Austroblechnum aequatoriense (A.Rojas) Gasper & V.A.O. Dittrich

Murillo-A, José & Triana-Moreno, Luz A., 2022, Novelties in Austroblechnum (Blechnaceae) from Colombia, Phytotaxa 572 (3), pp. 268-274 : 271-272

Austroblechnum aequatoriense (A.Rojas) Gasper & V.A.O. Dittrich in Gasper et al. (2016: 202).

Blechnum aequatoriense A. Rojas (2008: 9) .

Type:— ECUADOR. Pichincha: Quito Cantón , Río Guajalito Natural Reserve , 10 km W of Chiriboga, km 69 of old road Quito–Santo Domingo, 0º14’S, 78º48’W, 1900 m, 9 July 1991, A. Fay & L. Fay 3204 (Lectotype MO [ MO-5045402 !] designated here; isolectotypes MO [ MO-5045400 !], QCNE [ QCNE-104962 !], UC) .

Notes:— This species had been characterized by having a glabrous rachis and lamina base with (1–) 3 to 8 (–11) pairs of reduced pinnae (Rojas 2008). In Colombian specimens, the lamina has a rachis abundantly covered with simple hairs, mainly ca. 1 mm long, and the number of reduced pinnae ranges from (3–)5 to 8. The finding of Colombian specimens belonging to A. aequatoriense expands the distribution range of the species, previously known from the Carchi and Pichincha provinces in northern Ecuador (Rojas 2008). The expanded range encompasses the departments of Cauca, Chocó, and Nariño in Colombia ( Fig. 3 ). In addition, the elevational range of the species, originally ranging from 1900 to 2650 m (Rojas 2008), now extends to 1500 m.

Rojas (2008) chose A. Fay & L. Fay 3204 (MO) as the type of A. aequatoriense , but he did not select the holotype from the two available specimens (MO-5045400 and MO-5045402). We designate MO-5045402 as lectotype of this species. This specimen is more informative, since it has a less damaged fertile leaf than MO-5045400.

Examined specimens: — COLOMBIA. Antioquia: Ituango, camino de Guasimal hacia el Alto del Oso , límites entre los departamentos de Antioquia y Córdoba, 2140 m, 15 May 2003, W. Rodríguez et al. 3754 ( COL) . Cauca: El Tambo, Cachimbo, en el camino El Tambo–San Juan de Mechengue , 1600 m, 30 July 1958, H. Bischler 1363 ( COL) . Chocó: San José del Palmar, vereda Corcovados, finca La Esperanza , 1950 m, 19 January 1983, S. Diaz 3728 ( COL); principal ridge and slopes 2 km E of San José del Palmar, 1550–1650 m, D. Lellinger & E. de La Sota 757 ( COL); vereda El Tambor, 1540 m, 18 January 1983, P. Franco et al. 1506 ( COL) . Nariño: Ricaurte , entre La Planada y Pialapi, 1500–2000 m, 13 November 1967, L. E. Mora 4022 ( COL) .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Distribution map of Austroblechnum bullatum (star) and Austroblechnum aequatoriense (square). Map modified from QGIS v 3.18.3-Zürich (http://qgis.org).