Cyathea schlimii (Kuhn) Domin (1929a: 263)

Lehnert, Marcus, 2016, A synopsis of the exindusiate species of Cyathea (Cyatheaceae-Polypodiopsida) with bipinnate-pinnatifid or more complex fronds, with a revision of the C. lasiosora complex, Phytotaxa 243 (1), pp. 1-53 : 26-28

25. Cyathea schlimii (Kuhn) Domin (1929a: 263) ( Fig. 6 ). Alsophila schlimii Mettenius ex Kuhn (1869: 157) . Trichipteris schlimii (Kuhn) Barrington (1976: 5) . Type:— COLOMBIA. Norte de Santander: “Nova Grenada, Ocaña, Teorama” 4000–5000 ft, 1850, L.J. Schlim 223 (lectotype B-20-0000344!, designated by Barrington 1978: 46, isolectotypes BR-0000006987879!/-0000006988203!, GH-00020435!, K-000589998!/-000589999!, NY-00148764! [fragment of K], P-00631791!/-00631792!).

Trunk to 3.5 m tall, to 7 cm diameter, without old petioles, epidermis dark grayish brown, apex hidden in an elongate fascicle formed by the petioles; adventitious buds absent. Fronds to 380 cm long, basally ascending, distally arching. Petioles to 110 cm long, inermous or weakly muricate to sparsely aculeate, with dense reddish scurf consisting of congested trichomidia and dissected squamules, easily abraded. Petiole scales lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, to 15.0 × (1.5–)2.0–3.0 mm, thick-textured, bases weakly cordate, basifix to pseudopeltately attached, straight, apices long acute, flat; dark castaneous with paler border, grading from reddish brown to dark stramineous. Laminae bipinnate-pinnatifid, to 220 × 140 cm, dark green adaxially, blackish when dried, grey-green abaxially, abruptly reduced to a non-conform apical section. Pinnae to 70 cm long, subsessile, alternate, basal ones patent to weakly reflexed, more than half the length of longest pinnae. Costae to 2 mm wide, with white hairs to 1.5 mm long, adaxially arntrorsely curved to appressed, abaxially spreading, also with pale brown to rusty brown, flaccid scales to 4.0 × 0.5 mm. Pinnules to 110 × 22 mm, sessile, linear-lanceolate to narrowly triangular, truncate to weakly cuneate at bases, long acuminate to attenuate at tips; costules abaxially densely hairy with spreading multicellullar hairs to 1.5 mm long and with narrowly lanceolate scales to 3 mm long, flat to subbullate ones pale brown, bullate ones whitish or weakly bicolorous, in latter case the attenuate to subulate tips pale brown. Segments to 15.0 × 2.5–3.0 mm, linear-oblong, ascending, straight to falcate, apices obtuse to acute, margins crenulate, basal segment pair alternate, the second to last one larger than the subsequent segments; hairs present on both sides of the veins, abaxially also between them and along the margins. Sori medial, 0.8–1.0 mm diameter, receptacles globose, 0.3–0.4 mm diameter, paraphyses longer than sporangia (0.6–0.8 mm long), rusty brown, forming a persistent, densely contorted mass. Spores with exospore smooth, finely porate, perispore finely baculate ( Gastony 1979).

Distribution and habitat: —Endemic to Colombia, in moist tropical montane forests with Caribbean influence at 700–1300 m, to be expected from adjacent northern Venezuela. The specimen from the Ptari-Tepui in southern Venezuela cited by Barrington (1978) was not seen, but an occurrence of the species in that area appears unlikely.

Additional specimens examined: — COLOMBIA. Antioquia: Amalfi, road between Amalfi and Fraguas, NE of Salazar, 23.0– 26.5 km from center of Amalfi , 06º58’N, 74º59’W, 1220–1300 m, 14 February 1989, J. M. MacDougal et al. 4023 ( MO!) ; near Porcesito in valley of Río Medellin , 1100 m, 19 May 1946, W. H. Hodge 6871 ( US!) . Boyacá: “Muzo, Minas, 700 m, 1859,” A. Lindig 254 (lectoparatypes B!, BM!, P!, designated by Barrington 1978: 46). Norte de Santander : Ocaña, without date, L. J. Schlim 3453 ( BM). Santa Marta: Santa Marta, 1898–1901, H. H. Smith 1123 ( F!, K!) .

Remarks: — Cyathea schlimii is known only from few collections, and petiole material is not available in the type collection. Recent observations made in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Dept. Magdalena, Colombia) of plants that can be confidently aligned with the lectotype show that C. schlimii has the same appearance as C. lasiosora and C. calamitatis , i.e. large fronds borne on a relatively thin trunk, with dark green laminae, dark frond axes and dark, mostly ovate-lanceolate petiole scales. Most characteristically, their petioles are covered by fine, dark red scurf, which is persistent but easily arbaded by handling, and are also lacking hairs and stronger spines. All three species can be distinguished by the size and shape of the largest pinnules: ± sessile and tapering from the base in C. schlimii ; sessile to subsessile and more linear-oblong to oblanceolate in C. calamitatis ; subsessile to short-stalked and lanceolate to linear–oblong in C. lasiosora . Cyathea lasiosora also has fewer paraphyses that are not contorted (vs. abundant paraphyses heavily contorted in C. schlimii and C. calamitatis ).

Cyathea schlimii , C. calamitatis and C. lockwoodiana share abundant, contorted paraphyses and a segment pubescence that also extends between veins and along the margins. Cyathea lockwoodiana and C. schlimii can be distinguished best by the hairs on the petiole and the color and texture of their scales (petiole scales papery, auburn to orange-brown, laminar scales and squamules pale brown in C. lockwoodiana vs. no hairs on petioles, petiole scales firm, dark brown to castaneous, laminar scales and squamules dark brown in C. schlimii , and also in C. calamitatis ); also, C. lockwoodiana has persistent petiole bases on the trunk (vs. petioles falling off cleanly). Concerning the color of the laminar squamules, C. schlimii agrees better with C. lockwoodiana than with C. calamitatis (pale brown to whitish vs. dark brown to castaneous).

“ Alsophila schlimii Mettenius ” (1864: 345) is an earlier nom. nud. that has been validated later by Kuhn (1869:

157).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Cyathea schlimii. A. Scales from costae (left) and costules, largest one probably remnant of crozier indument and similar to petiole scales. B. Pinnule, adaxially. C. Fertile segment, abaxially. (All from Lindig 254/257, BM).