Eriotheca dolichopoda, A. Robyns, 1979

Carvalho-Sobrinho, Jefferson, Mota, Aline C., Alverson, William S. & Dorr, Laurence J., 2024, Fruit and seed of Eriotheca dolichopoda (Malvaceae) revealed after 45 years: Emended description, typification, new records, and conservation status of a poorly known Atlantic Forest species, Phytotaxa 668 (1), pp. 1-10 : 6-7

Affinities of Eriotheca dolichopoda based on morphology

Eriotheca dolichopoda is characterized by leafless flowering branches and leaflets that are nitid and often reddish-brown on their abaxial surface when dried. Flowers have a dense, pulverulent, ferruginous indument on their pedicels, receptacles, and calyces; the receptacles lack glands and are elongated such that the bracteoles are situated at least 10 mm below the base of calyces at floral anthesis (i.e., not found adjacent to the base of the calyx except on very young flower buds). Fruits are subglobose to obovoid capsules, enclosing numerous seeds c. 5 mm long. Furthermore, the leaves often exhibit unspecified phytopathogen damage, which is seen as reddish to pinkish dots in fresh material and whitish to brownish ones on herbarium specimens.

Eriotheca dolichopoda presents great variability in leaf morphology. The type has leaflets that are highly variable in number (5–7) and dimensions within a branch. This variability in leaf morphology was verified during fieldwork, which revealed great variation in leaflet number and shape beyond what is apparent in the type. Interestingly, specimens from semideciduous forest at higher elevations (700–900 m) in Chapada Diamantina tend to have fewer (5–7) leaflets whereas leaves on specimens from low elevation individuals often have 7–9(–11) leaflets.

Within its native range, Eriotheca dolichopoda could be confused with E. gracilipes (K.Schum.) A. Robyns (1963: 145) , a Cerrado species occurring in riverine forests in Chapada Diamantina . The confusion is due to an overlap in the number of leaflets (five) and length of pedicels (4 cm), and the fact that leaflets of both species can be irregularly and inconspicuously crenulate. However, E. dolichopoda can be readily distinguished from the latter species by its habit (large trees to 35 m vs. trees to 10 m tall), leafless (vs. often leafy) flowering branches, leaflets chartaceous (vs. coriaceous), receptacles lacking (vs. rarely lacking) glands, pedicels and calyces with ferruginous, pulverulent indument (vs. light brown, sparsely lepidote to glabrescent), calyces cupuliform, lobed to inconspicuously lobed (vs. infundibuliform, truncate), smaller capsules (38–52 vs. c. 70 mm long), and smaller seeds (5–7 × 4–5 mm vs. 8 × 7–10 mm).

Eriotheca dolichopoda is most morphologically similar to E. pentaphylla (Vell.) A. Robyns (1963: 138) , an Atlantic Forest species endemic to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro according to Duarte & Yoshikawa (2024), mainly due to the relatively long pedicels and receptacles, absence of nectaries on receptacles, and lobed calyces; however, it can be distinguished by its dense (vs. puberulous) indument on its pedicels, receptacles, and calyces, cupuliform (vs. campanulate) calyces that are narrower (8–10 vs. 13–20 mm), white (vs. often pinkish) filaments, and smaller fruits (38–52 vs. 80–100 mm long) and seeds (5–7 vs. 10–14 mm long). In addition, E. dolichopoda flowers from November to December (very young flowers in October) and fruits in January whereas E. pentaphylla flowers from February to November and fruits from July to November, January, and February ( Table 1).

Vegetatively, Eriotheca dolichopoda and E. pentaphylla can be confused due to the glabrous, nitid leaves that overlap in number of leaflets, especially due to the presence of 7-foliolate leaves on specimens from coastal Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. However, E. dolichopoda can be distinguished by the often reddish-brown (vs. light brown) abaxial surface of leaflets; and its leaflets are sessile (vs. often petiolulate), chartaceous (vs. coriaceous), and present both secondary and tertiary venation less raised than E. pentaphylla . Furthermore, individuals of E. dolichopoda are often huge trees whereas E. pentaphylla often are trees to 10 m tall.