Lycianthes scandens var. scandens

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

42a Lycianthes scandens var. scandens Fig. 93

Solanum lentum Cav., Icon. [Cavanilles] 4: 4, tab. 308. 1797. Type: Spain. ex h. r. Mat., Oct 1795, A. Cavanilles s.n. (lectotype designated by Knapp 2007, pg. 198: MA [MA 476355]).

Solanum axilliflorum Dunal, Hist. Solan. 238. 1813. Nom. Illeg. New name for Solanum scandens Mill. Type: Based on same type as Solanum scandens Mill.

Solanum affine Dunal, in Prodr. [A. P. de Candolle] 13(1): 168. 1852. Type: Cuba, 1829, R. de la Sagra 231 (lectotype designated here: G-DC [G00145629]).

Solanum fugax Bert. ex Dunal, in Prodr. [A. P. de Candolle] 13(1): 170. 1852. Type: Naranjilla en S. Martha, 1822, C. Bertero s.n. (holotype: G-DC [G00145637]).

Solanum neglectum Bert. ex Dunal, in Prodr. [A. P. de Candolle] 13(1): 170. 1852. Type: [Colombia]. Santa Martha, 1822, C. Bertero s.n. (holotype: G-DC [G00145631]).

Solanum decemfidum Pav. ex Dunal, Prodr. [A. P. de Candolle] 13(1): 173. 1852. Type: Nueva España [Mexico]. No date, Herb. Pavón s.n. (holotype: G [G00379128]).

S. lentum Cav. var. echinatum Dunal, Prodr. [A. P. de Candolle] 13(1): 173. 1852. Type: Nueva España [Mexico]. No date, Herb. Pavón s.n. (holotype: G [G00379129]).

Solanum nocturnum Fernald, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 35: 570. 1900. Type: Mexico. Guerrero: Acapulco, Jan 1895, E. Palmer 533 (lectotype designated here: GH [00077521]; isolectotype: US [00027708]).

Solanum virgatum Lam. var. lentum (Cav.) O. Schulz, in Urb., Symb. Antill. (Urban) 6: 189. 1909. Type: Based on Solanum lentum Cav.

Lycianthes lenta (Cav.) Bitter, Abh. Naturwiss. Verein Bremen 24 [preprint]: 364. 1919. Type: Based on Solanum lentum Cav.

Lycianthes lenta (Cav.) Bitter var. utrinquemollis Bitter, Abh. Naturwiss. Verein Bremen 24 [preprint]: 366. 1919. Type: Guatemala [Nicaragua]. Grenada [Granada], 1841, E. Von Friedrichsthal 940 (lectotype designated here: W [acc. # 0003076]; isolectotype: F [barcode F0072916F, acc. # 875961]).

Lycianthes nocturna (Fernald) Bitter, Abh. Naturwiss. Verein Bremen 24 [preprint]: 368. 1919. Type: Based on Solanum nocturnum Fernald.

Lycianthes recticarpa Rusby, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 53: 210. 1926. Type: Colombia. Santa Marta: Quebrada del Cabo, 100 ft, 26 Aug 1876, H. H. Smith 1876 (holotype: NY [00007274]).

Lycianthes variifolia Standl., Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Chicago, Bot. Ser. 4: 259. 1929. Type: Belize. [Orange Walk or Corozal]: Tower Hill, 1928, J. Karling 13 (holotype F [acc. # 579929]; isotype G [G00379131]).

Description.

Scandent shrub to vine, 0.5-3 (6) m tall. Indument of white to tan, uniseriate, multicellular, sessile to stalked, forked to multangulate-stellate, eglandular, spreading trichomes 0.05-0.25 (0.7) mm long and in diameter, the rays 3-4 per node, straight, not rebranched (sometimes mixed with simple trichomes). Stems green to light brown when young, sparsely to densely pubescent, rarely compressed when dried in a plant press, becoming woody with age; upper sympodial branching points mostly monochasial, the branching not widely divaricate, the branch segments shallowly zigzagging or sinuate. Leaves simple, the leaves of the upper sympodia sometimes paired, the pairs equal or unequal in size, the larger ones with blades 2.5-10 (11.2) × 1.6-5 (8.4) cm, the smaller ones with blades 1.6-7 (10.5) × 0.9-3.4 (7.5) cm, the leaf pairs similar in shape, the blades ovate to elliptic, chartaceous, sparsely to moderately pubescent (denser abaxially, sometimes nearly glabrous adaxially), the base cuneate, rounded, or truncate, sometimes oblique, the margin entire, usually irregularly undulate, the apex usually rounded to acute, the petiole 0.3-2 (2.6) cm long, the larger leaf blades with 3-5 primary veins on each side of the midvein, these not usually whitish or prominent. Flowers solitary or in groups of 2-6, axillary, erect; peduncles absent; pedicels 8-20 (26) mm long and erect in flower, 10-26 (30) mm long and erect in fruit, sparsely to moderately pubescent; calyx 2.5-4 mm long, 3-6 mm in diameter, campanulate, sparsely pubescent (the individual trichomes often difficult to see with the naked eye, up to 0.1 mm long), the margin truncate, with 10 spreading linear appendages (0.75) 1-3.5 (5) mm long emerging 0.5-1 mm below the calyx rim; fruiting calyx enlarged, widely bowl-shaped to rotate, 3-4 mm long, 6-9 mm in diameter, the appendages to 9 mm; corolla 0.7-1.9 cm long, campanulate to rotate in orientation, entire in outline, with abundant interpetalar tissue, adaxially light purple, sometimes with green at the base of the lobes, nearly glabrous, abaxially green and sparsely to moderately puberulent on the lobes, especially at the distal end, this more evident in bud; stamens unequal, the four short filaments 0.5-1 (2) mm long, the one long filament (1) 2-4 (6.5) mm long, glabrous, the anthers 4-6 mm long, narrowly ovate to lanceolate, free of one another, yellow, sparsely pubescent on the inner face, poricidal at the tips, the pores ovate, dehiscing distally or the short stamens dehiscing away from the style, not opening into longitudinal slits; pistil with glabrous ovary, the style 8.5-9 (11) mm long, linear, straight to curved, glabrous, the stigma oblong, decurrent down two sides. Fruit a berry, 6-14 mm long, 7-17 mm in diameter, globose to depressed globose, red-orange at maturity, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, lacking sclerotic granules. Seeds 50-70 per fruit, 2-3 × 1.8-2 mm, flattened, circular, triangular, depressed ovate, or slightly notched and reniform in outline, yellow-orange to tan, the surface reticulum smooth, with indistinct, tight serpentine pattern with shallow luminae, the seed margin slightly thickened and lighter in color.

Chromosome number.

Unknown.

Distribution and habitat.

Mexico (Campeche, Chiapas, Jalisco, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatán), Guatemala (Chiquimula, Izabal, Petén, Sacatepéquez), Belize, Honduras, the Caribbean, and northern South America, in open or disturbed areas, roadsides, fencerows, thickets, dunes or forest edges, sometimes seasonally flooded (in mangroves), sometimes on limestone, within or near tropical dry forest, 0-400 (915) m in elevation (Fig. 94 ).

Common names and uses.

None known.

Phenology.

Flowering specimens have been collected most months of the year (from January to November); specimens with mature fruits have been collected all months of the year. The first author observed the corolla open in the field between 5 am and 5:30 am. The corollas closed at 8 am.

Preliminary conservation status.

Lycianthes scandens var. scandens is a widespread variety ranging from Mexico to the Caribbean and northern South America, represented by many collections and occurring in ten protected areas in our region. The EOO is at least 1,162,412.966 km2. Based on the size of the EOO, and following the IUCN (2019) criteria, the preliminary assessment category is Least Concern (LC).

Discussion.

In this treatment, we are replacing the widely used name L. lenta with the new combination L. scandens var. scandens ; this name change is due to the discovery of an older name for this taxon made during relatively recent work on the genus Solanum by the fourth author. Lycianthes scandens var. scandens is distinguished from the less common var. flavicans by having smaller sparser trichomes (usually less than 0.25 mm in diameter versus more than 0.25 mm in diameter in var. flavicans ); the trichomes on the calyx are often so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. In addition, the leaf veins are obscure in var. scandens (versus prominent and whitish in var. flavicans ), the corolla is purple (versus pale violet to white in var. flavicans ), and the habit is usually a trailing vine (often an upright shrub in var. flavicans ). This variety is also found at lower elevations (usually below 500 m) than var. flavicans (to 1300 m), and it is very common along the Caribbean slope of Mexico and Central America, while var. flavicans is more common along the Pacific slope. The two varieties can be difficult to distinguish in certain regions.

In his protologue for Solanum affine , Dunal (1852) cites two syntypes from the De Candolle herbarium, both of which were located and examined at G: R. de la Sagre 231 (G-DC [G00145629]) and R. de la Sagra 394 (G-DC [G00145619]). Both specimens match the protologue description, but only the R. de la Sagre 231 specimen has location information (Cuba), and it has better vegetative and fertile material. Therefore, we have chosen R. de la Sagre 231 (G-DC [G00145629]) as the lectotype.

In his protologue for Solanum nocturnum , Fernald (1900), cites two syntypes both of which have been located and examined at GH: E. Palmer 533 from Guerrero, Mexico (GH [00077521]) and E. Seler 1625 from Oaxaca, Mexico (GH [00077522]). As the Palmer 533 collection has both flowers and fruits and matches the protologue description more fully, we have chosen the GH specimen of Palmer 533 (GH [00077521]) as the lectotype.

In his protologue for Lycianthes lenta var. utrinquemollis , Bitter (1919) cites two syntypes both from Grenada [Granada], Nicaragua, and these have been located and examined at W and G: E. von Friedrichsthal 940 (W [acc. # 0003076]) and P. Levy 239 (G [G00379125]). We have chosen the W specimen of E. von Friedrichsthal 940 (W [acc. # 0003076]) as the lectotype.

Representative specimens examined.

Guatemala. Chiquimula: vicinity of Chiquimula town, 16.1227, -90.9299, 400 m, 4 Dec 1969, A. Molina R. 25111 (NY). Izabal: Finca Mucielago [ Murciélago], 22 Jun 1967, S.C. Snedaker 178 (NY). Petén: NW-Ufer des Lago Petén Itzá, 16.9917, -89.8983, 120-140 m, 30 Nov 1994, B. Wallnöfer 9577 (NY). Sacatepéquez: Agua Caliente, 28 Mar 1922, J.M. Greenman 5944 (MO). Mexico. Campeche: en la Ciudad del Carmen, sobre Avenida Camarón, [18.6632, -91.8145], 23 Nov 1987, E. Cabrera C. 14856 (MEXU, MO). Chiapas: Mpio. Ocosingo, Estación Chajul, sobre el Río Lacantun, [16.1227, -90.9300], 150 m, 9 Sep 1992, E. Martínez S. 25292 (MEXU). Jalisco: Arroyo Seco, [19.211, -104.6577], 30 m, 28 May 1990, A. Rodríguez 2077 (WIS). Nayarit: vicinity of Chacala, ca. 5 miles west of Las Varas, 25-50 m, 14 Sep 1960, R. McVaugh 19019 (NY). Oaxaca: Dto. Tehuantepec, Hacienda del Rosario, Río Seco, 15.9367, -95.7719, 33 m, 22 Aug 2010, R. García S. (ROG) 226 (DAV). Quintana Roo: Mpio. José María Morelos, a 3.4 km al SE de Sabana San Francisco, 19.52, -89.075, 86 m, 3 Sep 2004, D. Álvarez 10473 (DAV). Tabasco: Mpio. Comalcalco, Reyes Hernández, [18.2445, -93.2829], 0 m, 10 Sep 1984, F. Ventura A. 21240 (NY). Tamaulipas: vicinity of Tampico, 15 m, 27-30 Apr 1910, E. Palmer 334 (MO, NY). Veracruz: vicinity of Pozarica, [20.5669, -97.4332], 6 June 1987, T.B. Croat 66115 (NY). Yucatán: Pixoy, camino rumbo a San Lorenzo, Valladolid, 20.7147, -88.2625, 22 m, 13 Jul 1988, G. Remmers 30 (MO).

Figures

Figure 93. Image of herbarium specimen of L. scandens var. scandens, Dean 238 (DAV). Image used with permission of the UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity.

Figure 94. Map of geographic distribution of L. scandens var. scandens from Mexico to Honduras based on herbarium specimen data.