Lycianthes inconspicua Bitter, Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 20: 368, 1924

Dean, Ellen, Poore, Jennifer, Anguiano-Constante, Marco Antonio, Nee, Michael H., Kang, Hannah, Starbuck, Thomas, Rodrigues, Annamarie & Conner, Matthew, 2020, The genus Lycianthes (Solanaceae, Capsiceae) in Mexico and Guatemala, PhytoKeys 168, pp. 1-333 : 1

24 Lycianthes inconspicua Bitter, Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 20: 368, 1924 Fig. 54

Lycianthes storkii C.V.Morton & Standl., Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 18: 1061. 1938. Type: Costa Rica, 0.5 mile south of Santa María, 5700 ft, 8 Aug 1932, H. Stork 3138 (holotype: F [0072922F, acc. # 672865]).

Type.

Guatemala. [Quetzaltenango]: [ Volcán] Santa María, [14.7559, -91.5537], Dec 1877, K. Bernoulli & O. Cario 2373 (holotype: GOET [GOET003447]).

Description.

Subshrub, shrub or treelet, erect, 0.3-6 m tall. Indument pale yellow, uniseriate, multicellular, simple, eglandular, ascending-appressed to ascending trichomes 0.3-1.5 mm long, these usually remaining cylindrical and acute upon drying, the trichomes sometimes becoming less appressed on older stems. Stems green and slender when young, moderately to densely pubescent, sometimes glabrate with age, often compressed upon drying in a plant press, becoming woody with age; upper sympodial branching points usually monochasial with a few dichasial branching points, the branching angles not particularly apparent. Leaves simple, the leaves of the upper sympodia usually paired, usually conspicuously different in size and shape, the larger ones with blades 6-19.5 × 2-7 cm, narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, or oblanceolate, sometimes appearing slightly falcate, the smaller ones with blades 0.6-3.5 × 0.4-2.1 cm, ovate, the blades of both the large and small leaves chartaceous, moderately pubescent, the pubescence densest along the veins of the abaxial side, the trichomes along the midvein of the abaxial side appressed, the base of large blades cuneate, the base of small blades rounded, oblique, the margin entire, usually undulate, the apex acute to acuminate, the petiole to 0.6 (1.1) cm long, sometimes absent, the large leaf blades with (6) 8-12 primary veins on each side of the midvein. Flowers solitary or in groups of 2-3, axillary, nodding; peduncles absent; pedicels very slender, (11) 15-30 mm and straight to arching or deflexed in flower, to 36 mm long, arching or deflexed in fruit, moderately pubescent; 1.5-2.5 mm long, 2-3 mm in diameter, obconic to campanulate, moderately pubescent, the margin truncate, with 5-10 narrow, erect appendages 0.5-3 mm long, emerging ca. 0.25 mm below the calyx rim; fruiting calyx usually enlarged, widely campanulate to bowl-shaped, 1-2 mm long, 3.5-7 mm in diameter, the appendages 1-4 mm long, erect, sometimes withering; corolla 0.5-1 cm long, campanulate to rotate in orientation, stellate in outline, divided 1/2 to nearly all the way to the base, interpetalar tissue present near base, white, adaxial markings unknown, sparsely pubescent abaxially especially near the lobe tips; stamens equal, straight, the filaments 1-2 mm long, glabrous, the anthers 2-3 mm long, ovate, somewhat narrowed at the tip (the narrowed portion ca. 0.25 mm long), free of one another, yellow, glabrous, poricidal at the tips, the pores round, dehiscing distally, not opening into longitudinal slits; pistil with glabrous ovary, the style 3.5-5 mm long, linear, straight, glabrous, the stigma capitate. Fruit a berry, 3.5-9 mm long, 3.5-11 mm in diameter, globose to ovoid, orange to red at maturity, glabrous, lacking sclerotic granules. Seeds 50-100 per fruit, 0.9-1.5 × 1 mm, compressed, but not flat, ridged, rhombic to triangular in outline, tan to orange, the surface reticulum with minute serpentine pattern and shallow luminae.

Chromosome number.

Unknown.

Distribution and habitat.

Guatemala (Quetzaltenango, San Marcos, Suchitepéquez), Costa Rica, and Panama, in cloud forest, montane forest, and oak forest, sometimes on slopes in canyons and drainages, often near streams, 1250-1870 m in elevation (Fig. 55 ).

Common names and uses.

Guatemala. Chiltepe de montaña ( Gentry and Standley 1974).

Phenology.

Flowering specimens have been collected in January, February, June, and July. Specimens with mature fruits have been collected in July, August, and February. Information about the diurnal movements of the corolla of this species has not been determined; the flowers on specimens range from fully open to somewhat closed (campanulate).

Preliminary conservation status.

In Guatemala, Lycianthes inconspicua is represented by only three collections, although it is more common in Costa Rica and Panama, and present in one protected area in Panama (Cerros de La Carpintera, Panama). The EOO is 27,148.801 km2, and the AOO is 32 km2. Based on the IUCN (2019) criteria, the preliminary assessment category for Guatemala is Endangered (EN).

Discussion.

Lycianthes inconspicua is an uncommon species of high elevation areas in Central America. It is uncommon in Guatemala, but more common in high elevation areas of Costa Rica and Panama. It is morphologically similar to three other Mexican and Central American species: L. glabripetala , L. amatitlanensis and L. inaequilatera . Lycianthes amatitlanensis differs from L. inconspicua in having shorter pedicels (4-12 mm in flower and 6-16 mm in fruit), long, coarse trichomes that spread away from the midvein on the abaxial side of the leaf (usually with some trichomes at an angle close to ninety degrees), and lanceolate anthers with a longer attenuate portion at the tip (ca. 0.5 mm long). Lycianthes inaequilatera and L. glabripetala are more similar to L. inconspicua in terms of having appressed trichomes along the leaf blade midvein, but they tend to have shorter pedicels (15 mm or less in flower); in addition, L. glabripetala has larger corollas (1-1.2 cm long).

Representative specimens examined.

Guatemala. [Quetzaltenango]: [ Volcán] Santa María, [14.7559, -91.5537], Dec 1877, K. Bernoulli & O. Cario 2373 (GOET). San Marcos: Finca Armenia, Rafael de Cuesta, San Marcos, 5000 ft, 6-7 Jul 1977, J.D. Dwyer 14408 (LL, MO). Suchitepéquez: Mpio. San Francisco Zapotitlán, Reserva Natural Privada Las Nubes, 14.7061, -90.9744, 1600 m, 3 Jul 2014, B. Escobar 171 (BIGU).

Figures

Figure 54. Image of herbarium specimen of L. inconspicua in Guatemala, Croat 40950 (MO). Specimen used with permission from the Missouri Botanical Garden (http: // www. tropicos. org).

Figure 55. Map of geographic distribution of L. inconspicua based on herbarium specimen data.