Burmeistera draconis A. J. Pérez & N. Muchhala, 2018

Vallejo, Andrea F., Pérez, Álvaro J., Cevallos, Daniela & Muchhala, Nathan, 2018, New species of Burmeistera (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) from Ecuador, Phytotaxa 362 (3), pp. 263-270 : 267-268

Burmeistera draconis A. J. Pérez & N. Muchhala , sp. nov. ( Fig. 2 , 3 )

Type:— ECUADOR. Zamora Chinchipe: Nudo de Sabanilla, east slope ca. 5 km from pass on road Yangana-Valladolid, montane rain forest, 04°30’S, 79°10’W, 2700 m, 04 April 1985 (fl,fr), Harling G. & Andersson L. 23645 (holotype: QCA 26693!, isotype: G, MO 1290161!, NY 1185765!).

Burmeistera draconis differs from other species of Burmeistera by having elliptic leaves with an irregularly toothed margin and cylindrical inflated fruits with short calyx lobes.

Freestanding shrub, 1.0– 2.5 m with multiple stems, to scandent hemi-epiphytic shrub, climbing to 2–5 m; stems 8.0– 15 mm diam., hispidulous, pale green; branches 2.0–5.0 mm diam., hispidulous, pale green; latex white. Leaves alternate, spirally arranged, chartaceous; lamina elliptic, glabrous, apex attenuate, base decurrent, 18–80 × 7.0– 25 mm, distal leaves gradually smaller than proximal leaves, leaf surfaces pale green when fresh, olive-green when dried; margin irregularly bidentate, the larger up to 6.0 mm long, with obtuse to rounded apices; venation semicraspedodromous, hispidulous on both sides, with 8 to 14 pair of secondary veins; petiole 5.0– 20 mm long × 0.7–1.3 mm diam., hispidulous. Flowers solitary in upper leaf axils, light green suffused with maroon; pedicels 40–65 mm long × 0.6–2.0 mm diam., hispidulous, pale green, curved to sinuate and ascending at anthesis, declined in fruit, ebracteolate. Hypanthium cup-shaped, 7.1–9.5 mm long × 5.0–7.0 mm diam., glabrous, light green. Calyx lobes triangular, 3.0–5.0 × 2.0–3.0 mm, glabrous, patent to arcuate at anthesis, with fine reticulate venation, margin finely denticulate, with 4.0– 5.0 teeth per side; apex acute. Corolla glabrous, 26 mm long, light green suffused with maroon externally, pale green within, corolla base slightly wider than hypanthium, corolla tube slightly curved, 15–20 mm long dorsally, narrowing from the base to the middle to 10–13 mm long; the two dorsal lobes lanceolate, falcate, 13–17 × 3.0–5.0 mm, acute at apex; the three ventral lobes narrowly triangular, falcate, 12 × 3.0 mm, acute at apex. Staminal column long-exerted, to ca. 18 mm beyond dorsal lobes; filament tube 25–28 mm long × 1.0– 1.3 mm diam., slightly curved, glabrescent, pale green; anther tube curved-cylindrical, 9.0 mm long × 4.0 mm diam., dorsal and ventral anthers barbate, pale green suffused with maroon; dorsal anthers 9.0– 11 mm long; ventral anthers 6.0–7.0 mm long. Berry cylindrical, inflated with 1.0 mm thick walls, light green suffused with maroon, 29 mm long × 24 mm diam., crowned by the persistent calyx lobes; seeds elliptic, 0.8–1.0 mm.

Etymology:—The epithet is the genitive of the latin noun draco, which means dragon, in reference to the way the bidentate leaves arranged around long stems with distal flowers resemble the serpentine dragons of Chinese mythology.

Distribution, habitat and ecology:— Burmeistera draconis is endemic to the montane cloud forest of Zamora Chinchipe between 2400–2700 m ( Fig. 2 ). According to the Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador (2013) this locality is within a much larger zone dominated by bosque siempreverde montano del sur de la cordillera oriental de los Andes (BsMn02). This species is sympatric with Burmeistera zamorensis Muchhala & Pérez (2015: 36) , and associated to species such as Centropogon comosus Gleasson (1925:13) and Freziera neillii Santamaria-Aguilar & Lagomarsino (2015: 92) . It is likely that B. draconis also occurs in the adjacent Podocarpus National Park and Yacuri National Park, where similar environmental conditions and forest type are found. Flowers open at dusk and are pollinated by nectar bats ( Anoura spp. ).

Phenology:—Flowers and fruits are found from June to November, but some individuals were observed flowering throughout the year.

Conservation status:—This species was found at two localities, close to each other. One is in the Tapichalaca Reserve, a privately owned protected area of 3500 ha managed by the Jocotoco Foundation since 1998, and the other one is a collection along the road from Yangana to Valladolid. The limited collections and the need to explore other nearby areas, including the adjacent Podocarpus National Park and Yacuri National Park, prevent us to accurately assess its conservation status. Thus we proposed to rank this species as Data Deficient ( DD).

Discussion:— Burmeistera draconis is easily recognizable by its elliptic leaves with irregularly bidentate margins and cylindrical inflated fruits with short calyx lobes. Preliminary phylogenetic studies (Muchhala, unpublished) suggest it is closely related to a group of Burmeistera species with inflated fruits, including B. ramosa Wimmer (1932: 124) , B. refracta Wimmer (1932: 124) , B. glabrata ( Kunth 1818: 307) Hook.f. & B.D.Jacks in Jackson (1893: 361), B. vulgaris Wimmer (1932: 123) , B. oyacachensis Jeppesen (1981: 40) , B. borjensis Jeppesen (1981: 29) , and B. oblongifolia Wimmer (1955: 108) . Based on calyx lobes and other traits, it is most similar to B. oblongifolia (both have short triangular calyx lobes, <5 mm), but it differs in the bidentate leaf margin (vs. callose-denticulate in B. oblongifolia ). All other species in this group have calyx lobes> 5 mm in length. Based on leaf margin, it is most similar to B. oyacachensis , which has coarsely repand-lacerate margins. This species is endemic to the Napo province, and differs from B. draconis by its long calyx lobes (13–15 mm). In terms of leaf margin shape, all other species in this group have almost entire to shallowly repand-dentate margins.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— ECUADOR. Zamora Chinchipe: Cantón Palanda, Reserva Tapichalaca, on trail starting from Casa Simpson , 04°29.457’S, 79°07.579’W, 2548 m, 13 Nov 2010 (fl), N. Muchhala 464, 465 ( QCA!) ; en el sendero de las Tangaras , 04°29’43”S, 79°07’55”W, 2470–2600 m, 21 Jun 2014 (fl), A. J. Pérez et al. 7141 ( QCA!, MO!) ; 04°29’41.7”S, 79°07’53”W, 2496 m, 05 Ago 2015 (fl, fr), A. J. Pérez et al. 9117 ( COLG!, QCA!, MO!) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Distribution map of Burmeistera pterifolia (circle, Santa Lucia Cloud Forest Reserve in Pichincha province) and B. draconis (star, Reserva Tapichalaca in Zamora Chinchipe province) in Ecuador.

FIGURE 3. Burmeistera draconis A. J. Pérez & N. Muchhala, sp. nov. A. Dorso-lateral view of leaves and male flower. B. Abaxial view of leaves and fruit. C. Fruits. D. Female flower, lateral view. Photos by Álvaro J. Pérez.