Passiflora viridiflora Cav. Icon. Pl. 5: 15, pl. 424. 1799.

Porter-Utley, Kristen, 2014, A revision of Passiflora L. subgenus Decaloba (DC.) Rchb. supersection Cieca (Medik.) J. M. MacDougal & Feuillet (Passifloraceae), PhytoKeys 43, pp. 1-224 : 100-103

12. Passiflora viridiflora Cav. Icon. Pl. 5: 15, pl. 424. 1799. Figs 43, 44

Tacsonia viridiflora (Cav.) Juss. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. 6: 389. 1805. Type: Based on Passiflora viridiflora Cav.

Murucuia viridiflora (Cav.) Spreng. Syst. Veg. 3: 43. 1826. Type: Based on Passiflora viridiflora Cav.

Synactila viridiflora (Cav.) Raf., Fl. Tellur. 4: 104. 1838. Type: Based on Passiflora viridiflora Cav.

Psilanthus viridiflorus (Cav.) M. Roem. Fam. Nat. Syn. 2: 198. 1838. Type: Based on Passiflora viridiflora Cav.

Passiflora tubiflora Kunth. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 2: 139. 1817. Type: Mexico. Guerrero: Acapulco, A. Humboldt & A. Bonpland 3886 (holotype: P [P00307398, photograph seen]).

Type.

Mexico. Guerrero: Acapulco, L. Née s.n. (holotype: MA! [MA603045], photographs DUKE!, F!, MEXU]; isotype: F! [0044450F]).

Description.

Slender, climbing or trailing, perennial vine 3 m long or more, minutely antrorsely appressed-puberulent throughout (except on ovary) with unicellular, curved trichomes, 0.05-0.13 mm long, 0.02 mm wide. Flowering stems 1.1-2.8 mm in diameter, somewhat compressed and two-edged, red (4/12) when young, with the base somewhat woody and cork-covered. Stipules 2.5-7.9 mm long, 0.5-1.4 mm wide, asymmetrically narrowly ovate-falcate, slightly attenuate, longitudinally striate-nerved, often red (5R 4/12) at flowering nodes; petioles 1.1-7.6 cm long, inserted 0.4-22.0 mm from the basal margins of the peltate blades, often red (4/12) at flowering nodes, commonly bearing in the proximal third, 0.12-0.33(-0.55) of the distance from the base toward the apex of the petiole, 2, round or elliptic, opposite to subopposite, sessile or shortly stipitate, saucer-shaped nectaries with flat rims, 0.9-2.5 mm wide (on the widest axis), 0.3-1.5 mm high. Laminas 3.7-14.1 cm long, 1.6-19.6 cm wide, coriaceous, occasionally variegated, conspicuously peltate, deeply 3-lobed 0.60-0.82 of the distance to the leaf base, lateral lobes 1.6-10.6 cm long, 1.0-5.8 cm wide, oblong to obovate, acute to rounded, central lobes 1.9-14.1 cm long, 1.0-6.5 cm wide, obovate, acute to rounded, narrowed at base, angle between the lateral lobes 117-180°, ratio of lateral to central lobe length 0.60-1.34, margins entire, thickened, often red (4/12), primary veins 3, diverging and branching above base, laminar nectaries present or absent (rare), (0-)4(-7), submarginal, associated with the minor veins of the abaxial surface, 0.3-1.1 mm in diameter, elliptic, sessile; tendril 0.3-1.1 mm wide, present at flowering node, absent in inflorescence. Flowers borne in leaf axils or terminal inflorescences; inflorescences 11.6-19.2 cm long, associated reduced laminas 7.3-11.3 mm long, 0.8-1.9 mm wide. Pedicels 7.5-25.0 mm long, 0.6-1.3 mm wide, paired in the leaf axils, often red (5R 4/12); bract(s) absent; spur(s) absent. Tubular flowers 5.1-8.6 mm in diameter with stipe 4.5-11.4 mm long, 0.9-1.5 mm wide, greenish yellow (5GY 8 /6); hypanthium 5.1-8.6 mm in diameter; sepals 20.5-30.1 mm long, basally connate 5.8-15.4 mm, 1.3-3.9 mm wide, linear to narrowly ovate, acute to rounded, abaxially and adaxially greenish yellow (5GY 8/6), free portions of sepals reflexed at anthesis; coronal filaments in 1 series, adnate to the calyx tube until they become free, 36-50, 2.2-4.0 mm long, basally connate 1.2-2.5 mm, 0.1-0.4 mm wide, linear to narrowly ovate, erect, greenish yellow, ratio of coronal (portion not adnate to sepal) to sepal (free portion) length 0.09-0.35; rarely a trace second coronal row of colorless filaments may be present just outside the operculum; operculum 3.0-4.6 mm long, plicate, greenish yellow, the margin with narrow minutely fimbrillate teeth; nectary 0.3-3.1 mm high, 1.1-2.0 mm wide, sulcate; limen erect, 0.8-1.7 mm high, 0.1-0.5 mm wide, greenish yellow, crenulate-lobed, very close to the base of the androgynophore, limen floor 0.6-2.1 mm in diameter, greenish yellow; androgynophore 17.4-26.1 mm long, 0.6-1.1 mm wide, greenish yellow; free portions of the staminal filaments 2.6-5.3 mm long, 0.3-0.7 mm wide, linear, greenish yellow; anthers 4.0-5.9 mm long, 0.6-2.4 mm wide, pollen presented laterally; styles 3.1-6.2 mm long including stigmas, 0.2-0.5 mm wide, greenish yellow; stigmas 0.9-1.7 mm in diameter; ovary 2.2-5.3 mm long, 1.1-3.5 mm wide, ellipsoid to fusiform, greenish yellow, glabrous. Berry 15.5-24.0 mm long, 12.9 -19.0 mm in diameter, fusiform to ovoid, very dark purple. Seeds 39-53, 4.0-5.0 mm long, 2.4-3.6 mm wide, 1.4-2.0 mm thick, flattened, obovate in outline, acute at both ends, reticulate-foveate with each side marked with 15-18 foveae, sometimes pale brown in color at maturity. Germination epigeal.

Phenology.

Flowering and fruiting throughout the year.

Distribution.

Mexico, in the Pacific lowlands and foothills of southern Michoacán, Guerrero and Oaxaca. Disturbed tropical deciduous or semideciduous low and medium forests (selva baja caducifolia and selva mediana subcaducifolia); growing on shrubs, small trees, boulders and rocks (sometimes limestone) on very limited to moderately developed soils; sea-level to ca. 610 m.

Discussion.

Vegetatively, Passiflora viridiflora and Passiflora juliana are very similar, and the most obvious difference between them is the size and shape of their stipules. However, Passiflora viridiflora also differs from Passiflora juliana in its adaptations for hummingbird pollination including: vegetative parts that are commonly accentuated with or entirely bright red, a greatly elongated androgynophore that far exceeds the length of the stamen filaments, no inner coronal filaments, a very narrow limen floor, wide floral nectary, long operculum that is not incurved at the margin but erect and lays against the androgynophore, fused sepals that are greatly elongated, pollen that is presented laterally, and a sulcate floral nectary floor.

On an herbarium specimen collected by W.L. Forment (1125), he indicated that Passiflora viridiflora is utilized by hummingbirds, which is consistent with its floral morphology and lack of floral fragrance.

Passiflora viridiflora has been placed at various generic (e.g., Murucuia ) and infrageneric levels (e.g., subg. Chloropathanthus ) within the family Passifloraceae . The elongated, tubular flowers of this taxon inspired many previous workers to group it with other taxa that possess tubular flowers or in a group of its own because the flowers are not only tubular but also apetalous. Killip (1938) placed it in the subgenus Chloropathanthus with Passiflora lancifolia , an apetalous Jamaican endemic. MacDougal (1983) was the first to suggest that Passiflora viridiflora be placed within Cieca based upon its apetalous flowers and flavonoid chemistry. In 1992, MacDougal resolved the placement of Passiflora viridiflora by describing Passiflora juliana , a species clearly referable to Cieca and morphologically similar to Passiflora viridiflora . Both the molecular and morphological data in this study also show that Passiflora juliana and Passiflora viridiflora are sister species.

Specimens examined.

MEXICO. Guerrero: above Hotel Papagayo, 1 mi. E of Acapulco, Barkley 14062 (F, TEX); Mpio. Zihuatanejo, Playa Majahua, W de Bahía de Zihuatanejo, 17 40'N, 101 34'W, 30 m, Castillo & Zamora 6302 (XAL); Mpio. Zihuatanejo, Cerro el Rialito, base O entre punta Ixtapa & el Rialito, Castillo et al. 6599 (XAL); 2.5 km W Puerto Marques, Forment 1125 (UC, XAL); Dist. Galeana, Atoyac, 20 m, Hinton 10999 (GH, US); Mpio. Acapulco, Cascada de Chorro, 73 km S de Chilpancingo por la carretera a Acapulco, 280 m, Koch et al. 79191 (DUKE, NY); Mpio. Acapulco, 3 km W de Cuarenta y Dos, 27 km N de Acapulco (Glorieta Diana) sobre la terraceria al la Estación de Microondas 42 & La Providencia, 610 m, Koch et al. 79221 (CHAPA, DUKE); Mpio. Tecpan, 22 km W de San Luis de La Loma, a 3 km S de Papanoa, carr. Acapulco-Zihuatanejo, Ladd 212 (CAS, MO); Mpio. Acapulco, Acapulco-Pinotepa Nacional, km 32 E de Acapulco, Martínez & Tellez 87 (CAS, HUA, MO); along road to El Tamarindo, 6 km from Mex Hwy. 200 between Acapulco and San Marcos, 140 m, Miller & Tenorio 567 (MO); between Juchitán & Ometepec, 300-1000 ft., Nelson 2317 (US); Side of Hwy. 200 between Lazaro Cardenas and Zihuatanejo, 50 m, Porter-Utley & Mondragón 366 (FLAS); Side of Hwy. 200 overlooking the ocean between Petatlán and Atoyac Alvarez, 20 m, Porter-Utley & Mondragón 371 (FLAS); Side of Hwy. 200 between Acapulco and San Marcos, 50 m, Porter-Utley & Mondragón 374 (FLAS); 3 km NE de Coyuquilla, Mpio. Petatlán, 90 m, Soto et al. 12503 (F); Mpio. Zihuatanejo, 15 km NE de Zihuatanejo, por la carretera Zihuatanejo-Ciudad Altamirano, 70 m, Tenorio et al. 384 (MO). Michoacán: Hwy. 200 between El Faro and Maruata, 20 m, 18°18.31N, 103°25.60W, Porter-Utley & Mondragón 362 (FLAS); 4 km NE de Playa Azul, carr. a Nueva Italia, 150 m, Soto Nuñez & Boom 2101 (US); 8 km NW de Caleta de Campos, Mpio. de Lazaro Cardenas, 40 m, Soto Nuñez & de Soto 3756 (CHAPA, MO, XAL). Oaxaca: E and below La Soledad, Ernst 2561 (US); Dist. Jamiltepec, a 6 km NW de Pinotepa Nacional por carretera a Acapulco, 240 m, Hernández & Torres 431 (MO); Dist. Juquila, Puerto Escondido, 0.1 m N of Rt. 200, MacDougal 349 (DUKE, US); Dist. Juquila, Puerto Escondido, 150 m SE down coast from town, on rocky peninsula 15 m above ocean, MacDougal 351 (CHAPA, DUKE, US); between Mixtepec & Colotepec, 250-800 ft., Nelson 2446 (GH, US); the Pacific coast, just W of Puerto Escondido in the Carrazillo Trailer Park, sea-level, Taylor 2663 (DUKE); 27 km SW del Morro Mazatlán, carr. Salina Cruz-Pochutla, Dist. de Tehuantepec, Torres et al. 549 (DUKE).