Burmeistera asclepiadea Gleason, Bull. Torrey Bot.

González, Favio, 2023, Taxonomic revision of Burmeistera (Campanulaceae-Lobelioideae) in Colombia, Phytotaxa 615 (1), pp. 1-113 : 18-19

4. Burmeistera asclepiadea Gleason, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 52: 103. 1925.

Type:— COLOMBIA. Huila: Bosques en Balsillas , río Balsillas , 2100‒2200 m, 3–5 Aug 1917 (fl, fr), H. Rusby & F. Pennell 793 (holotype: NY! [ NY00467985 ]). Figs. 2I–L , 3 .

Scandent herbs or shrubs up to 2 m tall. Stem glabrous. Petiole (5‒) 10‒12 mm long, glabrous or sparsely puberulous; blade oblong, elliptic or rarely narrowly ovate, (4.0‒)6.0‒17.5 × (3.0‒) 3.5‒7.5 cm, glabrous above, reddish to purple, glabrescent to finely puberulous especially along veins beneath, base rounded to subcordate, slightly asymmetric, apex acute to abruptly acuminate, margin subentire to slightly sinuous, with 1 or 2 intramarginal or marginal hydathodes per cm, secondary veins 7 to 11 per side, intramarginal vein present. Peduncle 4‒6 cm long, glabrous to finely puberulous, ebracteolate. Hypanthium subglobose, 4‒6 mm diameter, glabrous to finely puberulous. Calyx lobes linear-lanceolate, 11‒15 × 1.0‒ 2.5 mm, patent to reflexed, glabrous, basally spaced by sinuses up to 1.5 mm wide, margin entire to subentire, with few intramarginal teeth. Corolla green variegated with purple, glabrous; tube 0.8‒1.5 cm long × 2‒4 mm diameter at its mid-level, inflated proximally and distally; lobes narrowly ovate to narrowly oblong, falcate, apex acuminate, dorsal lobes 11‒14 × 3‒4 mm, lateral lobes 7‒10 × 3‒5 mm, ventral lobe 7‒14 × 4 mm. Synandrium 2.5‒3.7 cm long, exserted up to 2 cm; filament tube 2‒3 cm long, sparsely tomentose especially at its distal portion; anther tube 5‒7 mm long, sparsely puberulous, ventral anthers barbate at pre-anthesis, later ebarbate. Berries globose, 10‒12 × 10‒18 mm, not inflated, glabrous, whitish to green-pink.

Phenology: — Burmeistera asclepiadea sets flowers and fruits from January to September.

Distribution, ecology and conservation status: — Burmeistera asclepiadea is endemic to the central and southern Andes of Colombia. It occurs in cloud forests of the Eastern Cordillera, in the departments of Boyacá, Caquetá, Cundinamarca, Huila, Meta and Putumayo, at elevations between 1500 and 2710 m. Following the IUCN (2022) Guidelines, this species qualifies for the Near Threatened (NT) category.

Notes: — Burmeistera asclepiadea is similar to B. ceratocarpa , B. smaragdi , B. serraniaguae , and B. succulenta , from which it differs by the leaf blade with base rounded to subcordate base and 7 to 11 secondary veins per side, the peduncle 4–6 cm long, shorter than the subtending leaves, and the area of distribution restricted to the Eastern Cordillera (versus the leaf blade with base cuneate to obtuse (rarely rounded in B. smaragdi and 9 to 15 secondary veins per side (sometimes 9 or 10 in B. smaragdi ), and the peduncle 6–17 cm long, as long as, or more often longer, than the subtending leaves in B. ceratocarpa , B. smaragdi , B. serraniaguae , and B. succulenta , all of them primarily distributed in the Western and Central cordilleras).

Additional specimens examined:— Boyacá. Garagoa, vereda Ciénaga Valvanera, finca El Secreto, reserva El Secreto, carretera a Miraflores, camino a Cerro Mico, 5°7´39´´– 5°7´53´´N, 73°16´54´´– 73°17´28´´W, 2100–2500 m, 18 Apr 2003 (fl, fr), J. Betancur et al. 10210 ( COL) ; hoya del río Cusiana , abajo de Vado Hondo, km 302, sitio La Sabana, 2000 m, 24–28 Feb 1954 (fl, fr), J. Idrobo et al. 1601 ( COL). Caquetá . Florencia , Alto Gabinete , via antigua Florencia a Neiva, 1°52´54.1´´N, 75°40´50.0´´W, 2400 m, 14 Jul 2013 (fl), D. Cárdenas et al. 43591 ( COAH) ; Florencia, antigua carretera Florencia a Neiva, 1°52´59.7´´N, 75°40´31.0´´W, 2515 m, 23 Jul 2015 (fl), D. Cárdenas et al. 44564 ( COAH) ; Florencia, carretera antigua Florencia a Neiva, sector Gabinete, 1°52´59.7´´N, 75°40´31.0´´W, 1500‒2000 m, 13 Jun 2017 (fl), D. Cárdenas et al. 48692 ( COAH) ; Cordillera Oriental, 29 km SE of Guadalupe along road to Florencia, near divide of mountains, just across Huila border, 2300 m, 9 Jan 1974 (fl), C. Davidse et al. 5623 ( COL) ; 57 km from Florencia towards Altamira, 2260 m, 18 Jan 1976 (fl), J. L. Luteyn et al. 4952 ( NY) ; Florencia , vereda Los Lirios, El Pórtico, terminando el tercer túnel a mano izquierda, 01°59´N, 75°44´39.9´ W, 16 Mar 2016 (fl), D. Sanín 6547 ( COL) ; E slope of Cordillera Oriental, ca. 33 km SE of Guadalupe on road to Florencia, 3 km below summit, ca 1°55´N, 76°42´W, 2300 m, 22 Mar 1986 (fl, fr), B. Stein 3708 ( NY). Cundinamarca. Toquiza , Gazaunta Valley , Cordillera de Helicona, 15 km northwest of Medina, 2435 m, 23 Sep 1944 (fl), M. Grant 10267 ( NY). Huila. Límites con Caquetá, Cordillera Oriental sobre el filo divisorio, Gabinete, 2300‒2450, 21 Mar 1940 (fl, fr), J. Cuatrecasas 8412 ( COL) ; Lavaderos , ride between Río Naranjo and Río Granadillo, 15 km S of San Agustín, 1°44´N, 76°17´W, 2000‒2200 m, 11 Feb 1943 (fl, fr), F. Fosberg 20054 ( NY) ; carretera a La Plata, Región de Moscopán , Santa Leticia, 2230 m, 21 Jul 1948 (fl), H. García 12879 ( COL) ; 23 km from Altamira towards Florencia, 2270 m, 15 Jan 1976 (fl, fr), J. L. Luteyn et al. 4871 ( NY) ; Cordillera Oriental , east of Neiva, 1–8 Aug 1917 (fl, fr), H. Rusby et al. 681 ( A, GH, NY, Y) ; west slope of Cordillera Oriental , 29 km above ( SE of) Guadalupe on road to Florencia, c. 1.5 km W of Caquetá dept. limit, ca. 1°55´N, 75°43´W, 2250‒2350 m, 22 Mar 1986 (fl, fr), B. Stein 3701 ( NY). Meta. Quetame , inspección de Guayabetal, carretera a El Calvario, 2000‒2450 m, 11 Jun 1979 (fl, fr), G. Lozano 4055 ( COL) ; San Luís de Cubarral , vereda El Vergel Alto, 1790 m, 12 Sep 2003 (fl, fr), J. Navarro et al. 107 ( COAH). Putumayo. Cutover forest between km 44‒45 on the road from Pasto to Sibundoy, 2710 m, 25 Jan 1976 (fl), J. L. Luteyn et al. 5022 ( NY) ; highway between Sibundoy and Mocoa between km 90‒91, 2500 m, 26 Jan 1976 (fl), J. L. Luteyn et al. 5048 ( NY).

Figures

FIGURE 2. A–D. Burmeistera aeribacca (Grant 9153, type), leaf (A), leaf margin (B), flower (C) and berry (D). E–H. B. andakiana (Davidse et al. 5700, type), leaf (E), leaf margin (F), flower (G) and berry (H). I–L. B. asclepiadea (Rusby & Pennell 793, type), leaf (I), leaf margin (J), flower (K) and berry (L). White arrows in A, E and I point to ascending, secondary veins; white arrowheads in B, F and J point to third order veins; black arrows in F and J point to intramarginal veins; black arrowheads in B, F, and J point to hydathodes. Scale bars: 1 cm in A, E, I; 1 mm in B, F, J; 5 mm in C, D, G, H, K, L.

FIGURE 3. Distribution of Burmeistera aeribacca, B. andakiana, B. antioquensis, B. asclepiadea and B. betancurii.