Xylopia atlantica Mello-Silva & J.C.Lopes, 2014

Mello-Silva, Renato & Lopes, Jenifer De Carvalho, 2014, Xylopia atlantica (Annonaceae), new species from the coastal forest of Bahia, Brazil, Phytotaxa 188 (1), pp. 38-42 : 39-41

Xylopia atlantica Mello-Silva & J.C.Lopes , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 ).

Ab omnibus speciebus Xylopiae sylvae atlanticae foliis maioribus formisque dissimilibus optime distincta. Affinis est X. decorticanti et X. ochranthae inflorescentia cauli- vel ramiflora, sed ab X. decorticanti cortice et ab X. ochranthae indumento fructiculorum differt.

Type:— BRAZIL. Bahia: Valença, estrada de Valença para Guaimbim, ca. 2 km, estrada à esquerda, 8 km, ramal vicinal à esquerda, ca. 1 km, Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Água Branca , elev. 220 m, 28 March 2004, fr., Fiaschi et al. 2165 (holotype SPF!, isotypes CEPEC!, RB!) .

Tree to shrub 4–12 m tall. Twigs brown to reddish-brown, sparsely pubescent to glabrous. Leaves glabrous above, glabrescent to sparsely sericeous below, coriaceous, in sicco pale grey above, yellowish-green below, 15.5–41.0 × 5.0– 16.5 cm, narrowly oblong to lanceolate, apex acuminate to attenuate, base acute to obtuse; petiole furrowed above, dark brown, sparsely sericeous shiny brown, 6.0–22.0 mm long, 0.5–2.0 mm diam.; venation brochidodromous, secondary veins 12–20 pairs, primary vein impressed to plane above and raised below, secondary veins plane to slightly raised on both sides; angles between primary and secondary veins 65–90°. Inflorescences cauli- and ramiflorous. Flowers unknown. Monocarps 13–18, 2.0–4.0 × 0.3–1.5 cm, stipes 2–6 mm long, falcate, the young ones torulose, immature green, densely yellow-tomentose with persistent calyx, sepals halfway connate, lobes widely triangular; mature monocarps sparsely yellow-tomentose, red outside, pink inside. Seed 3–5 per monocarp, ca. 8.5 × 2.5 mm, botuliform, shiny black, aril white.

Habitat:—Interior of lowland Atlantic Forest.

Distribution:— Xylopia atlantica is endemic to a narrow stretch of land, 150 km long from Valença to Uruçuca, on the central Bahian coast, known as the Dendê Coast.

Etymology:—The species is named after both its place of occurrence, the coastal region of Bahia state, and its habitat, the Atlantic Forest.

Observations:—Among the Xylopias from the Atlantic Forest, X. atlantica shares with X. decorticans and X. ochrantha cauli- and ramiflorous inflorescences, which is not a common feature in Neotropical Xylopia ( Fries 1930, Maas et al. 1986, Lobão & Johnson 2007). The larger and differently shaped leaves apart, X. atlantica differs from X. decorticans by the non-exfoliating bark, and from X. ochrantha by the indumentum of the monocarps, sparsely yellowtomentose versus densely golden-tomentose. Xylopia atlantica and X. decorticans are also allopatric, X. decorticans being endemic to the mountain region of Espírito Santo. Xylopia ochrantha has a broader distribution, from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro ( Table 1). Among Amazonian cauliflorous Xylopia , X. benthamii R.E. Fries (1900: 35) has much smaller leaves, from 5 to 8(-12) cm long, compared to X. atlantica . Xylopia cuspidata Diels (1927: 175) and X. longicuspis R.E. Fries (1934: 210) both have large leaves, but at maximum only to 26 cm long, with long cuspidate apices. Moreover, X. cuspidata shows plane primary veins on the adaxial side of the lamina, and X. longicuspis has hirsute young leaves. However, Xylopia cuspidata shares with X. atlantica the connate sepals ( Fries 1930), which remain with the immature fruits of X. atlantica . Although X. atlantica has been relatively well collected since 1991, flowering specimens have never been encountered. Fruits have been found from November to February.

Paratypes:— BRAZIL. Bahia: Camamu , fazenda Exílio, entrada no km 10,7 da rodovia Camamu-Travessão ( BA 650 ) , ca. 2 km leste da sede da fazenda, 14°00’07”S, 39°10’07”W, 21 February 2000, fr., Jardim et al. 2719 ( CEPEC!, SPF!) ; Itacaré, ramal à esquerda na estrada Ubaitaba-Itacaré , a 4 km do loteamento Marambaia, 20 November 1991, fr., Amorim et al. 463 ( CEPEC!) ; Itacaré, mata parcialmente perturbada na estrada Itacaré-Taboquinha , ao lado do loteamento da Marambaia, 20 November 1991, fr., Amorim et al. 383 ( CEPEC!) ; Itacaré, loteamento Marambaia, rodovia Ilhéus-Itacaré , ca. 6 km de Itacaré, 6 January 2000, fr., Amorim et al. 3234 ( CEPEC!, SP!) ; Uruçuca, 7.3 km north of Serra Grande on road to Itacaré , fazenda Lagoa do conjunto fazenda Santa Cruz, 14°25’S, 39°01’W, 1–12 July 1991, st., Thomas et al. 6866 ( CEPEC!, NY) ; id., 1–12 July 1991, st., Thomas et al. 7177 ( CEPEC!, NY) ; id., 3 February 1993, fr., Thomas et al. 9753 ( CEPEC!, NY) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Xylopia atlantica. A. Twig with leaves. B. Immature fruit with persistent sepals. C. Dehiscent mature fruit. D. Seed with aril. A. Jardim 2719; B. Amorim 383; C–D. Fiaschi 2165.