Paullinia prevostiana Acev.-Rodr.,, 2011

Acevedo-Rodriguez, Pedro, 2011, Four new species of Sapindaceae from the Guianas, PhytoKeys 7, pp. 11-20 : 13-14

Paullinia prevostiana Acev.-Rodr., sp. nov. Fig. 4A-I

Latin

A paullinia tenuifolia Standl. foliis magni, hispidulosi; rachides tereti, hispidulosi; sepaliis exteriores minoriis diversa.

Type.

French Guiana. Piste de St. Elie, primary forest, 5 17N; 53 3W, 6 Nov 1999, Prévost 3741 (holotype: US!; isotype: CAY!).

Description.

Slender, woody vine 15-30 m long. Stems terete, striate, hispidulous, becoming glabrous, cylindrical, and lenticellate with age, not producing milky sap; cross section of stem with a single vascular cylinder. Stipules 5-12 mm long, subulate or linear, hispidulous. Leaves pinnately 5-foliolate; petiole and rachis unwinged, hispid; petioles 3.5-10 cm long; rachis 3-6 cm long; leaflets 5-18 × 3.5-9 cm, ovate, elliptic, oblong-elliptic, or obovate, chartaceous, upper surface glabrous except for the pubescent to tomentose mid and secondary veins, lower surface sparsely pilose, especially on veins, the base obtuse to rounded on lateral leaflets, cuneate or acuminate on distal leaflets, the apex acuminate to long acuminate, the margins remotely dentate with glandular teeth, ciliate; tertiary venation clathrate. Thyrses ca. 10 cm long, without tendrils, cauliflorous, fasciculate, with hispidulous axes; cincinni sessile, opposite, 4- to 5-flowered. Pedicels 4.5-6 mm long, articulate near the base. Calyx light green, appressed-pubescent, sepals 5, concave, rounded at apex, the outer sepals 1.5-2 mm long, ovate, the inner sepals 3-3.5 mm long; petals ca. 5 mm long, white, oblong, slightly asymmetrical, shortly clawed at base, rounded at apex, papillate on both surfaces; appendages ca. 4 mm long, crest of posterior appendages with 2 corniform, fleshy projections at apex, the ligule sub-lanose; disc 4-lobed, glabrous, the posterior lobes ovate, dorsally flattened, the lateral lobes similar, but smaller than the posterior ones; torus hispidulous; filaments 4-7 mm long, of unequal lengths, flattened, densely lanose; anthers ca. 0.7 mm long. Capsules ca. 15 mm long, fusiform, sometimes keeled or narrowly winged along dorsal side of pericarp, ferruginous, short-pilose, stipitate at base; endocarp wooly-pubescent. Seed obovoid, dark brown, glabrous, with a sarcotesta on lower ⅓, the sarcotesta dorsally notched.

Distribution and ecology.

Known only from Guyana and French Guiana, in dense, humid forests, to be expected in Suriname.

Additional specimens studied.

Guyana: Bartica. Linder 152 (NY). French Guiana: Camopi River, summit of Alikéné Mt., Oldeman & Sastre 301 (MO, US-2). Crique Grégoire, Deward 129 (CAY), savanna, Girard 189 (CAY). Noragues Field Station, Petit Plateau, ca. 200 m elev., Mori et al. 25555 (CAY, NY, US), forest at base of inselberg, Larpin 1035 (CAY-2, US). Région de Cayenne. south of Mt des Chevaux, Cremers 5310 (CAY).

Discussion.

Paullinia prevostiana seems to be closely related to Paullinia tenuifolia Standl. as they share the following characters: Leaves pinnately 5-foliolate, terete stems with a single vascular cylinder; and cauliflorous inflorescence. Paullinia prevostiana differs however by its hispid leaves (vs. puberulent or glabrous), leaflets 5-18 cm long (vs. 3.5-11 cm) and its outer sepals much shorter than the inner ones (vs. nearly as long as the inner ones).

Etymology.

The specific epithet honors Dr. Marie Françoise Prévost, plant ecologist at IRD who has collected numerous plant specimens from French Guiana, including the type of this species.

Figures

Figure 4. Paullinia prevostiana A Branch with leaf and tendrils, detail of marginal tooth, and detail of petiole pubescence B Inflorescence and detail of cincinnus C Flower bud D Staminate flower, lateral view E Lateral petal with appendage F Staminate flower with perianth removed to show nectary glands and stamens G Staminate flower with perianth and few stamens removed to show nectary glands and pistillode, detail of pistillode H Larger leaf I Capsule, un-dehisced and dehisced showing seed, basal sarcotesta, and funiculus. A-G from Prevost 3741 (US); H-I from Mori et al. 25555 (NY).