Miconia ottoschmidtii (Urb.) Majure & Judd, J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas. 7: 269. 2013.

Majure, Lucas C., Becquer, Eldis R. & Judd, Walter S., 2016, Revision of the Lima clade (Miconia sect. Lima, Miconieae, Melastomataceae) of the Greater Antilles, PhytoKeys 72, pp. 1-99 : 46-50

12. Miconia ottoschmidtii (Urb.) Majure & Judd, J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas. 7: 269. 2013. Figs 12E-H , 17

Ossaea ottoschmidtii Urb., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 24: 6. 1927. Type: CUBA. Guantánamo, La Prenda, [day not given] April 1889, H.F.A. von Eggers 5332 (lectotype: M! [M0165772], designated here; isolectotypes: BR! [BR0000013239633, all but branch at top center of sheet with yellow leaves], HAC!).

Type.

Based on Ossaea ottoschmidtii Urb.

Description.

Evergreen shrub, 1-1.5 m tall; stems round in cross section, not ridged, the internodes 0.5-4.9 cm long, stem indumentum of spreading, granulate, bulla-based hairs to 0.4 mm long; nodal line present. Leaves opposite, decussate, rarely ovate to mostly narrowly elliptic, 2.4-7.9 × 1-3.1 cm, slightly anisophyllous, apex acute to slightly acuminate, base acute, venation acrodromous, 5-veined, the midvein and 2 pairs of arching secondary veins, the outermost sometimes intramarginal, secondary veins mostly basal to suprabasal, the innermost pair suprabasal, produced 0.8-25 mm from leaf base, positioned 1.6-4.7 mm in from margin at widest point of blade, tertiary veins percurrent, more or less perpendicular to midvein, 1.4-4.3 mm apart at midleaf, intertertiary veins rarely present, tertiary veins usually joined by conspicuous quaternary veins; adaxial leaf surface covered in well-developed, dorsally compressed bulla-based hairs, widest hair bases to 1.8 mm, these mostly to entirely covering the leaf areoles, apices of bulla-based hairs mostly erect, young leaf adaxial surface producing long-stemmed, clavate-dentritic hairs along the primary, secondary, and tertiary veins from between the bulla-based hairs, sessile, glandular hairs produced along the primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary veins between the bulla-based hairs; abaxial leaf surface covered in bulla-based hairs, these erect along the lamina, spreading along the primary and secondary veins, and recurved towards the leaf margin along the tertiary veins, those along the primary, secondary, and tertiary veins larger than hairs produced throughout the lamina, the lamina visible, appearing as a series of pits from depressions of the bulla-based hairs produced from the upper leaf surface, sessile, glandular hairs produced throughout the lamina and along the veins, domatia present, consisting of tufts of bulla-based hairs, at the axils of the primary and secondary, as well as primary and tertiary veins; petioles 0.3-2.1 cm long, covered in granulate, bulla-based hairs on the abaxial surface and long, spreading, bulla-based hairs on the adaxial surface. Inflorescences terminal, cymose, flowers mostly produced in glomerulate clusters, 19-25 flowered, 2.2-6.5 × 1.3-4 cm, the peduncle 0.1-1.9 cm long, proximal inflorescence branches 3-20 mm long; bracts oblong to ovate, 0.6-1.7 mm long; bracteoles ovate, 0.3-0.7 × 0.2-0.6 mm. Flowers 4-merous, with pedicels 0.2-2 mm long; hypanthium 1.4-2.3 mm long, short-oblong to globose, strongly 4-lobed, clearly constricted below the torus, free portion of the hypanthium 0.5-0.9 mm long, abaxial surface covered in bulla-based hairs to 0.3 mm long, and sessile, glandular hairs near the bases of the bulla-based hairs; adaxial surface (i.e., free portion) covered in small, bulla-based hairs; calyx teeth 0.4-0.8 × 0.2-0.4 mm, erect to spreading, covered in bulla-based hairs; calyx lobes 0.2-1.1 × 1.2-1.5 mm, triangular, broadly acute to rounded at apex, covered in bulla-based hairs abaxially and sessile, glandular hairs adaxially; calyx tube not tearing, 0.4-0.8 mm long with bulla-based hairs abaxially and sessile, glandular hairs adaxially; petals 4, 2.9-3 × 1.4-1.7 mm, white, ovate to elliptic, with an acute apex, with 1-2 slightly bulla-based hairs produced abaxially, just below the apex, to 0.5 mm long; stamens 8; filaments 1.3-1.6 mm long, glabrous, anthers 1.4-1.5 mm long, with one dorsally oriented pore, anther thecae 1.1-1.2 mm long, anthers with a dorso-basal appendage 0.3 mm long; style 3.5-3.7 mm long, glabrous, not or only slightly dilated in the middle, collar absent, style subtended by a crown of multicellular, linear to elongate-triangular (needle-like) hairs, which are slightly longer than the surrounding bulla-based hairs of the ovary apex, stigma punctate; ovary 1.4-2 × 2.2-2.5 mm, strongly 4-lobed, apex flat, pubescent with bulla-based hairs, except for the linear or elongate-triangular hairs forming crown, placentation axile with deeply intruded placenta, 4-locular; berries globose, 4-lobed, purple at maturity, 2.7-3.6 mm long (including calyx tube), 3-4.8 mm wide, seeds 0.4-0.6 mm long, obpyramidal, testa smooth, light brown, raphe dark brown to black, smooth, extending the length of the seed.

Phenology.

Miconia ottoschmidtii has been collected in flower from January through July and in fruit from April through August.

Distribution

(Fig. 13 ). Miconia ottoschmidtii occurs in northern Cuba in Pinar del Río (Pan de Guajaibón), Mountain of Guamuhaya of central Cuba, the Sierra Maestra of southern/eastern Cuba and Sierra Cristal.

Ecology.

This species occurs on montane evergreen forest, wet montane rainforest, from 400-1050 m in elevation on fersialitic soils or rarely on serpentine soils (e.g., Sierra Cristal). Some associated melastomes are Clidemia hirta (L.) D.Don, Conostegia icosandra (Sw. ex Wikstr.) Urb., Mecranium integrifolium (Naudin) Triana subsp. integrifolium , Meriania albiflora , Miconia matthaei Naudin and Miconia prasina (Sw.) DC.

Conservation status.

This species is widespread throughout Cuba occurring in Parque Nacional Pico Turquino, Parque Nacional Pico Cristal, Reserva Ecológica Lomas de Banao, Reserva Ecológica Pico San Juan, Parque Nacional Topes de Collantes and Elemento Natural Destacado Pan de Guajaibón, among other non-protected areas. However, the species is not abundant throughout most of its distribution, and is only known from one collection each from Pico Cristal and Pan de Guajaibón. The habitat for this species has been reduced in size and quality, thus, we propose a category of endangered for Miconia ottoschmidtii .

Discussion.

Miconia ottoschmidtii is the only Cuban member of an otherwise Hispaniolan clade containing Miconia lima , Miconia limoides , Miconia paralimoides and Miconia pedunculata (Fig. 2 ), as well as several other putative members of the clade ( Miconia phrynosomaderma , Miconia marigotiana , also Hispaniolan endemics). Of these taxa, Miconia ottoschmidtii is most phenetically similar to Miconia lima but can be differentiated from that species by the size of nearly all parts of the plant, with Miconia lima being the larger of the two species. Also, Miconia lima has broadly elliptic leaves, whereas those of Miconia ottoschmidtii are narrowly elliptic (length/width ratio 1.3-4.6 cm in Miconia ottoschmidtii and 1.5-2.2 cm in Miconia lima ). Several specimens of Miconia ottoschmidtii exhibit longer hairs along the stems and hypanthia than the typical granulate hairs generally exhibited by the species (i.e., Ekman 15794, 15912, Bécquer HAC-82434), and these plants are distributed more or less throughout the distribution of Miconia ottoschmidtii . It should be noted that the specimen, Bécquer HAC-82434, is the northernmost and westernmost collection of the species in Cuba from Pinar del Río, Pan de Guajaibón, and is disjunct from other collections to the southeast in Guamuhaya montains. This population exhibits less well developed bulla-based hairs on the adaxial leaf surface and has larger and more broadly elliptic leaves (3.05-7.9 × 1.6-3.1 mm vs. 2.4-6.8 × 1-2.2 mm) than most populations from other regions of Cuba (Fig. 17E, F ). It shows some phenetic similarity to Miconia asperifolia , but clearly is in a clade with another accession of Miconia ottoschmidtii from the Sancti Spiritus mountains ( Majure et al. 2015; Fig. 2 ), again showing the lability of morphological characters in the Lima clade (see Majure et al. 2015).

The isolectotype sheet of Miconia ottoschmidtii at BR is a mixed collection that also contains a fragment of Miconia norlindii at the top center of the sheet.

Specimens examined.

CUBA: Prov. Cienfuegos. Cumanayagua. Sierra del Escambray, subida al Pico San Juan, 7 Nov 1987, Arias & al. HFC-62962 (HAJB); Sierra del Escambray. Las Cuevas , 27 Feb 1995, Jutierrez & Panfet HFC-71754 (HAJB); Complejo San Juan, Escambray, Cienfuegos, 2 Nov 1986, Oviedo et al. s.n. (HAC) ; Prov. Granma. Sierra Maestra, Falda sur Pico Turquino, Acuña 12936 (HAC); Buey Arriba. Alrededores del poblado Barrio Nuevo , 1400 msm, 10 May 1988, Álvarez & al. HFC-63793 (B, HAJB, JE); Buey Arriba. En la zona de las 120, 12 May 1988, Álvarez & al. HFC-64145 (B, HAJB, JE); Buey Arriba. Pico Verde, 21 May 1988, Álvarez & al. HFC-64954 (B, HAJB, JE); A lo largo del camino de Minas del Frio a Montpie, 22 Apr 1978, Bisse & al. HFC-37232 (B, HAJB, JE); Pluviosilva de la zona de Meriño en la subida al Pico Caracas, 700-1000 msm, 24 Apr 1978, Bisse & al. HFC-37438 (B, HAJB, JE); Valle del arroyo Escondido, 700-1000 msm, 26 Apr 1978, Stohr HFC-37624 (B, HAJB, JE); B. Masó. Estribo de la falda norte de la Sierra Maestra, al este del Brazon de Santana , 700-1000 msm, Bisse & al. HFC-40386 (B, HAJB, JE); Sierra Maestra, on the water divide between Rio Yara and Rio Plata, ca . 1050 m, 12 Jul 1922, Ekman 14258 (GH, NY, S); Bartolomé Masó, Parque Nacional Turquino, sendero Alto de Naranjo-Pico Turquino, km 1, arriba de La Platica, 11 Nov 2013, Michelangeli et al. 2234 (NY); Buey Arriba. Camino de barrio Nuevo a La Pata de la Mesa, 13 May 1988, Sánchez HFC-64320 (B, HAJB, JE); Sierra Maestra, Monte La Bayamesa, Pico de Azua , 16 Jan 1987, Savelev 209 (HAC) . Prov. Guantánamo. Monte Verde, 1860-1864, Wright 1233 (BR, GH, HAC, MO, NY, P, S) . Prov. Holguín. Sierra de Cristal, headwaters of Río Lebisa, 12 Dec 1922, Ekman 15912 (S); Margenes del Arroyo Peladero Arriba , alto de la Valenzuela, Sierra Maestra, 5-8 Apr 1955, López-Figueiras 2221 (HAC, HAJB, US) . Prov. Pinar del Río. Bahia Honda, Pan de Guajaibon , sendero de la ladera norte, 8 May 2004, 400- 600 m, Bécquer HFC-82434 (FLAS, HAJB, NY) ; Prov. Sancti Spíritus. Fomento. Caballete de Casas, 400-700 msm, 8 Nov 1979, Bisse & al. HFC-40967 (B, HAJB, JE); Loma Caballete de Casas, 400-700 msm, 8 Nov 1979, Herrera & Imchanitzkaja IMK-429 (HAC); top of Gloria Hill , Banao Mts. , Santa Clara , 950 m, 30 Jul 1918, León LS-7964 (HAC, NY); Santa Clara, Mts. of Trinidad slopes of Pico Potrerillo , 700-900 m, 12 Jun 1922, Ekman 13990 (A, F, HAJB, MO, S); Santa Clara, Lomas de Banao, El Purial on Rio Banao , in rocky places near the top of El Purial, ca . 850 m, 27 Jan 1923, Ekman 16226 (S); Santa Clara, Lomas de Banao, El Purial on Rio Banao , edge of forest at Los Guineos, ca . 800 m, 27 Jan 1923, Ekman 16268 (S); Buenos Aires, Trinidad Hills, Gaviñas Ranch, 2500-3500 ft, 6 Mar 1929, Jack 7011 (A, GH, HAC, NY); Lomas de Banao, 1 Jan 1920, Luna 93 (HAC, NY); Banao, Loma de Banao, Tetas de Juana , 600-840 m, 15 Mar 2003, Pipoly et al. 24812 (FTG). Prov. Santiago de Cuba. Sierra de Cobre, Loma del Gato, 25 Sept - 5 Oct 1935, Acuña 9855 (HAC); Guama . Entre La Alcarraza y Punta de Lanza , 30 May 1988, Álvarez & al. HFC-65636 (B, HAJB, JE); Sierra Maestra: firme de la Sierra entre Alcarraza y Punta de Lanza, 800-1000 msm, 28 Apr 1969, Bisse & Lippold HFC-19643 (HAJB, JE); IBID HFC-19679 (HAJB); Loma del Gato , Cobre Range, Sierra Maestra , 900 m, Dec 1943, Chrysogone & Clemente NSC-3193 (GH, HAC, NY); Gran Piedra Mts., 1 Jun 1949, Clemente NSC-6620 (GH, HAC, US); Sierra Maestra, inter Finca Reunion el Loma del Gato , ca . 750 m, 29 Mar 1916, Ekman 6926 (NY, S, US); Sierra Maestra, supra Firmeza, ca. 1000 m, 10 Nov 1917, Ekman 8889 (NY, S); Sierra Maestra, Loma del Gato , 750 m, 9 Nov 1922, Ekman 15680 (S, US); Monte [Libano] near Monterus, ca. 500 m, 27 Nov 1922, Ekman 15794 (S); Loma del Gato, Cobre Range of Sierra Maestra , 950 m, 11 Jul-14 Aug 1921, León LS-10046 (GH, HAC, NY); Southern Oriente and Pico Turquino, Sierra Maestra, 1 Jul 1922, León LS-10945 (HAC, NY); zona de la Gran Piedra (Santiago de la Cuba), 10 Mar 1954, López-Figueiras 1076 (HAC, HAJB, US); Sierra Maestra, en la zona "del Gato" 6 Jun 1954, López-Figueiras 1421 (HAC, HAJB); Cordillera de la Gran Piedra, Sierra Maestra , 1200 m, 25 Mar 1956, López-Figueiras 2643 (HAC, HAJB); Gran Piedra Range, Sierra Maestra, 900 m, 22 Apr 1956, López-Figueiras 2692 (HAC, HAJB, US); Guamá, Parque Nacional Turquino, sendero entre Pico Joaquín y El Cojo, cerca del Cojo , 10 Nov 2013, Michelangeli et al. 2228 (NY) .

Figures

Figure 2. Maximum Parsimony 50 % majority rule phylogeny of selected members of the Lima, Calycopteris, Calycodomatia, Pseudolima, and Paralima clades (modified from Majure et al. 2015). Miconia umbellata and Miconia blancheana were used as outgroup taxa. Bootstrap values from both maximum parsimony / maximum likelihood analyses are given above branches.

Figure 12. Illustration of Miconia cubana (A-D) and Miconia ottoschmidtii (E-H). A Habit of Miconia cubana B close-up of leaf adaxial surface showing bulla-based hairs not entirely covering areoles C stamen D fruit longitudinal section and flower bud (all from type Wright 189) E petal abaxial surface of Miconia ottoschmidtii showing small, slightly bulla-based hairs F petal side view G stamen showing dorso-basal appendage (E-G from Ekman 6926) H fruit showing granulate bulla-based hairs on the hypanthium (Leon LS- 10046).

Figure 13. Distribution of Miconia cubana (open circle) and Miconia ottoschmidtii (close circles).

Figure 17. Photos of Miconia ottoschmidtii. A Inflorescence (Becquer s. n.) B leaf adaxial surface (Michelangeli 2234) C leaf abaxial surface (Michelangeli 2228) D developing leaves showing adaxial surface (Michelangeli 2228) E flower frontal view (Michelangeli 2234) F close-up of flower (E-F from Michelangeli 2234) G Miconia ottoschmidtii from Pinar del Rio showing poorly developed bulla-based hairs H flower and immature fruit I leaf abaxial surface J leaf adaxial surface (G-J from Becquer HFC- 82434). Photo A taken by E. Becquer, B-F taken by F. Michelangeli, and G-J taken by J. R. Abbott.