Salvia xolocotzii Bedolla & Zamudio, 2015

Bedolla-García, Brenda Yudith & Zamudio, Sergio, 2015, Four new species of Salvia (Lamiaceae) from central Mexico, Phytotaxa 217 (1), pp. 35-52 : 43-46

Salvia xolocotzii Bedolla & Zamudio , sp. nov. ( Fig. 5 )

Salviae galloanae similis sed differt habitu herbaceo stolonifero, caulibus decumbentibus trichomatibus curvatis retrorsis ferentibus, foliorum petiolis longioribus [(8–)15–35 vs. 2–5 mm]; inflorescentia longiore [(7–)15–28 vs. 6–12 cm]; calycis labio supero 5-venoso (vs. 7-venoso), corollae labio supero pubescenti pilis eglandulosis.

Type:— MEXICO. Querétaro: municipality of San Joaquín, 13 km por la carretera San Joaquín-La Joya, 2150 m, 20°58’56.6”N, 99°34’40”W, 2 September 2013, S. Zamudio, E. Carranza, B. Bedolla & E. Sánchez 16443 (Holotype IEB!, isotypes EBUM!, ENCB!, MEXU!, MO!, P!)

Herbaceous perennial plant, stoloniferous, decumbent, 5–45 cm tall, branched from the base. Stem quadrangular to subterete, tomentulose, with small retrorse curved trichomes. Petiole (8–) 15–35 mm long, tomentulose, canaliculate. Leaf blade discolorous, ovate, deltate to ovate-lanceolate, (1.8–)2.2–4(–6) × 1–3.6 cm, apex obtuse to rotund, base rotund to truncate, frequently cordate, margins serrate to crenate, upper surface sparsely villous, glabrescent, with antrorse trichomes, lower surface sparsely puberulent, with antrorse curved trichomes and scarce punctiform glands of amber color, in both cases the trichomes are denser close to the margin of the leaf. Inflorescence a terminal lax raceme, (7–) 15–28 cm long, with 4–10 verticillasters, nodes 2–4.5 cm apart, verticillasters with 2–5(–7) flowers, rachis pubescent with two types of trichomes: some glandular of 0.5–1 mm long, concentrated in the ribs and others simple, short, retrorse, on the grooved faces. Bracts deciduous, green or purple, ovate to lanceolate, 5–8 mm long, externally puberulent with antrorse dispersed trichomes, margin ciliate with glandular trichomes. Calyx 7–10 mm long, green tinged partially or totally with purple, especially on the dorsal surface, pubescent outside with glandular trichomes up to 1 mm long, concentrated on the veins, yellow punctiform glands dispersed on the surface, the edge with two types of trichomes, some simple, short, straight and others glandular; puberulent inside with very short antrorse trichomes, lips of calyx 2–3 mm long, the upper lip ovate-acuminate, with 5 veins, the lower with two acute-acuminate lobules and 6 veins. Corolla blue, villous, mainly on the upper lip, tube 8–13 mm long, slightly ventricose, internally epapillate, the upper lip galeate, 7–8 mm long, the lower lip extended, 13–15 × 11–13 mm, trilobate, the middle lobule invaginated and larger than the two lateral lobules, with two white lines from the base of the lip to the throat. Stamens inserted in the tube of the corolla, covered by the galea, filaments 2.5–3 mm long, connectives 8–10 mm long, with a short acute tooth, just after the insertion with the filament, on the ventral portion, anthers 2.5–3 mm long, 2 linear to claviform staminodes, 0.7–1.3 mm long. Style white, terete not swollen in the distal portion, 21–23 mm long, bearded, with the branches slightly exserted, the upper branch longer than the lower, both purple. Mericarps ellipsoid, 2–2.5 × 1.5–1.8 mm, variegated, with the surface gray and the marks brown.

Distribution and ecology:— The populations of this species occur in the municipalities of Landa and San Joaquín, in northeastern Querétaro ( Fig. 2 ). It inhabits humid forests of Quercus with elements of montane cloud forest, on limestone rock slopes. Elevation 1550–2150 m. It blossoms and bears fruit from June through November.

Etymology:— The specific name honors the memory, 102 years after his birth, of Efraim Hernández Xolocotzi, founder of Mexican ethnobotany and a great student of the traditional agricultural systems of Mexico.

Taxonomic comments:— Salvia xolocotzii is a herbaceous perennial plant, stoloniferous, decumbent, 15–45 cm tall, with ovate, deltate to ovate-lanceolate leaves, terminal inflorescence, glandular trichomes on rachis and calyx, upper calyx lip entire with 5 veins, corolla blue with slightly ventricose tube and lower lip extended, patent and larger than the upper one and connectives with a short acute tooth ( Fig. 6A, B ) these characters do not agree with any of the sections as defined by Epling and collaborators ( Epling 1939, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1947, 1951, Epling & Mathias 1957; Epling & Játiva 1966).

Following the sectional key of Epling (1939) leads to section Scorodonia Epling (1939:166) , considering that Salvia xolocotzii presents the following characters: deltoid-ovate leaves, rachis of inflorescence with glandular trichomes, deciduous bracts, flowers 3–6 per verticillaster, upper calyx lip with 5 to 7 veins, blue corolla with ventricose tube, stamens covered by the galea, connectives with a short acute tooth and style bearded; however, the species included in this section, differ from S. xolocotzii by being shrubby, the leaves with upper surface bullate, rugose, and the lower surface with incanous to canescent pubescence, dense inflorescences, lips of calyx brief and subtruncate and papillate corollae tube, whereby the new species is excluded from this section.

Among the Mexican sages, Salvia xolocotzii is similar to S. galloana Turner (2009b: 448) , species that belongs to the section Uliginosae ( Epling 1935: 87) Epling (1939: 54) . Both have lax, terminal and intermittent inflorescences, with a similar number of flowers per verticillaster, glandular trichomes in the rachis of the inflorescence and in the calyx, deciduous bracts, similar length of calyx; green calyx, partially or totally tinged with purple, entire upper lip with ovate-acuminate apex, blue corolla with ventricose epapillate tube, and the upper lip shorter than the lower one, connectives with a short acute tooth and the style terete, not swollen in the distal portion ( Table 3).

Salvia xolocotzii and S. galloana agree with the sectional diagnostic characters of Uliginosae sensu Epling (1939) and Turner (2009b) by the ovate to deltate leaves, terminal elongated inflorescence, deciduous bracts, calyx with glandular short trichomes, upper lip with 5 to 7 veins, blue corolla with ventricose and epapillate tube, lower lip with white maculae, stamens covered by the galea and pilose style with the upper branch longer than the lower one; however S. xolocotzii and S. galloana differ from the rest of the species of this section for the absence of tridentate calyces with markedly divergent lips, abundant big glandular dots, deltoid connectives and the style swollen at apex, which could indicate that these do not belong to this section.

The morphological similarity between Salvia xolocotzii and S. galloana is clear; nevertheless, the affinity with the sections Uliginosae and Scorodonia is unclear. Therefore, S. xolocotzii might be tentatively assigned to section Uliginosae until new studies allow to reach a more natural classification than that proposed by Epling (1939).

Additional specimens examined: — MEXICO. Querétaro: municipality of Landa: 10 km al SW de El Madroño, 1550 m, 22 June 1988, J. Rzedowski 46763 ( IEB!) ; 11 km al S de El Madroño, 1515 m, 5 November 1987, S. Zamudio 5882 ( IEB!) ; municipality of San Joaquín: brecha San Joaquín-La Joya, 2100 m, 18 November 1998, R. Hernández et al. 11733 ( IEB!) ; Joyas de Bucareli, 2100 m, 19 September 1997, J. Rzedowski 53533 ( IEB!) ; 15 km por la carretera San Joaquín-La Joya, 20°58’57.7”N, 99°34’08.3”W, 2034 m, 2 September 2013, S. Zamudio et al.16450 ( IEB!) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Distribution of Salvia calderoniae, S. carranzae, S. xolocotzii and S. zamoranensis.

FIGURE 5. Salvia xolocotzii. A. Habit. B. Detail of the pubescence of the rachis. C. Detail of the pubescence of the petiole. D. Close up of the margin of the leaf. E. Bract. F. Lateral view of the flower. G. Lateral and dorsal view of the calyx. H. Frontal view of the lower lip of the corolla. I. Terminal part of the style. J. connectives and thecae (based on S. Zamudio, E. Carranza, B. Bedolla & E. Sánchez 16443 (IEB!), illustrated by Alfonso Barbosa).

FIGURE 6. Salvia xolocotzii. A. Habit. B. Portion of the inflorescence. Salvia zamoranensis. C. Frontal view of the flower. D. Close up of the plant (photographs taken by S. Zamudio).