Solanum kulliwaita S. Knapp, 2010

Knapp, Sandra, 2010, New species of Solanum (Solanaceae) from Peru and Ecuador, PhytoKeys 1, pp. 33-52 : 35-36

Solanum kulliwaita S. Knapp sp. nov. Fig. 1

Latin

Species nova Solano sanchez-vegae mihi similis, sed foliis ad apicem acuminatis, inflorescentibus et floribus glandularibus, trichomatibus uniseriatis simplicibus differt.

Type.

Peru: Cusco: Prov. La Convención, Dist. Ocobamba, Mesa Pelada, 12°54.13S, 72°37.06W, 2613 m, 23 March 2004, L. Valenzuela, E. Suclli & G. Calatayud 3163 (holotype: USM!; isotypes: AMAZ, CUZ, MO!, MOL, NY! [NY00824906]).

Description.

Woody vine or scandent shrub, height unknown, the branches arching. Stems sparsely pubescent with simple uniseriate multicellular trichomes 0.5-1 mm long, glabrescent, slightly winged from the decurrent leaf bases; new growth pubescent with simple or occasionally branched uniseriate trichomes 0.5-1 mm. Bark of older stems dark reddish brown, shiny. Sympodial units plurifoliate. Leaves simple, (2-)3.5-8.5 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, slightly fleshy, the upper surfaces sparsely pubescent with simple or occasionally furcate or branched trichomes on the lamina, more densely pubescent on the midvein, the lower surfaces glabrous or with a few scattered simple uniseriate trichomes along the midvein; primary veins 7-9 pairs, often drying blackish brown; base acute to attenuate; margins entire, sometimes revolute, densely pubescent in the basal quarter to third with simple trichomes extending from the petiole; apex acute; petioles 0.7-2 cm long, densely pubescent along the adaxial groove with golden simple or occasionally furcate uniseriate trichomes, not apparently twining. Inflorescences terminal or appearing lateral, 9-11 cm long, 3-5 times branched, with 10-20 flowers, densely pubescent with simple uniseriate trichomes mostly 0.3-0.5 mm long, some longer and to 1 mm, purple in live plants and retaining pigmentation in dried material, the cells of the trichomes small and weak-walled, usually collapsing and tangled, the lateral cell walls dark-pigmented, the terminal cells spheroidal and apparently glandular; peduncle 1.5-3.5 cm long; pedicels 1-1.2 cm long, ca. 0.5 mm in diameter at the base, ca. 1 mm in diameter at the apex, slender, erect to nodding, densely pubescent like the inflorescence axes, articulated at the base and inserted into a short sleeve or above the base and leaving a peg ca. 2 mm long; pedicel scars irregularly spaced 0.5-5 mm apart, usually grouped. Buds ellipsoid, the corolla strongly exserted from the calyx tube before anthesis. Flowers all perfect, 5-merous. Calyx tube 2-2.5 mm long, cup-shaped, narrowing gradually to the pedicel, the lobes 2.5-3.5 mm long, the lower portion broadly deltate, the distal part an apiculate tip to 2 mm long, densely pubescent with simple uniseriate trichomes like those of the inflorescence axes abaxially, these apparently glandular, the adaxial surface glabrous. Corolla 2.3-2.5 cm in diameter, purple, stellate, lobed 2/3 to ¾ of the way to the base, the lobes 9-12 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, spreading, the tips and margins densely pubescent on the abaxial surface with weak, collapsing simple uniseriate trichomes like those of the inflorescence, but smaller and not apparently glandular. Filament tube minute, the free portion of the filaments 1-2 mm long, glabrous; anthers 3.5-4.5 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, ellipsoidal, loosely connivent, yellow, poricidal at the tips, the pores lengthening to slits with age. Ovary glabrous; style 7-8 mm long, glabrous; stigma capitate, the surface minutely papillose. Fruit a globose berry, ca. 1 cm in diameter (immature?), black when ripe, the pericarp thin, not shiny, glabrous; fruiting pedicels 1.5-1.7 cm long, ca. 1.5 mm in diameter at the base, woody, more or less nodding. Seeds not known.

Distribution.

Endemic to the valley of the Río Urubamba in the Department of Cusco in southern Peru ( Fig. 2 ).

Ecology.

Both collections are from montane cloud forests of the eastern slopes downriver from Machu Picchu in a locality broadly known as Mesa Pelada, from 2400-2600 m.

Etymology.

Named for the flower and trichome colour - kulli = purple; waita = flower in Quechua.

Preliminary conservation status.

Known only from two collections in a very narrow geographical area outside any protected area, Solanum kulliwaita is assessed as Data Deficient for EOO and AOO (due to there not being 3 collection points with which to calculate the polygon: Moat, 2007); using the cell size of 2 km2, however, is assessed as Critically Endangered ( IUCN 2001) with an AOO of 8.

Specimen examined.

Peru: Cusco: Prov. La Convención, Dist. Maranura, Mesapelada, 12°54.33S, 72°37.06W, 2450 m, 19 April 2004, W. Galiano, E. Suclli, P. Núñez, A. Rodriguez & V. Chama 6137 (CUZ, MO, NY! [NY00824933], USM).

Discussion.

Solanum kulliwaita is most similar morphologically to Solanum sanchez-vegae S. Knapp from northern Peru; both species have large, purple flowers and simple leaves. It can be distinguished from the latter species by its leaves that are glabrous beneath and with a dense covering of uniseriate trichomes on the adaxial surface of the petiole, the ciliate lower leaf margins and the distinctive uniseriate glandular trichomes of the inflorescence. Solanum sanchez-vegae has larger, fleshier leaves with loose dendritic trichomes and the trichomes of the inflorescence are both non-glandular and dendritic. The inflorescence trichomes of Solanum kulliwaita are unusual in members of the Dulcamaroid clade in having three globular cells at the apex and in drying purple (and being purple in live plants, fide Valenzuela et al. 3163). Trichomes on the rest of the plant (i.e., leaves and stems) are not glandular.

Figures

Figure 1. Isotype specimen of Solanum kulliwaita S. Knapp. (Valenzuela et al. 3163, NY [NY 00824906]). Specimen image reproduced with the permission of The C. V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of The New York Botanical Garden (http: // sciweb. nybg. org / science 2 / VirtualHerbarium. asp).

Figure 2. Distribution of Solanum kulliwaita (circles), Solanum dillonii (triangles) and Solanum oxapampense (squares).