Xylopodia klaprothioides Weigend, Taxon 55: 467. 2006.

Martin, Claudia M., Zanotti, Christian A., Acuna-Castillo, Rafael, Henning, Tilo, Catari, Juan C. & Weigend, Maximilian, 2022, Taxonomic revision of the peculiar genus Xylopodia (Loasaceae) with a new species from Argentina and Bolivia demonstrating an atypical trans-Andean disjunction, PhytoKeys 194, pp. 47-62 : 47

Xylopodia klaprothioides Weigend, Taxon 55: 467. 2006.

Figs 2 , 5

Type.

Peru. Cajamarca: Prov. Contumazá: Road from Contumazá to Chilete , first roadbend after highest point pass, 2900 m, (07°19'48"S, 078°48'38.5"W) 5. Feb. - 2. Abr. 1997, M. Weigend, N. Dostert & K. Drießle 97/450 (holotype: M! mounted on two sheets, barcodes: M-0274954 & M-0274955; isotypes: F!, USM!) .

Description.

Shrub with erect or leaning shoots up to ca. 300 cm tall from a horizontal xylopodium (= ligneous rhizome), up to 30 × 5 cm, with several aerial branches arising from it; aerial vegetative organs densely hairy, with white scabrid and glochidiate trichomes, ca. 1 mm long. Leaves opposite, 8-20 × 65-15 cm, lamina with 1-3 lobes on each side, margin serrate, apices acute to rounded, base cuneate, petiole 1-3 cm long. Inflorescences terminal dichasia; peduncle ca. 7-20 cm long; basal bracts 1.5 × 0.5 cm, 3-lobed, margin denticulate, base cuneate; distal bracts 0.5 × 0.1 cm, lanceolate, subentire. Flowers tetramerous, pedicels 2-4 mm long, deflexed. Sepals broadly triangular, ca. 3 × 2 mm, margins entire, erect in bud, spreading during anthesis, and pubescent on both sides, pubescence similar to that of vegetative organs. Petals 10-15 × 3-5 mm, pale to deep green, unguiculate, with a short claw (<1/4 of petal length), cucullate in the distal half, with two membranous longitudinal lamellae with densely ciliate margin, aestivation valvate, margin with a tooth on each side near the base where the limb starts, with scabrid-glochidiate trichomes abaxially, adaxially glabrous. Nectar scales 4, antesepalous, 3.5-4 × 2.5-3 mm, cucullate, formed by 5-6 fused staminodes, mostly green, pubescent in lower half, virtually uniform in color, apex yellowish green, slightly recurved. Free staminodes 4-5 per scale, opposite and internal to it, monomorphic, lower halves densely pubescent, green, ca. 4 mm long, with an inconspicuous, pubescent, knee-like filament flange below the middle, apex filiform, twisted randomly or reflexed. Fertile stamens arranged in 4 antepetalous groups of ca. 7-15 per petal, free, filament ca. 6-8 mm long, anthers white, with two ovate thecae. Ovary half-superior, broadly ovate to conical, placentae 4; style to 7 mm long, lower half pubescent, stigma with four ribs tapering towards the apex. Fruits subglobose capsules, with a conical apex, opening with 4 apical valves. Seeds numerous, narrowly ovoidal, testa papillose-reticulate up to ca. 2 × 0.4 mm.

Etymology.

The species name refers to the clear affinity of this taxon to the genus Klaprothia Kunth.

Distribution.

Xylopodia klaprothioides is restricted to a small area of the Pacific slope of the Cordillera Occidental in Andean NW Peru. It is a very narrowly endemic species, known from only two localities some 8 km apart (in a direct line) in Dpto. Cajamarca Prov. Contumazá, at elevations from ca. 2,500-3,000 m (Fig. 1 ).

Ecology.

Xylopodia klaprothioides occurs in seasonally dry Andean scrub habitats, mostly around hedges and gullies, often on rocky soil dominated by xeric adapted shrubs, small trees and other vegetation including Cylindropuntia (Engelm.) F.M. Knuth and terrestrial bromeliads (Fig. 4C ). Near the town of Contumazá, it grows sympatrically with another shrubby Loasaceae , Nasa macrothyrsa (Urb. & Gilg) Weigend. These localities are surrounded by a mosaic of fields, fallows and small patches of seasonally dry montane forest according to the Ministerio del Ambiente del Perú (2015, 2018). These habitats often show signs of human alteration. Rodríguez- Rodríguez and Weigend (2006) mention that this species is found in the Mesoandina Ecological Region. Xylopodia klaprothioides is deciduous and the plants shed their leaves at the beginning of flowering in May/June.

Phenology.

Flowering and fruiting of this species have been recorded at the very end of the rainy season and the start of the dry season in May and June; thus most plants are leafless during the peak of the flowering period.

Additional specimens examined.

Perú: Dpto. Cajamarca, Prov. Contumazá, Road from Contumazá to Chilete. First road bend after highest point of pass, 2900 m, (07°19'48"S, 078°48'38.5"W) 17. Jun. 1998, M. Weigend et al. 98/536 (F, HUT, M, USM); same locality, 09. May 2003, M. Weigend et al. 7601 (B, F, HUT, M, USM); Dpto Cajamarca, Prov. Contumazá, road Contumazá to Cascas, after tunnel, ca. 2400-2600 m, (07°24'14"S, 078°47'53"W) 10. May 2003, M. Weigend et al. 7617 (B, F, HUT, M, USM) .

Notes.

See Xylopodia laurensis .

Conservation status.

Xylopodia klaprothioides seems to be restricted to only a few populations near Contumazá in northern Peru and has been considered as globally endangered ( Rodríguez and Weigend 2006). Using the data from the only two known populations, the estimated EOO (Extent Of Occurrence) of the species is just 0.081 km2, resulting in a conservation status assessment of "critically endangered" (CR) according to the IUCN categories and criteria (2012) and guidelines (2019). The AOO (Area Of Occupancy) for the species is also extremely small (8 km2 when applying a reasonable grid cell size of 2 × 2 km in GeoCat) and also assigns X. klaprothioides a "critically endangered" (CR) status according to the IUCN. We thus would update the threatened assessment of this species to CR under the IUCN categories and criteria B2ab(iii); C2a(i), The criterion B2 was selected because its AOO is <10 km2 (8 km2). The criterion “a” was selected because it presents a very fragmented distribution. The criterion “b(iii)” was selected because there is a projected decline in the area, extent and quality of habitat. The region around Contumazá represents a mosaic of different habitats including small patches of natural habitat surrounded by agricultural land. The criterion C2a(i) was selected because we observed fewer than 50 individuals per population in the two known localities.

Figures

Figure 1. Known distribution of Xylopodia klaprothioides and X. laurensis (photo credit for La Paz: A. F. Fuentes).

Figure 2. Xylopodia klaprothioides A flower, lateral view, showing the lamellae (L) and nectar scales (NS) B flower, frontal view, showing the lamellae (L) C mature fruit with slightly opened apical valves D nectar scale in dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views E nectar scale complex with one scale removed to reveal the internal monomorphic staminodes (MS) and the inconspicuous filament flanges (FF) F sterile branches with mature leaves G xylopodium of a 2 - year-old plant H seed. All from Weigend et al. 97 / 450.

Figure 4. Habitats of Xylopodia. A deciduous forest near Jujuy, Argentina, habitat of X. laurensis B X. laurensis habitat in a dry creek near Chuquisaca, Bolivia C rocky slopes with xerophilous vegetation near the town of Contumaza, Peru, habitat of narrowly endemic X. klaprothioides.

Figure 5. False-color BSE-image of the trichome cover of the leaves of X. klaprothioides. Mineralized areas are highlighted in red, non-mineralized areas in green A abaxial surface densely covered with unicellular, glochidiate and a few scabrid trichomes B adaxial surface densely set with scabrid hairs. (Credit: H. J. Ensikat, Bonn).