Cuphea flava Sprengel (1818: 14)

Facco, Marlon Garlet & Cavalcanti, Taciana Barbosa, 2023, Taxonomic Revision of Cuphea sect. Trispermum s. l. (Lythraceae), Phytotaxa 588 (1), pp. 1921-1935 : 1921-1935

10. Cuphea flava Sprengel (1818: 14) .

Lectotype (designated by Lourteig 1987: 37):— BRAZIL. “Habitat in Brasilia”, [collector unknown; Otto’s donation] ( TO [2496] image!, isolectotype K [fragm.] image!, probable isolectotype W p.p. image!). Figs. 10H–M , 22 .

Cuphea brachiata Martius ex Koehne (1877: 293) . Lectotype (first step designated by Lourteig 1987: 35, second step lectotypification here designated):— BRAZIL. Bahia: “in graminosis Soteropolitanis [Salvador, -12.979, -38.518]”, Martius s.n. [Obs. 2013] (M [0146161] image!, isolectotypes L image!, M [0146160; 0146162; 0146163] image!, P image!, W image!), syn. nov.

Cuphea flava var. pseudobrachiata Koehne (1877: 294) . Lectotype (first step designated by Lourteig 1987:37, second step lectotypification here designated):— BRAZIL. Bahia: “collecta in provincia Bahia ”, Sellow 487 (K [000533054] image!, isolectotypes GH [2 sheets] image!, K [000533055] image!, M image!).

Cuphea idiotricha Steudel ex Koehne (1877: 294) , nom. nud., pro syn.

Subshrubs 30–80 cm tall; stems erect to decumbent, indumentum pubescent, eglandular trichomes <0.5 mm long, with curved apices, sometimes hirsute or glabrescent; internodes 0.5–2 cm long; brachyblasts absent. Leaves opposite, sometimes 3-verticillate, chartaceous to coriaceous, sessile to subsessile, blades 6–15 × 2–8 mm, broad-ovate to ovateoblong, rarely narrow-ovate, apex acute, base obtuse, subcordate to cordate, margin plane to revolute, usually glandularciliate, glabrous on both surfaces; brochidodromous, sometimes the secondary veins inconspicuous. Racemes 8–15 cm long, frondose, compound, elongated, indistinct; bracts 3–15 × 1–7 mm, subequal pairs, similar to leaves in shape and indumentum. Flowers alternate; pedicels 2–4 mm long; bracteoles 0.4–0.9 mm long, ovate to suborbicular; floral tubes 7–9 mm long; spur obtuse to saccate, deflexed; outer surface yellow-green, usually glabrous, rarely pubescent and glandular; inner surface villous behind the stamens, densely pilose around the ovary; petals 6, yellow, subequal, two dorsal 4.5–5 × 2–2.7 mm, obovate, four ventral 4.9–5.4 × 1.8–2.8 mm, narrow-obovate to obovate; stamens free in the upper third of the floral tube, five antesepalous exserted, four antepetalous subexserted; pistil 5–6.8 mm long; ovary glabrous; style glabrous; ovules 3; nectary 0.6–0.7 × 0.7–0.8 mm, deflexed. Seeds 3, 1.6–2 × 1.5–1.8 mm, obovate to elliptic, apex slightly truncate to obtuse, base slightly acute, margin obtuse.

Phenology: —Collected with flowers and fruits all year round.

Distribution and habitat: — Brazil, in the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Pará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe ( Fig. 22 ); open or shrubby “restingas”, edge of “restinga” forests and in dune vegetation; 5–80 m elev.

Conservation status: — Cuphea flava was categorized as Least Concern (LC) due to its wide geographic distribution, as well as being relatively common and well-collected.

Representative specimens examined: —BRAZIL. Alagoas: Marechal Deodoro, 16 km S de Maceió, 09º47’00”S, 35º52’00”W, 02 February 1982, Kirkbride-Jr. 4619 (INPA!); Piaçabuçu, March 1838, Gardner 1286 (F image!, K image!, NY image!, P image!, S image!, US image!, W image!); Piaçabuçu, AL-101 próximo ao acesso de Bonito, 29 September 1981, Rocha 29 (MAC!). Bahia: Cabulla, April 1835, Luschnath 164 (W image!); Itacaré, “Campo Cheiroso”, 14 km north of Serra Grande off of road to Itacaré, 14°22’00”S, 39°04’00”W, 15 November 1992, Thomas et al. 9513 (CEN!); Maraú, coastal zone, just South of Maraú, 14°10’00”S, 39°00’00”W, 15 May 1980, Harley 22109 (NY image!); Moritiba, 1843, Blanchet 3547 (BR image!, F image!, K image!, P image!, RB!, W image!); Prado, 4.5 km North of Prado on coast road to Cumuruxatiba, 17º20’S, 39º15’W, 21 October 1993, Thomas et al. 10064 (MBM!, NY image!); specific locality unknown, Blanchet 113 (P image!); specific locality unknown, Blanchet 3237 (P image!). Espírito Santo: Itapemirim, rodovia para Piuma, estrada vicinal para a localidade Gomes, ca. 3 km da rodovia, 20°55’45”S, 40°49’34”W, 03 February 2010, Pirani et al. 6052 (CEN!); Presidente Kennedy, Praia das Neves, em loteamento da Ferrous, 21°15’53”S, 40°58’45”W, 30 May 2015, Costa 623 (CEN!). Pará: Maracan ã, Vila de Algodoal, Ilha de Maiandeua, 01 March 1988, Bastos et al. 502 (MG!); Marapanin, just east of the fishing village of Camara which is ca. 11 km northwest of Marudá, 00º37’00”S, 47º41’00”W, 3–4 April 1980, Davidse et al. 17808 (MG!, NY image!). Paraíba: Mamanguape, estrada para Barra de Mamanguape, cerca de 5 km da BR-101, 06°54’46”S, 35°04’25”W, 27 July 2001, Souza & Souza 26591 (CEN!); Mamanguape, Reserva Biológica Guaribas, limite oeste da Área II, 06º42’37”S, 35º12’42”W, 18 August 2002, Sevilha & Pereira-Silva 2213 (CEN!). Pernambuco: [Cabo de Santo Agostinho], Praia do Paiva, 29 November 1999, Bovini et al. 1724 (CEN!); Igarassu, Refúgio Ecológico Charles Darwin, 07º50’S, 34º55’W, 11 February 1997, Ferrucci et al. 1134 (CEN!, CTES!); Tamandaré, 08°45’09”S, 35°06’59”W, 28 August 2002, Sevilha & Pereira-Silva 2478 (CEN!). Rio de Janeiro: Maricá, dunas da praia do Francês, 22°57’39”S, 42°52’55”W, 30 July 2004, Paula-Souza & Souza 3808 (CEN!); Rio de Janeiro, Barra da Tijuca, km 15 W from Barra da Tijuca on Rodovia Rio-Santos, 23°02’S, 43°26’W, 26 February 1988, Thomas et al. 6167 (CEN!, NY image!). Rio Grande do Norte: Ceará-Mirim, Praia de Muriú, empreendimento Palm Springs, 05º33’05”S, 35º15’30”W, 04 Jul 2014, Carvalho-Jr. & Cestaro 40 (UFRN!). Sergipe: Estância, APA Sul, próximo a praia Caueira, 21 September 2011, Santos et al. 610 (ASE image!). Specific locality unknown: “Brasilia [identified as C. idiotricha ]”, collector unknown (P [05115075] image!); “Brasilia”, Sellow 591 (M image!).

Cuphea flava is recognized by its broad-ovate to ovate-oblong leaves, glabrous, with a glandular-ciliate margin, and by its yellow-green floral tubes, usually glabrous, and yellow petals ( Fig. 10I ). It is a coastal species with a continuous distribution from the state of Rio Grande do Norte to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There are also records in the state of Pará, near Marajó Bay. Cuphea flava is considered a dune-fixing plant, occupying open areas, and favoring the establishment of other species ( Pigozzo et al. 2006, 2007). In the coastal sand dunes of Abaeté, Salvador, Bahia state, Pigozzo et al. (2006, 2007) observed that populations of this species (identified as C. brachiata ) are visited by large bees, considered as potential pollinators.

Cuphea brachiata , described by Koehne (1877) , is a species morphologically close to C. flava , identified by extremely variable characters, such as 3-verticillate leaves, with long sparse glandular trichomes, rarely glabrous, which makes its delimitation problematic. According to the type materials and the protologue, this species occurs in the coastal plains of Brazil together with C. flava . However, specimens with yellow flowers collected along the Espinhaço mountain range, from central Bahia to northern Minas Gerais, have often been identified as C. brachiata . The circumscription of these species was resolved through the preliminary results of the ongoing molecular phylogeny of Cuphea (Cavalcanti, pers. comm.), providing support for the synonymization of C. brachiata under the oldest name, C. flava , and showing that the specimens from the Espinhaço Range belong to a new species, described here as C. auriflora . This species differs from C. flava by the narrow-ovate to narrow-elliptic leaves, with strigose indumentum on both surfaces (one-armed trichomes), and by floral tubes 5–7.2 mm long, covered by short, erect, eglandular trichomes and short glandular trichomes.

Koehne (1877, 1903) and Rodas & Briones (2010) cited C. flava for Paraguay, with reference to two specimens collected by J.R. Rengger (Rengger s.n.), deposited in ZT. The geographical origin of Rengger’s collections is explained by Lorenzo & Perret (2012). According to the authors, J.R. Rengger took advantage of a stay in the region of Bahia and Pernambuco, Brazil (November 1825 to January 1826), forced by a ship problem, to make new collections. Accidentally, Rengger’s collections from this region were mixed with those from Paraguay and thus taken to Europe, resulting in this erroneous reference of C. flava in Paraguay.

According to Sprengel (1818), C. flava was described based on a collection by C.F. Otto. Chase (1939; unpublished) highlighted the fact that C.F. Otto was an inspector at the Royal Botanical Garden in Berlin, and that he had never been to Brazil, therefore, the specimen must have been given to C. Sprengel by C.F. Otto without any reference to a collector. Lourteig (1987) commented that C. Sprengel sent part of his specimen to G.B. Balbis in the herbarium in Turin (TO), Italy. Since the author did not find the type material in Berlin (probably destroyed), she chose as lectotype of C. flava the fragment deposited in TO. This type fragment is representative and in good condition and is therefore accepted here as the lectotype of C. flava . There is another fragment in K and a probable isolectotype in W.

Lourteig (1987) placed C. brachyantha Koehne (1903: 132) as a probable synonym of C. brachiata , since its identification was hampered by the precarious state of the type material. The author also suggested a proximity of C. brachyantha to species of C. sect. Pseudocircaea Koehne. This synonym was excluded in this revision because C. brachyantha is considered a probable synonym of C. lutescens Pohl ex Koehne (1877: 299) (C. sect. Pseudocircaea ).

Figures

FIGURE 10. A–G. Cuphea ericoides. A. Habit; B. Detail of the branches; C. Flowering branch; D. Floral tube in lateral view, without petals; E. Floral tube in longitudinal-dorsal section, without petals; F. Pistil. G. Seed. H–M. Cuphea flava. H. Habit; I. Flowering branch; J. Floral tube in lateral view, without petals; K. Floral tube in longitudinal-dorsal section, without petals; L. Pistil; M. Seed.A, C: Facco et al. 492; B, E–G: Facco et al. 485; D: Facco et al. 491; J, K: Bovini et al. 1724; L: Sevilha & Pereira-Silva 2213; M: Davidse et al. 17808. Scale bar. D, E, J: 3 mm; F, K, L: 2 mm; G, M: 1 mm. Photos. H–I: Marcos V. Dantas Queiroz.

FIGURE 22. Geographical distribution of Cuphea ericoides, Cuphea flava and Cuphea paralarix.