Cunila jaliscana García-Peña & J.G.González, 2013

García-Peña, María Del Rosario & González-Gallegos, Jesús Guadalupe, 2013, Cunila jaliscana (Lamiaceae) a new species from Jalisco, Mexico, Phytotaxa 125 (1), pp. 17-24 : 17-23

Cunila jaliscana García-Peña & J.G.González , sp. nov. ( Figs. 1–4 )

C. lythrifoliae similis, sed ramis divaricatis, inflorescentiis angustioribus, bracteis quam calyce brevioribus et floribus erectis albis differt.

Type: — MEXICO. Jalisco. Mascota: Laguna de Juanacatlán , 1960 m, 17 March 1971 (fl.), R. González Tamayo 155 (Holotype IBUG!, isotypes CAS!, ENCB!, MICH!, TEX!) .

Perennial herbs to subshrubs, erect, 1.0– 2.3 m tall; stems with retracted pith, quadrangular, sulcate, antrorse short trichomes on the sulco, branches divaricate. Leaves with petioles (1.2–)3.0– 9.3 mm long, pilose; blades lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 1.8–8.0 × 1.2–2.6 cm, acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base, margins entire to finely and sparsely serrate, sparsely pilose above and tomentose beneath, with simple trichomes. Inflorescences terminal and axillary, spiciform, composed of cymes at each node, not secund, 5.0– 8.5 cm long, 0.8–1.2 cm wide, 10–22 internodes, the first remote and then gradually crowded toward the apex; cymes sessile to subsessile, peduncles ca. 0.5 mm long, without secondary axes, bifurcation angles 0º, 8–9 flowers per cyme. Floral bracts linear, 1.3–1.9 mm long, ciliate, shorter than calyx. Flowers erect, sessile to subsessile, pedicels 0.0–1.0 mm long (up to 2.2 mm long in fruit). Calyx green, tubular, erect, 2.0–2.6(–3.0) × 0.8–1.2 mm, 13–14-nerved, pilose outside, covered with antrorse trichomes on the veins, glands only between the veins, throat hirsute, with trichomes along teeth contour no longer than the teeth, interlocking in the sinuses; teeth isomorphic, erect, deltoid, 0.6–0.8 mm long. Corolla white, (4.0–)5.0–6.5(–7.0) mm long, the tube exerted from the calyx, long trichomes on the outer surface, inner surface with some trichomes at mid-portion. Stamens 2, exerted, filaments 4.0–6.0 mm long, glabrous and not spotted; thecae white; staminodes conspicuous, 2.0–3.0 mm long. Ovary 4-lobed. Style 8.0–10.0 mm long, white, not spotted, lobes unequal. Nutlets 4, 1.0–1.4 × 0.4–0.5 mm, ocher, pyramidal-ovoid, glabrous, foveolate, with a sub-basal to ventral scar, 0.1–0.2 mm long.

Distribution and habitat:— Cunila jaliscana is endemic to Jalisco, Mexico ( Fig. 5 ). It grows at edges or openings of pine-oak, pine-fir, oak, and montane cloud forests, sometimes found along dirt roads or crop fields, at 1500–2500 m of elevation. Associated with trees like Carpinus caroliniana Walter , Crataegus mexicana DC. , Juniperus flaccida Schltdl. , Miconia glaberrima (Schltdl.) Naudin , Oreopanax xalapensis (Kunth) Decne. & Planch. , Pinus lumholtzii B.L.Rob. & Fernald , Prunus serotina subsp. capuli (Cav.) McVaugh , Quercus candicans Née , Q. castanea Née , Q. obtusata Bonpl. , and herbs and shrubs like Cirsium sp. , Euphorbia schlechtendalii var. pacifica McVaugh. , Lepechinia caulescens (Ortega) Epling , Heterotoma lobelioides Zucc. , Phacelia platycarpa (Cav.) Spreng. , Rubus coriifolius Liebm. , Salvia gesneriflora Lindl. & Paxton , and S. mexicana L.

Notes:— Flowering takes place from November to May. It is commonly known as “poleo”, and its leaves are boiled to prepare tea to relieve respiratory conditions.

Additional specimens examined:— MEXICO. Jalisco. Autlán de Navarro: Sierra de Manantlán , 1950 m, 8 March 1987 (fl), M . Cházaro et al. 4508a ( IBUG!, IEB!); Sierra de Cacoma , 1500 m, 10 November 1980 (fl), M . Limón 11719 & L . M . Villarreal de Puga ( IBUG!, IEB!). Ayutla: cabañas Haciendas del Carmen , en La Cañada del Carmen , 17 April 2010 (fl, fr), M . J . Cházaro-B. 9753 & R. Sánchez ( IBUG!); Sierra de Cacoma , 400 m al S del punto de Santa Mónica, 2100 m, 7 January 1995 (fl), O . Vargas-P. s.n. & R. González-T. ( IBUG!, IEB!). Cuautitlán: flat valley bottoms at Las Joyas (cf. El Chante topo-sheet), 7.8 km W by WSW of Rincón de Manantlán , ca. 16 km SW of El Chante, 19.35ºN 104.17ºW, 1900 m, 6 January 1979 (fl), H . H . Iltis et al. 1384 ( IBUG!, MEXU!); El Zarzamoro, cerca de la Estación Científica Las Joyas, Sierra de Manantlán , 19º35’8”N 104º16’22”O, 1850 m, 5 May 2001, F . J . Santana-M. 10492 & E. Jardel ( ZEA!). Mascota : 2.2 km al N de Juanacatlán y 2.9 al E de la laguna del mismo nombre, Sierra de Juanacatlán , 20º37’2.03”N 104º42’18.88”O, 2134 m, 21 April 2011 (fl, fr), J . G . González-G. 987 & R. Guerrero-H. ( IBUG!); 4–4.1 km en línea recta al N de Juanacatlán y 2.4–2.5 km al E de la laguna del mismo nombre, 20º37’55”N 104º42’26.5”O, 2225 m, 22 April 2011 (fl, fr), J . G . González-G. 989 & R. Guerrero-H. (IBUG!); extremo N del pueblo de Juanacatlán , 20º36’5.3”N 104º42’0.0”O, 2242 m, 1 February 2013 (fl), J . G . González-G. et al. 1440 ( IBUG!); camino entre cerro El Molcajete y laguna de Juanacatlán, 1800 m, 30 December 1973 (fl), L . M . Villarreal de Puga 5758 ( IBUG!, MICH!). San Sebastián del Oeste: en la base de La Bufa , en la antena de microondas, 20º44’11”N 104º49’10”O, 2283 m, 7–8 March 2009 (fl, fr), J . G . González-Gallegos 303 ( IBUG!, MEXU!); 6.5 km por la brecha de San Sebastián del Oeste a La Bufa, 900 m en línea recta al O de Real Alto, 20.743ºN 104.824ºO, 16 March 2013 (fl), J . G . González-Gallegos et al. 1486 ( IBUG!); Real Alto, Sierra Madre Occidental , 2500 m, 29 January 1927 (fl), Y . Mexia 1589 ( CAS!, F!, GH!, MICH!, MO!, UC!, US!) ; camino entre las torres de microondas y El Llanito de los Hielitos, 2400 m, 26 March 1996 (fl, fr), R . Ramírez-D. et al. 3514 ( IBUG!); La Bufa , 20 February 2000 (fl), L . M . Villarreal de Puga 17763 ( IBUG!). Talpa de Allende: Sierra de Cacoma , 2.2 km al N de la Cumbre de Guadalupe (Cumbre de los Arrastrados), 20º10’01”N 104º43’09”O, 2000–2100 m, 24 February 2002 (fl, fr), P . Carrillo-R. 2884 & E. M . Barba ( IBUG!); headwaters of río Mascota (ca. 20 km, airline, southeast of Talpa de Allende ), 8–10 km above (south of) El Rincón, on the road to aserradero La Cumbre, steep mountain valley near rapid stream, 1600 m, 2 April 1963 (fl), R . McVaugh 24434 ( MICH!). Villa Purificación: campamento de la Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo, Las Iglesias , 2100 m, 23 March 1980 (fl), S . Carvajal-H. et al. 2918 ( CREG!); en Neverías, Sierra de Cacoma , 2195, 17 March 2007 (fl), R . Cuevas-G. 9064 & L. Guzmán-H. ( ZEA!); al W de Las Iglesias (campo experimental de la Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo ), 2200 m, 10 March 1980 (fl), L . M . González- Villarreal 1768 ( IBUG!, MEXU!) .

Etymology:— The specific epithet honors Jalisco, a Mexican western state with high diversity in vascular plants ( Villaseñor & Ortiz 2013, Ramírez-Delgadillo et al. 2010), particularly in labiates ( Ramamoorthy & Elliott 1998)

Remarks:— Cunila jaliscana is easily recognized from C. lythrifolia Bentham (1829: sub. t. 1289) by a combination of characters: presence of divaricate branches, narrower inflorescences, bracts shorter than the calyx, white flowers and fewer flowers per cyme. Also, both species have different distributions, flower phenologies, and contrasting elevation ranges ( Table 1).

C. jaliscana is restricted to the woodlands on the northern portions of Sierra Madre del Sur, in western Jalisco. Its distribution ranges from Sierra de Manatlán along the mountains towards municipio of San Sebastián del Oeste , at 1500–2500 m of elevation, and with a flowering season from November to May. Whereas, C. lythrifolia also endemic to Mexico, occurs on the mountains of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and in southern portions of the Sierra Madre Oriental (Distrito Federal, Estado de México, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Morelos, Puebla, Querétaro, Tlaxcala and Veracruz), at 1500–3500 m elevation, and with a flowering season from June to May .

There are two other species of Cunila occurring in Jalisco, C. polyantha Bentham (1834: 362) characterized by its paniculiform and secund inflorescences, pedunculate cymes, and pedicellate flowers, calyx throat hirsute with trichomes on a straight line under the teeth, and general distribution in the states of Aguascalientes, Colima, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán and Zacatecas. Cunila pycnantha Robinson & Greenman (1894: 391) is distinguished by its capituliform inflorescences, pedunculate cymes and pedicellate flowers, calyx throat hirsute, trichomes along teeth contour, and a broader distribution, inhabiting in Chiapas, Durango, State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca and Sinaloa.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Cunila jaliscana. a) Habit, b) Detail of leaf surface beneath, c) Detail of inflorescence node, d) Flower, e) Corolla dissection showing stamens and staminodes, f) Ovary and style, g) Calyx dissection, h) Detail of calyx tooth, outer surface (up), inner surface (down), i) Dissection of mature calyx showing the nutlets, j) Nutlet (a–j based on González-Tamayo 155; drawn by Albino Luna).

FIGURE 2 Scanning photograph of the nutlet; ventral portion showing the abscission scar (above), and detail of the surface (beneath; photogrphs taken by Berenit Mendoza Garfias; SEM Hitachi S-2460N).

FIGURE 3 Fruiting calyx throat showing the trichomes insertion (photograph taken by Susana Guzmán Gomez; Multifocal microscope LEICA 216 APOA).

FIGURE 4. Cunila jaliscana. From left inflorescence detail, inflorescence in bud and general aspect (photographs taken by J.G. González-Gallegos).

FIGURE 5. Distribution map of Cunila jaliscana.