Piper morelianum Yunck., Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift

Trujillo, William, Jaramillo, M. Alejandra, Toro, Diego & Balslev, Henrik, 2023, Over- and under-described: new species, new synonyms, and a new name in the megadiverse genus Piper (Piperaceae) on the east Andean slopes, Phytotaxa 601 (3), pp. 263-284 : 280-281

Piper morelianum Yunck., Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 51: 532. 1957. Fig. 11 .

Type:— COLOMBIA: Caquetá, Morelia , 300 m. K . Sneidern , 1195 (holotype S!) .

= Piper calanyanum var. sardinanum Trel. & Yunck. , The Piperaceae of northern South America 1: 67. 1950. Type:— COLOMBIA: Caquetá, Florencia , Cerro de La Sardina , 500 m, J. Cuatrecasas 8900 (US!). syn. nov.

Comments:—In The Piperaceae of northern South America, Trelease and Yuncker published P. calanyanum var. sardinanum Trel. & Yunck. (1950: 67) based on a specimen collected at Florencia in the Department of Caquetá, Colombia, giving the following diagnostic characters: “subshrub, 1–2 m tall, upper leaves 4–5 cm wide × 15–18 cm long, lower leaves to 7.5 cm wide × 20 cm long, upper petioles short and winged by the decurrent blade”. Detailed examination of the type specimens of P. calanyanum Trel. & Yunck. (1950: 66) and P. calanyanum var. sardinanum , the latter species has long apiculate spikes, a character not shared by the typical variety P. calanyanum var. calanyanum . Yuncker described P. morelianum Yunck. (1957: 532) based on a specimen collected at Morelia in the same Department of Caquetá, Colombia, approximately 20 km to the southwest from the type locality of P. calanyanum var. sardinanum . In the diagnosis, Yuncker recognized in P. morelianum the morphological similarity with P. parapeltobryon Trel. ex Gleason (1931: 356) , and he pointed to the following differences: “but differs in its leaf shape and acute to obtusish rather than wedge-shaped base and with the petiole vaginate to the blade.” These differences are notable, but Yuncker missed the similarities of P morelianum with P. calanyanum var. sardinanum . When examining the type specimens for both taxa they share the persistent petiolar margin, a decurrent leaf base on the petiole, secondary nerves irregularly spaced, prophylls 2–2.5 cm long, and long apiculate pendular spikes. Specimens of P. morelianum , that we collected in the Department of Caquetá over the past few years, were all found in the understory and at forest edges, and they all had red peduncles and adaxially lustrous leaves. Based on this collective evidence we conclude, that P. calanyanum var. sardinanum should be treated as a synonym P. morelianum .

Piper calanyanum and P. morelianum are part of the Peltobryon clade ( Fig. 1 , Jaramillo et al 2008), a group of shrubs with pinnately nerved leaves along the entire midvein length, spikes erect or pendular, flowers forming banded patterns around the spikes. However, these species are not closely related.

Distribution and Habitat:— Piper morelianum is distributed along the eastern slopes of the Andes towards the Amazon in Colombia. It is a local endemic, known only from the Department of Caqueta at elevations of 500–1100 m. It is a shade-loving species growing in the understory.

Additional specimens examined: — COLOMBIA: Caquetá, Albania, trail to Florida 1, El Porvenir farm, 13 March 2010, W. Trujillo et al. 1359 ( HUAZ!). Belén de los Andaquies, Parque Bosque Microcuenca La Resaca , 1°26’23.5”N, 75°53’24.5”W, 482 m, 11 October 2007, W. Trujillo 1086 ( COAH!, HUAZ!); Road from los Ángeles to trail to las Verdes , 450–650m, 1°35’21”N, 75°52’7.3”W, 22 June 2011, W. Trujillo et al. 1978 ( COAH!). Curillo, trail to Los Conquistadores , 240 m, 1°1’16.8”N, 75°54’50”W, 29 April 2010, W. Trujillo et al. 1651 ( HUAZ!). Florencia, Research center Macagual , 1°37’N, 75°31’W, 260 m, 1 June 2012, M. Gordillo 029 ( HUAZ!); San Antonio de Atenas, Embera Chami indigenous camp, 1°44’58”N, 75°34’50”W, 600 m, 19 March 2012, D. Castro et al. 47 ( HUAZ!); Trail to La Estrella , 01°36.377’N, 75°34.824’W, 390 m, 18 October 2003, M. Correa et al. 3729 ( HUAZ!); Las Brisas farm, trail to Santander, road to Morelia , 450–550 m, 1°31’59”N, 75°42’23”W, 30 June 2010, W. Trujillo et al. 1672 ( COAH!). La Montañita, trail to Itarca , 330 m, 1°32’34.5”N, 75°28’19”W, 26 April 2011, N. Castaño et al. 3140 ( COAH!) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Phylogenetic relationships of the species Piper oteguanum, P. rubrifolium, P. laperdizense, P. calanyanum and P. morelianum based on Maximum Likelihood analysis of nrITS sequences. Names with taxonomic novelties are shown in bold. Names of clades follow Jaramillo et al. (2008), and Callejas-Posada (2020). Numbers above branches are ML bootstrap support values (>80).

FIGURE 11. Piper morelianum. A. Sympodial branch; showing adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces and spikes. B. Infructescence with redwine colored peduncle. Photos by W. Trujillo from W. Trujillo 1086 (COAH).