Capsicum regale Barboza & Bohs, 2020

Barboza, Gloria E., Garcia, Carolina Carrizo, Scaldaferro, Marisel & Bohs, Lynn, 2020, An amazing new Capsicum (Solanaceae) species from the Andean-Amazonian Piedmont, PhytoKeys 167, pp. 13-29 : 13

Capsicum regale Barboza & Bohs sp. nov. Figs 1 , 2 , 3

Diagnosis.

Capsicum regale is morphologically most similar to C. longifolium Barboza & S.Leiva, but the former differs in having membranous and elliptic leaves, fleshy calyces, more deeply stellate corollas, longer filaments, longer and purple fruiting pedicels, dark blue to purple berries, larger seeds, smooth seed coats, and spine-like projections along the seed margins.

Type.

Colombia. Caquetá: Mun. Florencia, Corregimiento El Caraño, Finca de Don Isauro, camino al río, en interior de bosque fuertemente inclinado, 01°44'10.6"N, 75°40'78.3"W, 1004 m, 22 Aug 2019 (fl, fr), A. Orejuela, L. Bohs, G.E. Barboza, P. González, R. Deanna, J. Urdampilleta, J. Valencia & G. Sierra 3034 (holotype: COL; isotypes: COAH, CORD, HUAZ [to be distributed]).

Description.

Slender shrubs (1-) 1.8-2.5 (-3) m tall, with the main stem somewhat thick, ca. 0.8 cm in diameter at base, sparsely branched toward apex, the branches dichotomous, weak, spreading horizontally. Stems solid and terete at base, the young stems pale green, glossy, striate, glabrous, the nodes green; bark of older stems dark brown, glabrous; lenticels present. Sympodial units difoliate, geminate, the leaf pairs markedly differing in size. Leaves simple, membranous, slightly discolorous, green adaxially, pale green with the midvein prominent and purple and the secondary veins lilac or green abaxially; adaxial and abaxial surfaces glabrous; major leaves with blades 17-20 (-24) cm long, 4.7-8 (-9.2) cm wide, elliptic, the major veins 6-8 on each side of midvein, the base unequal and attenuate, the margins entire and glabrous, the apex apiculate to long-apiculate; petioles (0.8-) 1.5-2.3 cm long, green adaxially and purple abaxially, glabrous; the minor leaves 2-5 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, ovate, the major veins 3-5 on each side of midvein, the base unequal, the margins entire, glabrous, the apex obtuse; petioles 0-0.4 cm long, green, glabrous. Inflorescence ca. 10 mm long, unbranched or rarely shortly forked, with 5-13 flowers, the axes glabrous; peduncle 0-5.5 mm; rachis 4.5-6 mm long; pedicels 1.2-1.4 cm long, thin, 2-3-edged, erect to spreading, straight, purple to green, glabrous, nearly contiguous, articulated at the base, leaving conspicuous scars. Buds ellipsoid, green. Flowers 5-merous, all perfect. Calyx 2-3 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide, cup-shaped, fleshy, green or greenish purple, the margin truncate, circular in outline, glabrous, the appendages (0-) 4-5, 1-1.8 mm long, 0.8-1.1 mm wide, purple, thick, triangular-compressed, reflexed, inserted very close to the margin. Corolla 7-8 mm long, ca. 10 mm in diameter, deeply stellate, thick, with narrow interpetalar tissue, pure yellow or yellow with maroon pigmentation abaxially and greenish yellow with lobes marginally maroon adaxially, glabrous, the tube 2-2.5 mm long, the lobes 5-5.5 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide, triangular, the tips papillose, the margins with short eglandular trichomes. Stamens subequal, one filament longer than the others; long filament 3.5-4.3 mm long, shorter filaments (2) 3-3.2 mm long, white, glabrous, inserted on the corolla ca. 1 mm from the base, with inconspicuous auricles; anthers ca. 2 mm long, elliptic, not connivent, the thecae lilac or pale bluish, opening into longitudinal slits. Ovary ca. 1.3 mm long, ca. 1 mm in diameter, light green, ovoid, glabrous; nectary ca. 0.4 mm high, paler than the ovary, conspicuous; style 4.3-4.5 mm long, white, clavate, glabrous; stigma ca. 0.1 mm long, ca. 0.8 mm wide, light green, globose or somewhat discoid. Fruit a berry, globose, 6-9 mm in diameter, green when immature, turning nearly white and translucent during transition to maturity, then becoming dark blue to purple when mature, glabrous, non-pungent, the pericarp opaque, without giant cells, the endocarp smooth; stone cells absent; fruiting pedicels ca. 1.8 cm long, 1.8-2 mm in diameter proximally, 2.5-2.6 mm in diameter distally, brilliant dark purple, erect, fleshy, slightly angled and strongly thickened distally; fruiting calyx 3.75-4.25 mm in diameter, persistent, not accrescent, discoid, brilliant purple, with a conspicuous annular constriction at the junction with the swollen pedicel, the appendages reflexed, brilliant purple, fleshy and laterally compressed. Seeds 7-17 per fruit, 2.7-3.4 mm long, 2.2-2.7 mm wide, flattened, C-shaped, black, the seed coat smooth except for small spine-like projections on the seed margin, the cells irregular in shape to polygonal at seed margins, the lateral walls sinuate to straight.

Distribution.

Capsicum regale occurs in southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and northern Peru, known mainly on the eastern slopes of the Andes (the Andean-Amazonian Piedmont), between 700-1900 m elevation (Fig. 4 ).

Ecology.

The small populations inhabit the understory of the premontane or montane humid tropical forests of the Amazonian slopes of the Andes.

Phenology.

The species has been collected in flower and fruit in April and from August to December.

Etymology.

The specific epithet comes from the Latin regalis, royal or regal, referring to the regal, princely, or magnificent appearance of this special plant and also making reference to the royal purple color that suffuses the leaves, fruits, and fruiting pedicels.

Preliminary assessment of conservation status.

Assessment using the IUCN Red List Criteria ( IUCN 2019) suggests a status of Endangered (EN) B2ab(iii) for C. regale . Although this species has an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 47,806.378 km2, its area of occupancy (AOO) is calculated to be 32 km2 (criterion B2 <500 km2), and the habitat quality has experienced a continuing decline, especially associated with fragmentation and deforestation.

Chromosome number.

The somatic chromosome number found in C. regale is 2n = 2x = 26 (Fig. 5 ), as for all of the species of the Andean clade ( Scaldaferro and Moscone 2019; Barboza et al. 2019).

Phylogenetic affinities.

Capsicum regale is strongly resolved within the Andean clade of Capsicum in all analyses. Within the Andean clade, C. regale is moderately supported in a clade with C. rhomboideum and C. hookerianum . Within this clade, it is weakly supported as sister to C. rhomboideum (Fig. 6 ).

Specimens examined.

Colombia. Caquetá: Mun. Florencia, Corregimiento El Caraño, Km 20, finca Las Brisas, propiedad de Isauro Trujillo, 01°44'11.80"N, 75°40'37.8"W, 1002 m, 7 Oct 2017 (fl, fr), D. Hoyos, E. Trujillo & J. Sánchez 118 (COAH, COL); same locality, 9 Dec 2017 (fl, fr), D. Hoyos, M. Cuellar & F. Vallejo 146 (COL); Finca de don Isauro, camino al río, en interior de bosque fuertemente inclinado, 01°44'01.4"N, 75°40'35.4"W, 1000 m, 16 Apr 2016 (fl, fr), A. Orejuela, L. Bohs, G.E. Barboza, E. Trujillo, J. D. Tovar & J. Castillo 2640 (COL); same locality, 01°44'09.1"N, 75°40'40.3"W, 932 m, 22 Aug 2019 (fl, fr), A. Orejuela, L. Bohs, G.E. Barboza, P. González, R. Deanna, J. Urdampilleta, J. Valencia & G. Sierra 3035 (COL); finca Las Brisas, debajo de la casa, vereda La Cascada, 01°37'5"N, 75°40'50"W, 1000 m, 7 Nov 2015 (fl, fr), D. Sanín 6236 (COL); Mun. San José del Fragua, vereda La Peneya-camino hacia El Jardín, zona amortiguadora PNN Alto Fragua Indi Wasi, 01°17'31"N, 76°08'0.64"W, 700-850 m, 23 Oct 2017 (fl, fr), D. Hoyos et al. 127 (COAH, COL).

ECUADOR. Morona-Santiago: along new road Mendez-Morona, km 30-35, 800 m, 18 Aug 1989 (fl, fr), H. van der Werff & E. Gudiño 11196 (BM, MO, QCNE). Napo: Archidona Cantón, Reserva Ecológica Antisana, Comunidad Shamato, entrada por km 21-Shamato, 00°44'S, 77°48'W, 1700 m, 27 Apr 1998 (fl), J. L. Clark et al. 5337 (BM, MO); Parroquia Ahuano, Estación Biológica Jatun Sacha, 8 km E of Misahuallí, Finca Acaro, 01°17'17"S, 77°52'54"W, 910 m, 17 Aug 2005 (fl, fr), J. L. Clark et al. 9403 (BM, US). Sucumbíos: Río Bermejo to Cerro Sur Pax, Cofan community of Alto Bermejo, NW between Lumbaqui and Cascales, vicinity of Oso Ridge Camp, 00°19'17.7"N, 77°25'10"W, 1700-1920 m, 2 Aug 2001 (fr), R. Aguinda et al. 1537 (F).

PERU. Loreto: Datem del Marañón, Morona District, Pongo Chinim, valley between the eastern and western ridges of the Kampankis range, ca.14 km south of the Peru-Ecuador border, 3 Aug 2011 (fl, fr), I. Huamantupa 15251 (V0387079F color photo, F).

Figures

Figure 1. Capsicum regale Barboza & Bohs. A fruiting apical branch B unbranched inflorescence C flower, in lateral view D opened corolla E gynoecium F fruit. From Orejuela et al. 3034. Drawn by S. Montecchiesi.

Figure 2. Capsicum regale Barboza & Bohs. A habitat B apical branch, showing anisophyllous leaf pairs C abaxial surface of leaf with purple main vein D forked inflorescence; note the scars of the deciduous flowers E flower, in lateral view, on a unbranched elongate inflorescence F, G Flowers with and without pigmentation respectively H-K various stages of fruit maturity, in K mature fruit showing the constriction between the pedicel and the berry (arrow) A-F, H-K from Orejuela et al. 3034 (photos by A. Orejuela, P. Gonzales, and G. Barboza) G from Hoyos 127 (photo by L. Coca).

Figure 3. Seed of C. regale Barboza & Bohs viewed under SEM. A Seed B Seed coat sculpture. From Orejuela et al. 3034.

Figure 4. Distribution of Capsicum regale Barboza & Bohs.

Figure 5. Mitotic metaphase chromosomes of Capsicum regale Barboza & Bohs, 2 n = 26. Scale bar: 10 µm

Figure 6. Bayesian majority-rule consensus tree of Capsicum showing the placement of C. regale Barboza & Bohs. The Andean clade is highlighted in colored branches. Support values are indicated by each branch (bootstrap support maximum parsimony / bootstrap support maximum likelihood / posterior probabilities; dashes indicate support values <50 %). Key support values that indicate the position of C. regale are shown in bold. Asterisks indicate different resolutions using maximum parsimony.