Justicia olmeca T.F. Daniel, 2019

Daniel, Thomas F., 2019, New and Reconsidered Mexican Acanthaceae XIII. Justicia, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 66 (3), pp. 61-85 : 73-76

Justicia olmeca T.F. Daniel , sp. nov.

TYPE.— MEXICO. Oaxaca: Mpio. San Felipe Usila , Cerro Verde, camino al “Vainilla” de J. Roldán , 5 km NNE de Usila, 17°56′N, 096°30′W, selva alta perennifolia sobre suelos kársticos, 550 m, 1-X-1992 (flr) , G. Ibarra M., J. Meave del Castillo & M. Vargas 3742 (holotype: MEXU!; isotype: MO!). Figures 5 , 8 , 9 .

Perennial herbs to 1 m tall. Young stems densely and ± evenly to ± 2-fariously pubescent with flexuose and conspicuously multi-septate eglandular trichomes 0.5–2.5 mm long. Leaves longpetiolate, petioles 17–58 mm long, (those near midstem ca. 0.5–1 × as long as blades), pubescent like young stems, blades (ovate-elliptic to) ovate to broadly ovate to deltate, 70–113 mm long, 45–72 mm wide, 1.2–1.9 × longer than wide, truncate to rounded to subacute at base, shortly acuminate at apex, adaxial surface sparsely pubescent with cauline type trichomes, abaxial surface similarly pubescent but with trichomes denser (especially along major veins), margin entire, ciliate throughout with cauline type trichomes. Inflorescence of terminal (and also sometimes in axils of distalmost pair of leaves) subsessile to pedunculate dense dichasiate spikes to 57 mm long (including peduncle and excluding flowers), 13–20 mm wide (measured flat) near midspike, peduncles of spikes 3–33 mm long, pubescent like young stems, rachis not visible, pubescent like young stems; dichasia opposite, 1 per axil, 1-flowered, sessile. Bracts sessile to short-petiolate, ovate to elliptic to broadly obovate, 10–16 mm long, 5–8.5 mm wide, apically rounded to acute, abaxially and marginally pubescent with cauline type trichomes. Bracteoles lanceolate to linearelliptic to linear-oblanceolate to oblanceolate, 7–11.5 mm long, 0.8–1.5 mm wide, pubescent like bracts. Flowers sessile. Calyx 5-lobed, 5–9 mm long, lobes equal to subequal in length, linearlanceolate to lanceolate, 4.5–6.6 mm long, 0.7–1.3 mm wide, abaxially and marginally glabrous or with very few cauline type trichomes, margin ± hyaline. Corolla red, 29–35 mm long, externally pubescent with cauline type trichomes and flexuose glandular trichomes 0.1–0.9 mm long, internally with stipitate glands on the lower lip, tube 20–26 mm long, gradually expanded distally, 3–5 mm in diameter (measured flat) at mouth, upper lip 7–9.5 mm long, 2-fid at apex, lower lip 7–11 mm long, 3-lobed, lobes 1.2–3 mm long, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, central lobe usually largest. Stamens 8–10 mm long, thecae of a pair subparallel to subsagittate, unequally inserted (overlapping by 1.6 mm), 2–2.5 mm long, ± equal in size (or distal theca slightly longer), glabrous, not or inconspicuously appendaged at base (i.e., upper theca sometimes with a basal appendage up to 0.05 mm long and lower theca sometimes with a basal appendage to 0.15 mm long). Pollen 5-colporate, 10-pseudocolpate, pseudocolpi variously fused (see discussion). Style 30–35 mm long, distally glabrous, stigma ± capitate, 0.2 mm long, 0.3–0.5 mm wide. Capsule 9 mm long, pubescent with cauline type trichomes, stipe 3 mm long, head 6 mm long. Seeds not seen.

PHENOLOGY.— Flowering: October–January; fruiting: January.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITATS.— Mexico (northern Oaxaca and southern Veracruz; Fig. 5 ); plants occur (sometimes on karstic substrates) in moist to wet forests (e.g., selva alta perennifolia, selva mediana subperennifolia, and bosque mesófilo de montaña), scrub, forests in canyons, and cafetales at elevations of 200–1350 m .

LOCAL NAME.— “Monchyvay” (Popoluca; Leonti et al. 488).

USE.— Boiled leaves used to wash snake-bites (Leonti et al. 488).

CONSERVATION.— Based on the nine known collections, the EOO = 3,410 km 2, the AOO = 32 km 2, and the greatest linear extent of its distributional range (SW–NE) = 176 km. Six of the nine collections (i.e., all of those from Veracruz) were made in the Reserva de la Biosfera Los Tuxtlas. Both collections of Ventura from Veracruz indicate that plants were scarce at those locales, whereas Calzada’s collection from the same general region noted that plants were abundant at that collection site. Plants in Veracruz would all appear to be threatened by the continuing deforestation documented by aerial imagery in the reserve between 1967 and 2000, a threat that has since diminished only to some extent ( Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve 2019). Threats are not known for the plants occurring in Oaxaca. Thus, at least two possible locations exist for the species. Based on IUCN (2017) criteria, this species is provisionally assessed as Endangered (EN: B1ab(iii) + 2ab(iii)).

ETYMOLOGY.— The specific epithet refers to the indigenous Olmec people whose culture and influence once dominated much of the region in which this species occurs.

PARATYPES.— MEXICO. Oaxaca: Mpio. San Felipe Usila, Cerro Verde , A . Hanan & R . de Santiago s.n. ( CAS); Mpio. San Felipe Usila, Cerro Verde , camino al “Vainilla” de J . Roldán , 5 km NNE de Usila, 17°56′N, 096°30′W, G . Ibarra M., J . Meave del Castillo & M . Vargas 3741 ( MEXU, MO) . Veracruz: Mpio. Soteapan, Sierra de Santa Marta , 5 km W de Santa Marta, 18°26′N, 094°57′W, J . Calzada 5187 ( F); Mpio. Soteapan, 2.5 km N de Santa Marta, ladera E del Volcán Santa Marta , 18°21′06.51′′N, 094°53′49.56′′W, A . Campos V . & C . Granados M . 6609 ( MEXU); Mpio. Soteapan, Sierra Santa Marta , 3 km NW de San Fernando, [18°17′4.49′′N, 094°54′24.14′′W], M . Leonti et al. 488 ( MEXU); Mpio. Catemaco, Cerro Buenavista , 3 km N de Catemaco , carr. a Sontecomapan, 18°29′N, 095°06′W, A . Torres R . 427 ( MEXU); Mpio. San Pedro Soteapan, Ejido Santa Martha, 18°25′N, 094°56′W, F . Vázquez B . & D. Hernández L . 44 ( F, XAL); Mpio. Catemaco , Pipiapan, [ca. 18°26′14.7′′N, 095°03′8.9′′W], F . Ventura 12178 ( CAS); Mpio. Santiago Tuxtla, Loma Quemada, [ca. 18°32′5.40′′N, 095°16′51.42′′W], F . Ventura 14895 ( CAS) .

DISCUSSION.— Plants of J. olmeca ( Fig. 8 ) are morphologically homogenous; however, the leaves are rarely (i.e., one leaf of Hanan & de Santiago s.n. at a distal node) elliptic and abruptly acute at the base. Morphological allies of this species remain undetermined. It is distinctive by combination of the following characteristics: elongate petioles (especially those near midstem), stipitate glands on the internal surface of the lower lip of the corolla, subcapitate stigmas that appear to consist of a disk-like platform subtending two rounded mounds, and the 5-aperturate pollen.

Five-aperturate pollen apparently is not otherwise known among Mexican species of Justicia (e.g., Daniel 1998). It is common among Mexican species of Poikilacanthus Lindau , a genus that is not monophyletic, and whose relationship to Justicia is currently being investigated ( Kiel et al. 2017, 2018). However pollen of Poikilacanthus (e.g., Daniel 1991, 1998, 2017) consists of two related types bearing circular apertures (simple or compound?) with the interapertural surface covered with subcircular to rectangular to polygonal insulae (gemmate regions enclosed by thick muri) that are either 1) discrete and more or less evenly distributed over the surface or 2)

share common endwalls and are arranged in loops and bands (loops enclosing a band).

Pollen of J. olmeca shows some slight similarities to Poikilacanthus pollen of this second type. Pollen of both Hanan & de Santiago s.n.

and Ventura 14895 (Fig. 9) show sculptural variation in curving and fusion of pseudocolpi with 1) the pair in each mesocolpium distinct

(Fig. 9b), 2) the pair in each mesocolpium fused toward one pole (i.e., forming pseudocolpal arches in the mesocolpia; Fig. 9a), 3) the pair in each mesocolpium fused toward both poles (i.e., forming pseudocolpal ellipses in the mesocolpia; Fig. 9d), or 4) the pair of pseudocolpi flanking a colporus (i.e., those in adja-

cent mesocolpia) fused (or nearly fused)

toward poles and forming a pseudocolpal ellipse surrounding the colporus + a ring of interapertural exine (Fig. 9c). Molecular phylogenetic analyses that include this species could be potentially informative regarding relationships among clades of Justicia and its relatives among Justicieae in the New World.

FIGURE 9. Scanning electron micrographs of Justicia pollen III. A–C. Justicia olmeca (Hanan & de Santiago

s.n.). A. Apertural view with pseudocolpal arches in mesocolpia. B. Interapertural view with free pseudocolpi. C.

Apertural view with pseudocolpi ± encircling apertural region. D. Justicia olmeca (Ventura 14895), apertural view with pseudocolpal ellipses in mesocolpia. Scales = 10 µm.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Map of part of southern Mexico showing distributions of Justicia amplifolia, J. matudae, J. mexiae, and J. olmeca.

FIGURE 8. Justicia olmeca. A. Habit (Ventura 14895). B. Bract (Hanan & de Santiago s.n.). C. Bracteoles and calyx (Hanan & de Santiago s.n.). D. Bracteole (Hanan & de Santiago s.n.). E. Flower and buds (Ventura 12178). F. Upper lip of corolla with anthers and upper portion of style with stigma (Ventura 12178).