Cyrtandra kenwoodii W. L. Wagner & A. J. Wagner, 2013

Wagner, Warren L., Wagner, Anthony J. & Lorence, David H., 2013, Revision of Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) in the Marquesas Islands, PhytoKeys 30, pp. 33-64 : 44-46

6. Cyrtandra kenwoodii W. L. Wagner & A. J. Wagner sp. nov. Fig. 8

Type.

Marquesas Islands: Ua Pou: Tekohepu, windswept and cloud-shrouded summit, shrubland of Metrosideros collina with Dicranopteris linearis , Paesia rugulosa , Freycinetia , Blechum , Oleandra sibbaldii , and Selliguea feeioides , 2500-3000 ft [762-914 m], 4-5 July 1997, K. R. Wood & S. Perlman 6467 (holotype: US-3390815!; isotype: PTBG!).

Description.

Shrubs 0.2-1 m. Leaves opposite, clustered on upper 2-5 nodes, brittle, elliptic to elliptic-oblanceolate, 4-7.6 × 1.0-2.1 cm, upper surface glossy, green, glabrous, lower surface pale green, glabrous, margins irregularly and inconspicuously serrulate, apex acuminate, base attenuate, petioles 0.2-1.6 cm long. Flowers in loose, open cymes 3-6 cm long, arising in the upper leaf axils, cymes 1-3 flowered, peduncles 15-40 mm long, ca. 1-1.5 mm in diameter, pedicels 10-18 mm, bracts lanceolate, ca. 6-8 mm; calyx funnelform, white, ca. 11-15 mm long, lobes 5-9 mm long, subequal, glabrous, deciduous after anthesis; corolla white, funnelform, tube ca. 24-26 mm long, lobes ca. 6-8 mm long. Immature berry 15 mm long.

Distribution.

Marquesas Islands, rare, endemic to high ridges of Ua Pou, from Oave and Matahenua to Teavahaakiti, Tekahuipu, and Tekohepu, 790-945 m.

Ecology.

Cyrtandra kenwoodii is known only in cloud-swept summits with Metrosideros collina shrubland with other shurbs and small trees such as Apetahia , Freycinetia , and Hibiscus .

Etymology.

This new species is named for Kenneth R. Wood, who first collected it and who has contributed greatly to our knowledge of the flora of the Marquesas and the Hawaiian Islands through his collections and field observations.

Conservation status.

IUCN Red List Category: Critically Endangered EN B2a + B2b(i-iii). B2: total area of occupancy less than 10 km2 (ca. 5 km2). B2a, a single population known; b (i-iii), habitat continuing decline inferred. The suitable habitat for Cyrtandra kenwoodii on Ua Pou (ca. 105 km2) is indicated as an endangered environment, threatened feral animals and invasive plants, reducing the extent of the forest ( Florence and Lorence 1997; Mueller-Dombois and Fosberg 1998; Meyer and Salvat 2009).

Specimens examined.

Marquesas Islands. Ua Pou: Central Ua Pou including the summit crest regions around Oave and the near-by peak of Matahenua, 899-924 m, 9°23'45.4"S, 140°4'43.3"W, 2 July 2004, Wood & Perlman 10804 (PTBG, US), 10813 (PTBG); ridge just north of Oave, between Oave and Matahenua, high mountain peaks along main backbone ridge, 945 m, 9°23'45.5"S, 140°4'43.3"W, 3 July 2004, Perlman & Wood 19088 (PTBG, US); Teavahaakiti, steep slopes of main ridge to S of Oave, N & E facing cliffs between Teavahaakiti & Tekohepu, 869 m, 5 July 1997, Perlman & Wood 15911 (MO, P, PAP, PTBG, US, WU).

Discussion.

The sample of Cyrtandra kenwoodii used (Wood & Perlman 10804) in the molecular study by Clark et al. (2009) was identified as Cyrtandra feaniana , prior to realization that the diminutive plants from Ua Pou represented an undescribed species. The molecular data show that Cyrtandra kenwoodii is in a polytomy along with the two primary clades of Marquesan species, but is grouped here with the plicate species as it has the calyx only divided about half way to the base, but is not plicate as far as is known.

Figures

Figure 8. Cyrtandra kenwoodii W. L. Wagner & A. J. Wagner A Habit B Flower, lateral view C Corolla, longitudinal view D Pistil. Drawn from Wood 10804 (US), except A from Wood 6467 (holotype, US).