Conostegia ecuadorensis (Gleason) Kriebel, 2016

Kriebel, Ricardo, 2016, A Monograph of Conostegia (Melastomataceae, Miconieae), PhytoKeys 67, pp. 1-326 : 167-168

Conostegia ecuadorensis (Gleason) Kriebel comb. nov.

Conostegia ecuadorensis (Gleason) Kriebel. Basionym: Clidemia ecuadorensis Gleason, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 66(6): 418. 1939. Type: Ecuador. Esmeraldas: Parroquia de Concepción, Playa Rica, alt. 105 m, 10 December 1936, Y. Mexía 8431 (holotype: NY!, isotypes: BM, CAS!, F!, K, S, US!).

Description.

Shrub to small tree 2-3.5 m tall with terete, caducously furfurate-lepidote branches; the nodal line not evident. Leaves of a pair somewhat unequal in size. Petiole 0.4-1.3 cm. Leaf blade 11-14 × 2.5-5.2 cm, 3-5 plinerved with the innermost pair of lateral veins arising about 1-2 cm above the base and usually diverging from each other at their point of origin, elliptic, cuneate, apex caudate-acuminate, the margin entire, pocket like domatia present at the base abaxially on both pairs of lateral veins, adaxially glabrous, abaxially glabrous or caducously lepidote. Inflorescence an cyme axillary cyme 1.8-3.2 cm long, divaricately branched form the base with slender branches, accessory branches absent, the rachis inconspicuously furfurate-lepidote, bracteoles 2.2-5 cm long, triangular to subulate and fused basally to forma a peristent, shallow amplexicaul collar, 1-1.5 × 0.5-1 mm, persistent. Flowers sessile or subsessile, 4 (-5) merous, not calyptrate nor with the calyx lobes fused in bud, the hypanthium 2.25-2.75 × 1.75-2.25 mm, glabrous, calyx lobes broadly triangular ovate, 0.5-1 mm long, calyx teeth subulate, 0.5 mm long. Immature petals 1.5 × 1.2 mm, triangular ovate, posture not seen live at anthesis, glabrous, apically broadly acute. Stamens not studied, reportedly 8 (-10) in number. Ovary 4 (-5) locular, inferior. Style ca. 5 mm long, not observed in good flower at anthesis. Berry 4-5 × 4-5 mm, dark purple to black. Seeds 0.4-0.6 mm long, more or less triangular in outline, the testa muriculate.

Distribution

(Fig. 153 ). On the Pacific slope of Colombia and north western Ecuador with a population on the eastern side of the Andes in Ecuador, 100-2000 m in elevation.

Conostegia ecuadorensis can be recognized by its mostly glabrous vegetative parts, its caudate leaf apex forming a long drip tip, the presence four pocket domatia at the base of the leaf on the abaxial side where each of the major lateral veins arises, and its 4-merous flowers on divaricately branched slender inflorescences branches. Gleason described Conostegia ecuadorensis in the same year that he described Conostegia ombrophila ( Gleason 1939a, b). These two species are quite similar in their almost glabrous vegetative parts with inconspicuous lepidote hairs, presence of leaf domatia, and caudate leaf apices, so it is surprising he did not comment on the similarities between the two. In fact, they can be hard to separate, with Conostegia ecuadorensis having four domatia and a more southern distribution, and Conostegia ombrophila none or usually two domatia and a more southern Central American distribution. Instead, Gleason (1939b) compared Conostegia ecuadorensis to Clidemia japurensis and Clidemia naevula (now considered a synonym of the Clidemia japurensis ) of section Staphidium (where he placed, Conostegia ecuadorensis ), two glandular pubescent species that we know now, are distantly related from Conostegia ecuadorensis based on molecular phylogenies. On the other hand, he did not place Conostegia ombrophila in any section or compare to any other species, stating that its position in Clidemia was uncertain.

Specimens examined.

COLOMBIA. Chocó: Vereda Llanadas, Ladera Norte del Cerro Torra , Fila al Oeste, Forero et al. 1977 (MO, NY) . Risaralda: Mistrató, corregimiento de Jeguadas, Betancur et al. 3202 (MO, NY) . ECUADOR. NAPO: Carretera Sumaco-Galeras 2km N of Rio Papauco, Stern and Tepe 328 (CAS, NY) .

Figures

Figure 153. Distribution of Conostegia ecuadorensis.