Cremastosperma confusum Pirie, 2018

Pirie, Michael D., Chatrou, Lars W. & Maas, Paul J. M., 2018, A taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Cremastosperma (Annonaceae), including five new species, PhytoKeys 112, pp. 1-141 : 1

10. Cremastosperma confusum Pirie sp. nov. Fig. 18 , Map 6

Diagnosis.

Cremastosperma confusum is most similar to C. monospermum , which produces effectively indistinguishable small fruits on slender pedicels. C. confusum differs from C. monospermum in the flower buds, which open in development, unlike in C. monospermum in which flower buds remain closed with a characteristic roughly triangular shape. The flowers of C. confusum are more similar to those of C. leiophyllum , from which it differs in the shape and colour of the monocarps, which, unlike those of C. leiophyllum , do not dry black and are not asymmetrical.

Type.

PERU, Madre de Dios: Tambopata, Explorer’s Inn, near the confluence of Río Tambopata and Río La Torre, 39 km SW of Puerto Maldonado, along the Big Tree Trail, 21 Jan 1989, Smith, S.F. et al. 1578 (holotype: USM; isotypes: U! [U0012270], NY).

Description.

Tree or shrub 3-8 m tall, 3-20 cm diam.; young twigs and petioles sparsely covered with appressed whitish hairs to 0.3 mm long. Leaves: petioles 7-10 by 1.5-3 mm; lamina elliptic to obovate or narrowly so, 10 –28(– 34) by 7 –10(– 12) cm (index 1.9-3.5), chartaceous to coriaceous, green (or greenish-brown), darker above, lighter or more brown with darker or reddish veins below, glabrous above, sparsely covered with appressed whitish hairs to 0.3 mm long particularly on veins below, base acute to obtuse (rarely rounded), apex acuminate (acumen 6-20 mm long), primary vein 1.5-3 mm wide at widest point, secondary veins 7-10, intersecondary veins 0-1, distance between from 11-20 mm at the base to 12-32 mm closer to the apex, angles with primary vein from 70-80° at the base to 40-50° closer to the apex, rarely branching, mostly forming distinct loops, smallest distance between loops and margin 2-5 mm, tertiary veins mostly percurrent. Inflorescence of single (very rarely branching) flowers, solitary, axillary on leafy or leafless twigs or thicker branches; peduncles (1-)3-5 by 1-2 mm (in flower), 3-9 by ca. 2 mm (in fruit), rather densely covered with appressed to erect whitish hairs to 0.2 mm long; pedicels 20 –45(– 70) by ca. 1 mm at the base (in flower), 22-80 by 1-2.5 mm (in fruit), pink, purple or reddish in vivo, glabrous; 2 lower bracts of unequal dimensions, basal lower bract depressed ovate, ca. 0.5 by 1 mm, obtuse, sometimes persistent, densely covered with appressed to erect whitish hairs to 0.2 mm long, apical lower bract elliptic, ca. 1.5 by 1 mm, obtuse, sometimes persistent, sparsely to rather densely covered with appressed to erect whitish hairs to 0.2 mm long; upper bract attached around midway along pedicel, (broadly) ovate, 1.5-2 by ca. 1-1.5 mm, obtuse or rounded, persistent, sparsely covered with appressed to erect whitish hairs to 0.2 mm long; closed flower buds depressed ovoid, opening in development; flowers green maturing to yellow or white and yellowish at base in vivo, dark to yellowish light brown sometimes tinged with red, darker at the base in sicco, sepals and petals glabrous; sepals free, deltate to triangular, appressed to recurved, ca. 3 by 2-3 mm, acute or obtuse, soon falling off or sometimes briefly persistent; outer petals elliptic, 14-17 by 6-8 mm, inner petals elliptic to narrowly so, 16-17 by 5-7 mm; androecium ca. 6 mm diam., connective appendage to 0.8 mm wide; gynoecium ca. 1.5 mm diam., carpels glabrous. Monocarps 10 –25(– 32), ellipsoid (broadly so when immature), slightly asymmetrical, 8-12 by 6-8 mm, green maturing to greenish-purple and brown in vivo, light to dark brown or blackish in sicco, with an excentric apicule; stipes 8-13 by 2 mm; fruiting receptacle 4-10 mm diam.; monocarps, stipes and receptacle glabrous. Seeds ellipsoid, light brown, shallowly pitted, ca. 11 by 6 mm, raphe sunken, regular.

Distribution.

Bolivia (La Paz), Peru (Cuzco, Madre de Dios).

Habitat and ecology.

Primary and secondary moist and wet forest, occasionally on floodplains. At elevations of 210-670 m. Flowering: August - December; fruiting: January - May, August and October.

Notes.

A number of the specimens of Cremastosperma confusum have in the past been identified as C. leiophyllum or C. monospermum , two well known species found relatively nearby in Bolivia and widespread across Bolivia, Brazil and Peru, respectively. The distributions of C. confusum and C. leiophyllum do not overlap, but in the area of Madre de Dios and adjacent La Paz, Bolivia, C. monospermum and C. confusum may both occur and, in this area in particular, non-flowering specimens of the two are often not discernible. These species are closely related as well as morphologically similar and further data to test their boundaries and the potential for gene-flow between species/populations are warranted. Variation in the size, shape and texture of leaves and length of pedicel of C. confusum is relatively wide, with specimens collected in Cuzco in particular exhibiting larger leaves.

Etymology.

The species is named C. confusum because of the past confusion caused by its similarities to different other nearby species and the lack of unambiguous diagnostic characters for the fruiting material.

Preliminary conservation status.

Cremastosperma confusum , found in southern Peru and the Las Paz region in northern Bolivia, has a fairly wide EOO and is not uncommon. It is also found within protected areas. Least concern [LC] (Table 1 ).

Selected specimens examined.

BOLIVIA. La Paz: Ixiamas, 13°08'34"S, 68°03'59"W, 18 October 2009, Couvreur 159 (L, NY); Ixiamas, 13°00'39"S, 68°04'17"W, 29 October 2009, Couvreur 262 (L, NY); Ixiamas, 13°59'16"S, 67°48'24"W, 29 October 2009, Couvreur 267 (L, NY). PERU. Cuzco: Camisea, Campamento San Martín-C, 11°47'08"S, 72°41'57"W, 467 m a.s.l., 12 January 1997, Acevedo-Rodríguez et al. 8635 (MO, P, U, USM); Prov. Cuzco (locality unknown), 11°47'00"S, 72°41'57"W, 467 m a.s.l., 26 Jan 1997, Acevedo-Rodríguez et al. 9132 (USM); La Convención, Manguyari, 12°47'S, 72°40'W, 670 m a.s.l., 3 Feb 1989, Núñez Vargas et al. 10146 (MO, U); Camanti, 13°13'S, 70°45'W, 643 m a.s.l., 18 Feb 1991, Núñez Vargas 12951 (U, USM); La Convención, Distr. Echarati, 11°41'S, 73°00'W, 350 m a.s.l., 18 Apr 1998, Núñez Vargas, et al. 21737 (USM); Camanti, Maniri, 13°17'S, 70°48'W, 720 m a.s.l., 15 Oct 1990, Timaná 1010 (MO); Camanti, 13°17'19"S, 70°46'27"W, 26 Feb 2007, Valenzuela Gamarra, L et al. 8643 (CUZ, HUT, MO, USM). Madre de Dios: Parque Nacional Manu, Cocha Cashu, 11°52'S, 71°22'W, 29 Sep 1976, Foster & Terborgh 5083 (US); Parque Nacional Manu, Tayakome, 11°41'S, 71°36'W, 350-400 m a.s.l., 28 Sep 1986, Foster & Achille 11495 (U, USM); Tambopata Reserve, Río Tambopata, 12°50'S, 69°17'W, 250 m a.s.l., 5 Mar 1981, Gentry et al. 32009 (MO); Shintuya-Salvación road, 12°40'S, 71°15'W, 500 m a.s.l., 14 May 1984, Knapp & Mallet 6450 (F, NY, US); Las Piedras, 12°36'23"S, 69°04'54"W, 17 Aug 2004, Suclli & Huamantupa 1943 (MO); Tambopata Reserve, Explorer’s Inn, 12°47'S, 69°41'W, 270 m a.s.l., 21 Sep 1998, Vásquez Chávez et al. 25605 (L, MO, MOL); Tambopata Reserve, 12°15'S, 69°17'W, 260 m a.s.l., 21 Nov 1984, Young & Stratton 219 (MO, U). Puno: Ridge between Río Candamo and Río Guacamayo, 13°30'S, 69°50'W, 400-600 m a.s.l., 22 May 1992, Gentry et al. 76947 (MO).

Figures

Map 6. Distribution of Cremastosperma confusum Pirie, C. leiophyllum R. E. Fr.; and C. oblongum R. E. Fr.

Figure 18. Cremastosperma confusum Pirie. a fruiting and flowering specimen b flower (a Smith, S. et al. 1578 b Smith, S. et al. 794).