Miconia renatoi Gamba & Almeda, 2014

Gamba, Diana & Almeda, Frank, 2014, Systematics of the Octopleura Clade of Miconia (Melastomataceae: Miconieae) in Tropical America, Phytotaxa 179 (1), pp. 1-174 : 122-125

28. Miconia renatoi Gamba & Almeda , spec. nov. ( Fig. 24 )

Related to M. alboglandulosa which it resembles in flower morphology and hypanthial coloration. Distinguished by the clavate dendritic trichomes with moderately long thin-walled arms, which are 0.5–2 mm long and present throughout the plant.

Type: ECUADOR. Prov. Pichincha: Reserva Florística-Ecológica “Río Guajalito”, km 59 de la carretera Antigua Quito-Sto. Domingo de los Colorados , a 3.5 km al NE de la carretera, estribaciones occidenatles del Volcán Pichincha, 0°13’S, 78°48’ W, 1800–2200 m, 27 December 1985, Jaramillo 8274 (holotype: NY!, isotype: MO!) .

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GAMBA & ALMEDA

Laxly branched subshrub or shrub 1–4 m tall. Upper internodes compressed-rounded to rounded-quadrate, (0.3–) 2.5–6.6 cm long, cauline nodes terete, nodal line absent. Indumentum on branchlets, petioles, primary, secondary and tertiary foliar veins abaxially, inflorescence axes, bracts, bracteoles, pedicels, hypanthia, calyx lobes and calyx teeth densely to copiously covered with whitish-translucent clavate dendritic trichomes 0.15–2 mm long with moderately long thin-walled arms, on branchlets, petioles, primary and secondary leaf vein abaxially, occasionally intermixed, or completely replaced by, whitish-translucent deflexed-elongate slightly roughened trichomes 0.6–1 mm long. Leaves of each pair somewhat unequal in size at maturity; petioles 0.5–2.1 cm (on larger leaves) or 0.3–0.8 cm (on smaller leaves), canaliculate adaxially, rounded or bluntly grooved abaxially; larger blades 8.3–14.5 × 2.8–6.5 cm, smaller blades 5.3–8.5 × 2.1–3 cm, elliptic to oval, the base acute-attenuate, the margin entire to obscurely crenate, the apex aristate-caudate, firm-chartaceous; mature leaves adaxially glabrescent, along with the primary vein, at first with the dendritic indumentum or with a mixture of dendritic and elongate slightly roughened trichomes, mainly toward the blade base, the secondary, tertiary and higher order veins glabrous; abaxial surface glabrous, except for a few glands on the venules, the tertiary and higher order veins copiously to moderately beset with resinous slightly furrowed more or less stalked glands, occasionally sparsely intermixed with white furrowed sessile glands, both ca. 0.08 mm long; 5-nerved to shortly 5-plinerved, including the tenuous marginals, when slightly plinerved, the innermost pair of secondary veins diverging symmetrically from the primary vein 0.2 cm above the base, areolae 0.5–1 mm, adaxially the primary and secondary veins impressed, the tertiary and higher order veins flat, abaxially the primary and secondary veins elevated and terete, the tertiary and higher order veins slightly raised. Inflorescences an axillary cluster of cymes 1.3–2.8 cm long, including a peduncle 0.2–0.3 cm long, branching poorly developed with multiple axes arising from a common point at the peduncle apex (fascicle-like), paired on the upper defoliated axils; bracts 1.1–1.6 × ca. 0.3 mm, linearsubulate, erect and somewhat concave, persistent to tardily deciduous in fruit; bracteoles 0.4–0.5 × 0.2 mm, triangular and thick at the base, concave, somewhat persistent in fruit. Flowers 4-merous on pedicels 0.5–0.7 mm to 1 mm long in fruit. Hypanthia at anthesis 2.5 × 1.5 mm, free portion of hypanthium ca. 1 mm long, subcylindric to campanulate, bluntly 8-ribbed, red-pink, the dendritic trichomes densely to moderately mixed with resinous subsessile furrowed glands ca. 0.03–0.05 mm long, inner surface ridged, along with the torus densely covered with rounded sessile glands, each ridge sparsely beset with short-stalked glands with thin-walled short heads. Calyx open in bud and persistent in fruit, red-pinkish; tube ca. 0.3 mm long, with the same vestiture as the torus adaxially and as the hypanthium abaxially; lobes 0.8–1 × 0.5 mm, broadly and bluntly triangular, the margin entire, the apex bluntly acute, glabrescent with age, reflexed at anthesis and fruit; exterior calyx teeth 0.9–1.1 mm long, bluntly linear-subulate, inserted at the apex of the calyx lobes and widely projecting beyond them, resinous-glandular as the hypanthium outside. Petals 3.5–4 × 1.5 mm, triangular-subulate, the margin entire, the apex bluntly acuminate, white, glabrous on both surfaces, reflexed at anthesis. Stamens 8; filaments 1.7 × 0.3 mm, white, glabrous; anther thecae 2.2 × 0.4 mm, linear-oblong, rounded at the apex, opening by one dorsally inclined pore 0.15 mm in diameter, white to yellow at anthesis; connective darker than the thecae, its prolongations and appendage 1.2 mm long, the appendage linear-lanceolate, acute at the apex, copiously gland-edged with short stalked glands with thinwalled short heads, also somewhat prolonged and gland-edged but unappendaged ventro-basally. Ovary 4-locular, 2/3 inferior, 1.5 mm long at anthesis, the apical collar absent, the apex ca. 0.25 mm in diameter, conic, copiously glandular-puberulent; style 4.5 mm long, tapering distally, white, glabrous; stigma capitellate at anthesis. Berries 3–3.5 × 4 mm when dry, globose to slightly oblate, purple when ripe, the hypanthial indumentum persistent at maturity. Seeds 0.61–0.62 × ca. 0.3 mm, pyramidal, brownish; lateral symmetrical plane triangular, the highest point near the central part of the seed; antiraphal symmetrical plane suboblong; raphal zone circular to suboblong, ca. 60% the length of the seed; multicellular sculpture rugose throughout the seed; individual cells and microrelief not discernible on material available for study.

Additional specimens studied:— COLOMBIA. Cauca: (Santa Rosa), Corregimiento de San Juan de Villalobos, Vereda Palmeras, Zona amortiguadora del P.N.N. Serranía de Los Churumbelos, Camino hacia Mandiyaco, cerca del Río Villalobos , 1°30.266’N, 76°20.809’W, 1458 m, 20 February 2013, Alvear et al. 1905 ( CAS, COL) . Chocó: Carretera Ansermanuevo-San José del Palmar, límite con el Valle del Cauca, Alto del Galápago , 2050–2100 m, 25 August 1976, Forero et al. 2060 ( US) . Nariño: (Ricaurte), R.N. La Planada, Vertiente Occidental, Cordillera Occidental, 1.2°N, - 77.95°W, 1800 m, 2 May 1989, Restrepo 455 ( MO) . ECUADOR. Carchi: Awá R., Trail to Pailon encampment, Gualpi Chico area of Awá R., 0.97°N, - 78.27°W, 1350–1400 m, 21 January 1988, Hoover et al. 3621 ( MO, US) . Cotopaxi: R.E. Los Illinazas, Cerro Tilipulo, filo de cumbre ,

SYSTEMATICS OF THE OCTOPLEURA CLADE OF MICONIA

Phytotaxa 179 (1) © 2014 Magnolia Press 123 Cordillera Tilinche, - 0.775°S, - 79.096°W, 2022 m, 25 July 2003, Silverstone-Sopkin et al. 9539 ( CAS, CUVC) .

Pichincha: R. Florística Ecológica Río Guajalito , km 59 de la carretera antigua Quito-Sto Domingo de los Colorados, 3.5 km al NE de la carretera, Estribaciones occidentales del Volcán Pichincha, - 0.2314°S, - 78.8028°W, 1800–2200 m, 12 August 1985, Jaramillo & Zak 8036 ( MO, US) .

Illustration:— Fig. 24 .

Common names and documented uses:— None recorded.

Habitat, distribution and ecology:— Uncommon species in primary cloud forests from the Pacific Andean slopes of southern Colombia through northwestern Ecuador ( Fig. 17 ), at 1350–2100 m. In Colombia it is known from the Department of Chocó, close to the limits with Valle, and from La Planada Reserve in Nariño. It appears to be more common in Ecuador.

Phenology:— Collected in flower and fruit from December through January, in May, and from July through August, but fruiting material has been collected only in July.

Etymology:— The specific epithet is dedicated to Renato Goldenberg (1968–), an active Brazilian botanist and collector. He is a specialist in tropical and Brazilian Melastomataceae . Currently, he is an associate professor at the Universidade Federal do Paraná in Curitiba, Brazil.

Discussion:— The distinctive features of this species include its dense whitish-translucent granulose-asperous vegetative indumentum of clavate dendritic trichomes with moderately long thin-walled arms, fascicle-like cluster of cymes, white flowers with pink hypanthia, and pink-red costate berries turning purple at maturity. It is similar to M. alboglandulosa , which is probably the sister species, differing in indumentum size (0.15–2 mm long vs. 0.053 –0.093 mm long in M. alboglandulosa ) and foliar shape (elliptic to oval with acute-attenuate base vs. ellipticlanceolate with rounded base). This new species also lacks the resinous and white sessile furrowed glands on vegetative parts which characterize M. alboglandulosa , but these glands are present on the hypanthium, intermixed with the dendritic trichomes (which are lacking in M. alboglandulosa hypanthium).

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GAMBA & ALMEDA

There are few collections of this new species. However the vegetative indumentum is rather variable and the specimens from the province of Carchi and Cotopaxi have elongate slightly roughened trichomes in addition to the dendritic ones. These trichomes seem to be a longer version of the dendritic ones. These specimens also have the same kind of indumentum on the hypanthium, but the slightly furrowed glands are more abundant than the dendritic trichomes, which is the reverse for the collections from Pichincha, which lack the elongate trichomes mentioned above. The rest of vegetative and floral characters are uniform among the collections studied, and for this reason we consider all the material a single species with two indumentum variants on the vegetative parts.

Conservation status:— This species would be considered Endangered EN B2ab(iii) based on IUCN criteria ( AOO). However, it is protected in most of its range, justifying a status of Least Concern LC. This species is protected in the areas where it has been collected (all natural reserves). These areas include La Planada Natural Reserve in Colombia (Nariño) . In Ecuador it is protected in the Awá Indigenour Reserve (Carchi) , Los Illinazas Ecological Reserve (Cotopaxi) , and in the Río Guajalito Ecological Reserve (Pichincha) .

Figures

FIGURE 17. Distributions of Miconia renatoi, M. sessilis, M. spiciformis, and M. variabilis.

FIGURE 24. Miconia renatoi. A. Habit, showing details on abaxial foliar principal veins, with elongate roughened trichomes (left), dendritic trichomes (right). B.Flower. C. Stamen, abaxial view (left), lateral view (right). D. Berry, top view (top), lateral view (bottom). Based on Jaramillo 8274, MO; detail of abaxial leaf on left, Hoover et al. 3621, US. Drawn by Sean V. Edgerton.