Salvia calderoniae Bedolla & Zamudio, 2015

Bedolla-García, Brenda Yudith & Zamudio, Sergio, 2015, Four new species of Salvia (Lamiaceae) from central Mexico, Phytotaxa 217 (1), pp. 35-52 : 39-43

Salvia calderoniae Bedolla & Zamudio , sp. nov. ( Fig. 3 )

Salviae longispicatae similis sed differt inflorescentia laxa brevi [3.5–10(–21) vs. (8–) 20–40 cm longa] verticillastris paucis [5–12(–19) vs. (13–)26–33] et floribus paucis [2–8 vs. (7–)12–18] per verticillastro, corolla tubus longiorum (6–13 vs. 5.5–12 mm longa), sursum arcuatum.

Type:— MEXICO. Guanajuato: municipality of Atarjea, 4 km al SW de El Toro, 2000 m, 21°22’32”N, 99°48’44”W, 12 October 2013, S. Zamudio, B. Bedolla & E. Olvera 16545 (holotype IEB!, isotypes ENCB!, MEXU!, MO!, QMEX!).

Herbaceous perennial plant, erect, 30–50(–60) cm tall. Stem quadrangular, strigulose, with short appressed retrorse trichomes; discolorous leaves. Petiole thin, flexuous, 2–6(–9) cm long, strigulose, with short appressed retrorse trichomes. Leaf blade ovate, 3.5–8(–12) × (1.5–) 3–5.5 cm, apex acuminate, base cuneate, margin serrate, upper surface sparsely strigulose, lower surface densely strigulose. Inflorescence racemose or terminal panicle, lax, 3.5–10(–21) cm long, with 5–12(–19) verticillasters, nodes 9–22 mm apart, each verticillaster with 2–8 flowers, rachis pubescent with short straight trichomes. Bracts deciduous, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 3–6 × 2–3 mm, apex long-acuminate, strigulose on the external part. Pedicel 3–5 mm long, strigulose. Calyx 6–10 mm long, green or dorsally tinged with purple, slightly puberulent outside, with antrorse trichomes concentrated on the veins and with punctiform glands of amber color dispersed on the surface, strigulose inside; lips of the calyx unequal, the upper ovate-acuminate, 2–3 mm long, with 3 veins, the lower 3–4 mm long, with two acute-acuminate lobules, with 6 veins. Corolla blue with the basal portion of the tube white, villous, mainly on the upper lip, tube 6–13 mm long, arching upwards, ventricose, internally epapillate, upper lip galeate, 5–6.5 mm long; the lower lip larger than the upper, 5.5–8 × 6–8 mm, extended, with three lobules, the middle invaginate and larger than the laterals, with two white lines that extend towards the throat, edge irregularly undulate. Stamens inserted close to the corolla throat, covered by the galea, filaments 3–3.5 mm long, connectives 8–10 mm long, with a short tooth, acute, retrorse, just after the insertion with the filament, in the ventral portion, anthers 1.5–2 mm long, with 2 linear to claviform staminodes, 0.3–0.7 mm long. Style white, 17.5–20 mm long, covered by the galea, bearded, the upper branch longer than the lower, both blue. Mericarps ellipsoid, triquetrous, 1.5–1.9 × 1–1.5 mm, brown.

Distribution and ecology:— This plant has a very restricted distribution in the northeastern part of Guanajuato ( Fig. 2 ). It inhabits humid ravines with Quercus forest and elements of montane cloud forest, on slopes of limestone rock. It is sympatric with S. involucrata . Elevation 1550–2000 m. It blossoms and bears fruit from October through November.

Etymology:— The specific name is dedicated with affection and admiration to the emeritus researcher of the Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Graciela Calderón de Rzedowski for her important contributions to Mexican botany and her work as a professor for more than 30 years.

Taxonomic comments:— The morphology of Salvia calderoniae allows it to be placed in the section Angulatae ( Epling 1935: 67) Epling (1939: 234) , which is one of the most complex sections of the subgenus Calosphace . This section extends from northern Mexico to Brazil and Argentina and contains a large number of species (ca. 49), most of them having considerable morphological variation and lacking a thorough study ( Epling 1939, 1940, 1941, González-Gallegos et al. 2013).

The morphological characteristics proposed by Epling (1939) that define the section Angulatae cover quite a wide interval of variations; those that allow Salvia calderoniae to be placed in this section are the following: perennial herbaceous plants, ovate leaves, cuneate base, acuminate apex; inflorescence a lax raceme with separated verticillasters, flowers 2–8 per verticillaster; deciduous bracts; upper calyx lip with 3 veins; blue corolla, ventricose and epapillate tube; lower lip of the corolla larger than the upper one; stamens covered by the galea; connectives with a retrorse tooth and pubescent style. Within the section Angulatae , only S. cyanantha Epling (1940: 526) and S. calderoniae present the corolla tube markedly arched upwards; however, these species are very different in terms of their other morphological characteristics; for example S. calderoniae is an herbaceous erect plant with cuneate base of leaves and simple trichomes on the raquis of inflorescence, whereas S. cyanantha is an herbaceous prostate plant, with rounded base of leaves, glandular trichomes on the raquis of inflorescence and with simple and glandular trichomes on calyx; additionally they differ in the geographical distribution and habitat ( Table 2).

In the other hand, Salvia longispicata Martens & Galeotti (1844: 73) , S. fluviatilis Fernald (1900: 516) and S. xalapensis Bentham (1848: 308) are morphologically closest, being perennial herbaceous plants, erect, with ovate to rhombic leaves, serrate margins and acuminate apex; however, they differ from S. calderoniae in having larger terminal inflorescences, more verticillasters per inflorescence, more flowers per verticillaster as well as shorter corollas with straight tube, of these species S. longispicata is the most similar ( Table 2).

Salvia calderoniae can be differentiated from the other species of the section by the combination of the following characteristics: herbaceous perennial plant, erect, with lax and short inflorescences [3.5–10(–21) cm long]; with few verticillasters [5–12(–19)] and few flowers per verticillaster (2–8); blue corolla, with the tube arching upwards of 6–13 mm long ( Fig. 4C, D ). S. calderoniae is the only species of the section that is distributed in forests of Quercus with elements of montane cloud forest ( Table 2).

Salvia calderoniae may be confused with S. mexicana Linnaeus (1753: 25) var. minor Bentham (1848: 337) (section Briquetia Epling (1939: 267)) because of its growth habit, shape of the leaves, upper calyx lip with 3 veins, and almost completely blue corolla; however, it can be distinguished by having shorter, lax inflorescences with a lower number of flowers per verticillaster, ovate to ovate-lanceolate bracts, the corolla tube arching upwards with no invagination, and lower lip of the corolla extended and larger than the upper one.

Additional specimens examined:— MEXICO. Guanajuato: municipality of Atarjea : 4 km al SW de El Toro, 2000 m, 21°22’32”N, 99°48’44”W, 21 November 2009, S. Zamudio & C. A. Ramírez 14693 ( IEB!) ; ± 2 km al W de El Toro, por el camino a Xichú , 21º22’36.9’’ N, 99º49’04.6’’ W, 12 October 2013, S. Zamudio et al. 16547 ( IEB!) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Distribution of Salvia calderoniae, S. carranzae, S. xolocotzii and S. zamoranensis.

FIGURE 3. Salvia calderoniae. A. Habit. B. Stem branched from the base. C. Detail of the pubescence of stem. D. Bract. E. Lateral view of the calyx. F. Lateral view of the corolla, with the tube arched. G. Frontal view of the lower lip of the corolla (based on S. Zamudio, B. Bedolla & E. Olvera16547 (IEB!), illustrated by Alfonso Barbosa).

FIGURE 4. Salvia carranzae. A. Habit. B. Portion of the inflorescence. Salvia calderoniae. C. Inflorescence. D. Lateral view of the corolla (photographs taken by S. Zamudio).