Salvia zamoranensis Zamudio et Bedolla, 2015

Bedolla-García, Brenda Yudith & Zamudio, Sergio, 2015, Four new species of Salvia (Lamiaceae) from central Mexico, Phytotaxa 217 (1), pp. 35-52 : 48-50

Salvia zamoranensis Zamudio et Bedolla , sp. nov. ( Fig. 7 )

Salviae blepharophyllea similis sed differt caulis pilis 1–2.5 mm longis, foliis ovatis vel oblongis basi rotundatis, cuneatis vel breviter cordatis, bracteis ovatis tarde deciduis; calycis labio supero 5-venoso (vs. 7-venoso), corolla caerulea labio infero albo-maculato.

Type:— MEXICO. Querétaro: municipality of Colón, parte alta del cerro Zamorano , 3100 m, 20°55’57.5”N, 100°11’01.8”W, 10November 2012, S. Zamudio, B. Bedolla & E. Olvera 16091 (Holotype IEB!; isotypes ENCB!, MA!, MEXU!, MO!, P!, QMEX!, UAMIZ!, US!, XAL!) .

Herbaceous perennial plant, stoloniferous,decumbent,slightly branched from the base, 30–60cm tall.Stem quadrangular, green, sometimes tinged with purple, pubescent with two types of trichomes, some long, spreading, 1–2.5 mm long on the ribs, others short 0.2–0.4 mm, retrorse, very dense on the grooved faces. Petioles slightly clasped, (7–) 16–25 mm long, green, sometimes tinged with purple, canaliculate, pubescent with three types of trichomes, some long ca. 1.5–2 mm, others short throughout the canal and a few short, glandular. Leaves opposite-decussate, with young sprouts on the axils, green, surface sometimes tinged with purple, ovate to oblong, 5–7(–8.5) × 1–2(–5) cm, apex obtuse to acute, base rotund to cuneate, sometimes slightly cordate, margin serrate, venation pinnate, reticulate, semicraspedodromous, upper surface sparsely pubescent with antrorse trichomes, lower surface with antrorse trichomes concentrated on the veins, both faces with translucent or yellow punctiform glands dispersed on the surface. Inflorescence a terminal lax raceme, (2–)4–9(14) cm long, with 2–4(–7) verticillasters, nodes 8–30 mm apart; each verticillaster with 2–5 flowers. Bracts late falling, ovate, (6–)10–13 × 3–5(–8) mm, apex acute acuminate, pubescent with spreading trichomes mainly on the veins and the margin. Calyx 11–14 × 4.5–6 mm, green, occasionally tinged with purple on the back, covered with translucent punctiform glands dispersed on the surface, puberulent on the external face, with two types of trichomes, some long and spreading on the veins, others short dispersed on the surface, puberulent on the internal face with antrorse, very short trichomes, lips of the calyx 4–6 mm long, the upper lip ovate acuminate, with 5 veins, the lower with two lobules acute-acuminate, 6 main veins and one secondary. Corolla blue, villous, mainly on the upper lip, with trichomes of 0.3–0.5 mm long and translucent punctiform glands on the external part of the lower lip, tube 15–20 × 5–6 mm, slightly ventricose and strongly invaginate close to the base, internally epapillate, the upper lip galeate, 7.5–11.5 mm long, the lower lip 11–16 × 10–15 mm, extended, trilobate, the middle lobule and larger than the laterals, with two lines of white marks on the base of the lip, extending towards the throat. Stamens inserted in the tube of the corolla, covered by the galea, filaments 4–5 mm long, connectives 15–18 mm long, with a short, acute, retrorse tooth on the ventral portion, just after the insertion with the filament, anthers 2.8–3.5 mm long, 2 linear staminodes widened towards the apex, ca. 1.6–2 mm long. Style white, slightly exserted, 21–30 mm long, bearded on the upper branch, upper branch clearly longer than the lower, both purple. Mericarps ovate, ± triquetrous, 2.8–3.6 × 1.8–2.1 mm, brown or grey speckled with black.

Distribution and ecology:— Populations of this species occur at high elevations of Cerro Zamorano, in the municipalities of Tierra Blanca, Guanajuato and Colón, Querétaro. In the latter state, they are also known on Cerro Pingüical in the municipality of Pinal de Amoles ( Fig. 2 ). It inhabits forests of Abies religiosa and of Quercus with Arctostaphylos , Forestiera and Dodonaea , on soils derived from igneous or sedimentary rocks. Elevation 2700–3100 m. It blossoms and bears fruit in the months of June through November.

Etymology:— The specific name refers to the Cerro Zamorano, located on the border between Guanajuato and Querétaro, in the municipalities of Tierra Blanca and Colón, respectively. It is an isolated mountainous peak, the summit of which reaches 3300 m, and is surrounded by xerophyllous vegetation, although at 3000 m a forest of Abies religiosa predominates ( Rzedowski & Calderón 1989). The highest part of this peak is one of the four areas with the greatest concentration of endemic species in the state of Querétaro ( Rzedowski et al. 2012), including Cirsium zamoranense Rzedowski (1994: 104) , Rubus macvaughianus Rzedowski & Calderón (1989: 1) and Baccharis zamoranensis Rzedowski (1972: 400) .

Taxonomic comments:— Salvia zamoranensis can be placed in the section Brandegeia based on the following characteristics: it is a perennial herbaceous plant, with a branched stem from the base, pubescent, with long, spreading trichomes; ovate leaves, short-petiolate; inflorescence a terminal raceme, late-falling bracts, calyx with long and spreading trichomes concentrated on the veins, partially tinged with purple; upper lip with 5 main veins; ventricose tube of the corolla and invaginate close to the base, lower lip wider and longer than the upper, bearded style. In addition, the plant is distributed in the central part of Mexico. This section is formed by four species: S. angustiarum Epling (1939: 315) , S. blepharophylla Brandegee ex Epling (1939: 314) , S. oresbia Fernald (1900: 536) and S. buchananii Hedge (1963: 430) ( Epling 1939, Zamudio & Bedolla-García 2013). Salvia zamoranensis has greatest affinity with S. blepharophylla as it presents spreading pubescence on the stem ribs (less dense in S. blepharophylla ), leaves with serrate margins, young leaf sprouts on the axils, terminal inflorescences of similar length, equivalent number of verticillasters per inflorescence and flowers per verticillaster, as well as similar sizes of flower ( Table 4). However, it can be distinguished from all the species of the section by its leaves with a sparsely pubescent surface, antrorse trichomes, blue corolla with two lines of white marks on the lower lip directed towards the throat ( Fig. 6C, D ) and restricted distribution in the center of the Bajío region at elevations greater than 2700 m.

Additional specimens examined: — MEXICO. Guanajuato: municipality of Tierra Blanca: Pinal del Zamorano , Área Natural Protegida, Puerto el Madroño, 2705 m, 20°57’1.8”N, 100°9’0.6”W, 7 October 2012, M. Martínez 8520 ( QMEX!) ; parte alta del cerro Zamorano , 3100 m, 25 November 1988, J. Rzedowski 47886 ( IEB!). Querétaro: municipality of Colón: parte alta del cerro Zamorano, 19 July 2009, E. Pérez C. & C. Medina 4969 ( IEB!) ; parte alta del Cerro Zamorano , 3250 m, 1 September 1987, J. Rzedowski 44369 ( IEB!) ; Cerro Zamorano , 2800 m, 27 August 1989, J. Rzedowski 48773 ( IEB!) ; parte alta del cerro Zamorano , 3250 m, 22 September 2002, J. Rzedowski 54007 ( IEB!) ; parte alta del cerro Zamorano , 3191 m, 20°55’57.9”N, 100°11’01.8”W, 25 September 2012, S. Zamudio et al. 15792 ( IEB!) ; municipality of Pinal de Amoles, San Gaspar , 2850 m, 13 September 1989, S. Zamudio et al. 7477 ( IEB!) ; cañada del Agua Fría, ladera E del cerro Pingüical , 2650 m, 21°08’28”N, 99°41’04”W, 14 June 2002, S. Zamudio & V. Steinmann 11995 ( IEB!) .

Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely thank the following persons for their help with this study: Jerzy Rzedowski for the Latin diagnoses of the species; Claudia De Jesús for her help in producing the map; Damián Piña B. for the preparation of slides; Alfonso Barbosa for the illustrations and Victor Steinmann for reviewing the English version of manuscript, the commentaries of the anonymous reviewer and the editor improved greatly the manuscript. We are grateful to the curators of the herbaria IEB, MEXU, QMEX and SLPM for their help in providing permits for consultation and the loan of material. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to XAL for the loan of the isotype of Salvia galloana . We would also like to thank Instituto de Ecología, A. C. (Account 20006), Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO) and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) for funding this research.

Figures

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

FIGURE 6. Salvia xolocotzii. A. Habit. B. Portion of the inflorescence. Salvia zamoranensis. C. Frontal view of the flower. D. Close up of the plant (photographs taken by S. Zamudio).

FIGURE 7. Salvia zamoranensis. A. Habit. B. Stoloniferous stem. C. Detail of the pubescence of the stem. D. Different forms of leaves. E. Bract. F.Lateral and dorsal view of the calyx. G. Lateral view of the corolla, with the tube strongly invaginated. H. Frontal view of the lower lip of the corolla (based on S. Zamudio, B. Bedolla & E. Olvera 16091 (IEB), illustrated by Alfonso Barbosa).