Cupania moralesii J.E. Jiménez, P. Juárez & J.M. Chaves, 2016

Jiménez, José Esteban, Juárez, Pedro & Chaves-Fallas, José Miguel, 2016, Cupania moralesii (Sapindaceae), a new endemic tree species from the premontane forest of Costa Rica, Phytotaxa 275 (1), pp. 69-74 : 71-73

Cupania moralesii J.E. Jiménez, P. Juárez & J.M. Chaves , sp. nov. ( Figs. 1 , 2 )

Similar to Cupania livida (Radlk.) Croat (1976: 438–439) because of its entire leaflets, ferruginous-tomentose buds, young stems, and inflorescence axes, bicarpelar heart-shaped capsules, rarely tricarpelar, and its shiny black oblong seeds; but differs from that species by its glabrescent and ciliated petals (vs. tomentose petals), villous filaments (vs. tomentose filaments), capsules 2 ‒ 2.4 × 2.3 ‒ 2.8 cm, reddish-tomentose (vs. 1 ‒ 1.7 × 1.2 ‒ 1.6 cm, brownish to purplish), seeds 1 ‒ 1.2 × 1.5 ‒ 1.6 cm, covered by a white aril, (vs. 0.7 ‒ 0.8 × 1.2 ‒ 1.3 cm, covered by a reddish aril) and inhabiting premontane forest (vs. lowland wet forest).

Type — COSTA RICA. Prov. San José: cantón Dota, distrito Santa María, cafetal al lado del bosque municipal Chalchuapa , 1589 m, 9º38’41.43’’ N, 83º58’10.18’’ W, 15 January 2016 (fl., fr.), P. Juárez, J.E. Jiménez & J.M. Chaves 1235 (holotype: USJ! [fls. also in spirit]; isotypes: CR, MO) .

Tree 10–20 m tall and 30–40 cm diameter at breast high, bisexual, apparently polygamodioecious; bark reddish-brown, covered by small, white and circular lenticels. Young stems cylindrical, slightly grooved, ferruginous-tomentose, old stems glabrescent, minutely lenticellate. Leaves alternate, pinnately compound; petiole 3.5 ‒ 7.5 cm long, slightly puberulent; petiolules 0.2 ‒ 0.4 cm long, slightly puberulent; rachis 4 ‒ 11.2 cm long, ending in a short-terminal process, slightly puberulent; leaflets (4 ‒) 6 ‒ 8 (‒ 10), alternate to subopposite, (2.5 ‒) 6 ‒ 16 × (1.5) 2 ‒ 6.8 cm, elliptic to ovateelliptic, oblong or slightly obovate, acute, obtuse rounded at the apex, obtuse or rounded and slightly asymmetric at the base, with entire and undulated margin, glabrous on the upperside with the midrib slightly puberulent, glabrous or glabrescent veins in the underside. Inflorescences panicle to spiciform-panicle, axillary and subterminal, 8 ‒ 18 (‒ 23) cm long, ferruginous-tomentose; bracteoles 2 ‒ 4 mm; peduncle 2.5 ‒ 5.6 cm long; rachis 5.8 ‒ 17.4 cm long; pedicels 0.1 ‒ 0.3 cm long in flowers and 0.2 ‒ 0.5 cm long in fruits. Flowers whitish, actinomorphic, 0.8 ‒ 1 cm diameter; pedicel absent to 2 mm in flowers, in the fruit <5 mm; sepals (4) 5, 2.3 ‒ 2.5 mm long, tomentose, white-creamy; petals (4)5, 2.6 ‒ 3 mm long, internally and externally glabrescent but ciliated marginally, white; stamens 8, with white and villous filaments ca. 2.5 mm long, reddish anthers ca. 1 mm long; gynoecium with sessile, bilobulated (rarely trilobulated), and pinkish stigma; ovary 2-carpelar, rarely 3-carpelar, obovate, densely gold-tomentose. Capsules 2-carpelar, rarely 3-carpelar, 2-locular, rarely 3-locular, 2 ‒ 2.4 × 2.3 ‒ 2.8 cm, obcordate, coriaceous, short-stipitate or sesil, slightly emarginate at apex, without lenticels when mature; stipe 0 ‒ 3.5 mm; epicarp densely tomentose, reddish in live and dry specimens; endocarp densely tomentose, yellowish-brown. Seeds 2, rarely 3, ellipsoid to oblong, 1 ‒ 1.2 × 1.5 ‒ 1.6 cm, covered generally up to the middle of the seed by a white aril; tegument smooth, black, shiny.

Distribution, habitat and conservation:—Endemic to Costa Rica. Cupania moralesii is distributed in the Monteverde region, San Ramón near to “Las Cataratas”, Bajos del Toro (Sarchí), La Legua de Sarapiquí and Santa María de Dota región ( Fig. 3 ). It grows exclusively in premontane forest in elevations between 1360 and 1740 m. C. moralesii is sympatric with C. glabra Swartz (1788: 61) in the type locality. It is protected in the Reserva Biológica Monteverde, in the Caribbean slope of Braulio Carrillo National Park, and in the “Chalchuapa” municipal forest patch at Santa María de Dota.

Phenology:—Flowering has been recorded during the dry season, from January to March. Fruiting was recorded between January to May and August.

Additional specimens examined:— COSTA RICA. Alajuela: cantón San Ramón , hacia las cataratas, 14 November 1973 (sterile), L.J. Poveda 738 ( CR, USJ) ; cantón San Ramón, Reserva Biológica Monteverde, alrededor de la torre Rancho Alegre , 1500-1600 m, 10º18’30’’N, 84º47’00’’ W, 18 November 1991 (fl.), E. Bello 4136 ( CR) ; cantón Valverde Vega, Sarchí, Bajos del Toro , 1400 m, 10º15’00’’ N, 84º15’05’’ W, 5 August 1988 (fr), Q. Jiménez, L.H. Elizondo & R. Hernández 598 ( CR [2 dupl.], MO, USJ) . Heredia: cantón Sarapiquí, La Legua, Finca Montreal , 1740 m, 10º12’39’’ N, 84º06’45’’ W, 9 October 1992 (sterile), B. Boyle, A. Boyle & H. Nelson 1116 ( CR [2 dupl.]) ; cantón Sarapiquí, Reserva Forestal Cordillera Volcánica Central (now part of Braulio Carrillo National Park ), Potreros al SE del albergue ALAS-1500, 1485 m, 10º14’28.55’’ N, 84º06’38.86’’ W, 10 April 2005 (fl), F. González & A. S o to 256 ( CR [2 dupl.]) . Puntarenas: Monteverde , lower community, pasture, 1450 m, 27 January 1979 (fl.), W. Haber 277 ( CR, MO) ; Monteverde, forest and pasture along Quebrada Máquina , 1400 m, 10º18’ N, 84º 48’ W, 12 March 1990 (fl.), W. Haber 9775 ( CR [2 dupl.], MO) ; Monteverde, valley of Quebrada Máquina on N side, 200 m NE of Hotel Belmar, 1400 m, 10º18’ N, 84º 48’ W, 6 May 1990 (fr.), W. Haber & W. Zuchowski 9873 ( CR [2 dupl.], MO) ; Monteverde, ridge above Quebrada Máquina, Finca Haber , 1360 m, 10º18’ N, 84º48’ W, 12 February 1992 (fl.), W. Haber & W. Zuchowski 11010 ( CR [2 dupl.], MO) ; Monteverde, John Campbell farm, 1500 m, 10º18’ N, 84º 48’ W, 14 April 1992 (fr), W. Haber & W. Zuchowski 11098 ( CR [2 dupl.], MO) . San José: cantón Dota, distrito Santa María , El Cedral, 12 June 1975 (sterile), L.J. Poveda 1072 ( CR, JVR, USJ) ; cantón Dota, distrito Santa María, cafetal al lado del bosque municipal Chalchuapa , 1589 m, 9º38’41.43’’ N, 83º58’10.18’’ W, 21 January 2012 (fl.), J.E. Jiménez, J.M. Chaves & P. Juárez 673 ( CR, USJ) ; cantón Dota, distrito Santa María, bosque municipal Chalchuapa , 1604 m, 9º39’39.76’’ N, 83º58’2.66’’ W, 21 January 2012 (fr.), J.E. Jiménez & J.M. Chaves 1187 ( CR) ; cantón Dota, distrito Santa María, cafetal al lado del bosque municipal Chalchuapa , 1589 m, 9º38’41.43’’ N, 83º58’10.18’’ W, 4 March 2015 (fr.), J.E. Jiménez, J.M. Chaves & A. Campos 2564 ( CR, USJ [frs. also in spirit]) .

Etymology:—The specific epithet of this new species honors the Costa Rican botanist Juan Francisco Morales who first discovered this entity as a new species.

Comments:— Cupania moralesii was previously treated as Matayba sp. A . in the provisional checklist of the flora of the Monteverde Region ( Haber 1991) and lately as Cupania sp. 2 in the most recent taxonomic treatment, Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica (Morales 2015).

Vegetatively, C. moralesii and C. livida are quite similar. The glabrous or glabrescent veins on the underside of the leaflets in C. moralesii can be used to differentiate it from C. livida , which has glabrescent or puberulent veins on the underside of the leaflets; nevertheless, this character is not always constant. In dry specimens, fruits of C. moralesii remain reddish while in C. livida they are pale brownish to brownish. The main differences between the two species are in the reproductive characters ( Table 1).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Cupania moralesii. A. Flowering branch. B. Staminate flower. C. Pistillate flower. D. Petals. E. Pistillate flowers gynoecium. F. Staminate flowers gynoecium. G. Stamens. H. Infrutescence. I. Undehisced fruit. J. Dehisced fruit. K.Arillate seed. L. Seed. Drawn by P. Juárez, inflorescence and flowers based on photos of type specimen P. Juárez, J.E. Jiménez & J.M. Chaves 1235 (CR, USJ, MO), and infrutescence, fruits and seeds based on J.E. Jiménez, J.M. Chaves & A. Campos 2564 (CR, USJ, MO).

FIGURE 2. Cupania moralesii. A. Habit. B. Stem. C. Detail of the tomentose bud. D. Branch, leaves and upperside of leaflets. E. Underside of leaflets. F. Inflorescence. G. Close-up of flowers. H. Infrutescences. I. Detail of fruits, seeds and white aril. A‒E and H‒I photos based on J.E.Jiménez, J.M. Chaves & A. Campos 2564 (CR, USJ, MO). F-G photos based on type specimen P. Juárez, J.E. Jiménez & J.M. Chaves 1235 (CR, USJ, MO).

FIGURE 3. Distribution of Cupania moralesii according to the localities of herbarium collections.