Lycianthes cuchumatanensis J.L.Gentry, Phytologia 26: 273. 1973

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

13 Lycianthes cuchumatanensis J.L.Gentry, Phytologia 26: 273. 1973 Fig. 32

Type.

Guatemala: Huehuetenango: between Xoxlac and Nucapuxlac, Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, 1600-2500 m, 17 Jul 1942, J.A. Steyermark 48925 (holotype: F [0072907F, acc. # 1188543]; isotype: A [00934886]).

Description.

Scandent shrub to vine, height unknown. Indument of pale yellow to reddish-brown, uniseriate, multicellular, sessile to stalked, multangulate stellate to geminate stellate (multistoried), eglandular, spreading trichomes, 0.25-1 mm long, 0.5-1 mm in diameter, the rays 5-8 per whorl, straight, not rebranched. Stems pale green (drying tan) when young, sparsely to densely pubescent (the surface often obscured), not compressed when dried in a plant press, becoming brown and woody with age; upper sympodial branching points monochasial and dichasial, the branching divaricate (diverging at wide angles). Leaves simple, the leaves of the upper sympodia rarely paired and unequal in size, the blades of the larger ones 5-10 × 2-3.5 cm, the blades of the smaller ones 2-3 × 0.5-1.5 cm, ovate, obovate, lanceolate, or elliptic, subcoriaceous to coriaceous, adaxially sparsely to moderately pubescent (with trichomes concentrated along the veins), abaxially moderately to densely pubescent (with leaf surface sometimes obscured by pubescence), the base cuneate, the margin entire, usually irregularly undulate, the apex acute to acuminate, the petiole 0.5-1.2 cm long, the larger leaf blades with 3-5 primary veins on each side of the midvein. Flowers usually in groups of 2-4, axillary, erect; peduncles absent; pedicels 10-14 mm long and erect in flower, to 15 mm long and erect in fruit, densely pubescent (the surface often obscured); calyx 2.5-3.5 mm long, 2.5-3.5 mm in diameter, campanulate, densely pubescent (the surface usually obscured), the margin truncate, prominent, undulate, scarious (sometimes torn), with 10 obovate, spreading appendages 1-1.5 mm long emerging 1-2 mm below the calyx rim; fruiting calyx slightly enlarged, bowl-shaped, sometimes splitting, 2.5-3 mm long, 4-5 mm in diameter, the appendages to 2 mm long, spreading to reflexing; corolla 0.7-1.1 cm long, open orientation unknown, stellate in outline, divided 1/2 of the way to the base, with scant interpetalar tissue, adaxially purple, glabrous, abaxially densely pubescent on the lobes; stamens equal, straight, the filaments ca. 1 mm long, glabrous, the anthers 3-3.5 mm long, elliptic, free of one another, color uncertain, sparsely pubescent with scattered trichomes, poricidal at the tips, the pores ovate, dehiscing distally, not opening into longitudinal slits; pistil with glabrous ovary, the style 6-7 mm long, linear, straight, glabrous, the stigma capitate. Fruit a berry, ca. 7 mm long, 7 mm in diameter, color unknown, glabrous, lacking sclerotic granules. Seeds number per fruit and seed details unknown, ca. 2.5-3 mm long.

Chromosome number.

Unknown.

Distribution and habitat.

Guatemala (Alta Verapaz, Huehuetenango), 1500-2600 m in elevation. Nothing is known about the habitat where this species grows, but it may be cloud forest (Fig. 33 ).

Common names and uses.

None known.

Phenology.

Flowering specimens have been collected in July and August, and fruiting specimens have been collected in July. Very little is known about this species. The corollas are closed on the few specimens that exist of this species, indicating that the corollas have diurnal movements, but the timing is unknown.

Preliminary conservation status.

Lycianthes cuchumatanensis is a rarely collected species of Guatemala, represented by only three collections, all outside of protected areas. The EOO is 773.642 km2, and the AOO is 12 km2. Based on the IUCN (2019) criteria, the preliminary assessment category is Critically Endangered (CR).

Discussion.

Although Gentry (1973) thought Lycianthes cuchumatanensis to be a close relative of L. limitanea , L. cuchumatanensis does not resemble L. limitanea . It is very similar to L. sideroxyloides in its pubescence, branching pattern, solitary leaves, stellate corollas, and equal stamens. It differs from that species in having leaf blades that are usually chartaceous to thick chartaceous, rather than coriaceous, have more rounded bases (rather than cuneate), and have less dense pubescence on the abaxial side. Lycianthes sideroxyloides also has a smaller seed size (1.5-2 mm long) than that cited in the protologue for L. cuchumatanensis ( Gentry 1973). The paratype cited by Gentry in the protologue (Steyermark 48625) differs from the holotype in having less dense pubescence and leaf blades that are thinner in texture. Further field work is necessary to locate extant populations at the type locality of L. cuchumatanensis to determine if it is conspecific with L. sideroxyloides . The name Lycianthes cuchumatanensis has been misapplied to L. breedlovei and L. fredyclaudiae ( Dean et al. 2019a).

Representative specimens examined.

Guatemala. Alta Verapaz: Mpio. San Juan Chamelco, Chicacnab, La Laguna, 15.3844, -90.1639, 2300 m, 4 Aug 1998, M. Robles 124 (MSB). Huehuetenango: Cerro Huitz between Mimanhuitz and Yulhuitz, Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, [15.8550, -91.3244] 1500-2600 m, 14 Jul 1942, J.A. Steyermark 48617 (G).

Figures

Figure 32. Image of holotype of L. cuchumatanensis, Steyermark 48925 (F). Specimen used with permission from the Field Museum of Natural History.

Figure 33. Map of geographic distribution of L. cuchumatanensis based on herbarium specimen data.