Gonzalez, Alba Marina, 2017, Two new species of Besleria (Gesneriaceae) from the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, Phytotaxa 332 (2), pp. 181-188 : 182-185

Besleria physaloides O.L.Cortés , sp. nov., ( Figs. 1 , 3 A–D , 4 )

Type:— COLOMBIA. Valle del Cauca: municipio Dagua, corregimiento San Bernardo, vía a Buenaventura, cordillera occidental, vertiente oriental, 03°30’52.0’’N, 76°37’27.8’’W, 1992 m, 18 May 2013, A. Giraldo-Rodríguez 8021 (holotype CUVC 67092!, isotypes COL! HUA! MO!).

This species differs from Besleria barbensis in having broader, unequal sepals, which are only slightly serrate and usually purple at the base (sepals equal, serrate, and light green in B. barbensis ), shorter petioles, and elliptic to oblanceolate, entire leaf blades with fewer pairs of veins (blades elliptic and slightly serrate distally in B. barbensis ).

Terrestrial shrub; stem erect, 1.5–2.5 m tall, terete, hirsute toward apex; branches arising from base or 10 cm above base, 0.6–3 cm diam. Leaves opposite, decussate, members of each pair almost equal in length; petiole hirsute, 1–8 mm long; blade elliptic to oblanceolate, 4–12.6 × 1.2–3.5 cm, apex acuminate and mucronate, base attenuate, margin entire, 7–9 pairs of veins, pilose on adaxial surface, hirsute along midvein of abaxial surface. Inflorescence axillary, pedicels hirsute, 1.2–2.5 cm long. Flowers solitary or in pairs. Calyx with five free sepals that cover corolla tube loosely, unequal, ovate, with acuminate apex, very narrow near tip, margin slightly serrate, pale green with purple spots toward base of veins, purple color varies, from absent to very dark, hirsute on adaxial surface and pilose on abaxial surface, sepals of three sizes, dorsal sepal 1.5–2 × 1.1–1.5 cm, two lateral sepals 1.3–2 × 0.6–1 cm, and two ventral sepals 1.3–2 × 0.5–0.8 cm. Corolla orange, tube cylindrical, at angle of 45° relative to stem, ventricose ventrally, 1.6–2 cm long, constricted at throat and in middle part, tube 4.7–5 mm wide at throat, 6–7 mm wide at the ventricose portion, 4.3–4.5 mm wide at middle part, 6–7 mm wide at base, aperture 3.8–4 mm wide, glabrous outside, with lobes villous outside, internal surface with glandular trichomes 1.8–2 mm long, becoming sparse toward base, limb with five unequal lobes, which are orbicular, erect or spreading, villous on the outer and inner surface, margin slightly ciliate and slightly revolute, three lobes two lateral and one ventral 5.9–6 × 7.8–8 mm each, two dorsal lobes 4.9–5 × 5.8–6 mm. Stamens didynamous, staminode one, dorsal, filaments curved to spiral, adnate to corolla base, 3.8–4 mm long, glabrous, anthers connivent. Disc annular, complete, glabrous, white. Ovary glabrous, pale green, 3.2–3.3 × 2.9–3 mm; style 6–9 mm long, pilose, trichomes thin, short and translucent, 1–3-celled; stigma bilobed. Fruit a fleshy berry, white at maturity.

Palynology —Pollen grains triporate, subspheroidal, (17–)18.3(–20) × (18–)20.9(–21.7) μm, P / E ratio approx. 0.87, radially symmetrical, isopolar, circular in polar view. Exine 1.1 μm thick. Pores 1.9 × 2.1 μm, apocolpe 16.8–17 μm long. Exine with perforate ornamentation ( Figs. 3 A–D ).

Distribution, habitat and phenology:—Known only from the type locality: Colombia, Valle del Cauca, municipio Dagua, corregimiento San Bernardo ( Fig. 4 ). Small patches of Andean forest of secondary succession, surrounded by constructions of rural housing. It grows on edge of the forest. Flowering from March to May, fruiting from April to June, according to the sampling done for this study.

Paratype:— COLOMBIA. Valle del Cauca: municipio Dagua, corregimiento San Bernardo, vía a Buenaventura, cordillera occidental, vertiente oriental, 03°30’52.0’’N, 76°37’27.8’’W, 1992 m, 2 March 2016, O.L. Cortés 256 (CUVC 67091! PSO! HUQ!).

Etymology:—The specific epithet refers to the form of the sepals, which are similar to the sepals of the genus Physalis Linnaeus (1753: 182) ( Solanaceae ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Besleria physaloides: A. habit; B. flower outer view; C. dorsal sepal D. lateral sepal; E ventral sepal; F. corolla (front view); G. corolla inner view; H gynoecium and disc annular. Drawn by Alba Marina Torres-Gonzalez.

FIGURE 3. Pollen micromorphology. A–D: Besleria physaloides. A. polar view; B. polar view (SEM); C. equatorial view (SEM); D. ornamentation (SEM). E–H: Besleria silverstoneana. E. polar view; F. polar view (SEM); G. equatorial view (SEM); H. ornamentation (SEM).

FIGURE 4. Geographical distribution of Besleria physaloides and Besleria silverstoneana in Valle del Cauca, Colombia.