Lycianthes venturana E.Dean, Phytoneuron 2014-42: 1 (2 Apr 2014)

Dean, Ellen, Poore, Jennifer, Anguiano-Constante, Marco Antonio, Nee, Michael H., Kang, Hannah, Starbuck, Thomas, Rodrigues, Annamarie & Conner, Matthew, 2020, The genus Lycianthes (Solanaceae, Capsiceae) in Mexico and Guatemala, PhytoKeys 168, pp. 1-333 : 1

49 Lycianthes venturana E.Dean, Phytoneuron 2014-42: 1 (2 Apr 2014) Fig. 110

Type.

México. Puebla. Mpio. Teziutlán: Agua de Obispo, bosque de encino en cañada, [19.815, -97.36], 1350 m, 25 Nov 1976, F. Ventura A. 13635 (holotype: MEXU [acc. # 918864]; isotype: IEB [acc. # 114957]).

Description.

Shrub, 0.5-1.8 m tall. Indument of tan, uniseriate, multicellular, simple, eglandular, appressed-ascending to ascending trichomes 0.25-1.25 mm long. Stems green with pale vertical lenticular streaks when young, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, not much compressed when dried in a plant press, becoming brown and woody with age; upper sympodial branching points mostly monochasial, some dichasial. Leaves simple, the leaves of the upper sympodia usually paired and unequal in size, the larger ones with blades 6.5-13.3 × 3.7-6.5 cm, the smaller ones with blades 4-8.5 × 1.9-4.9 cm, the leaf pairs similar in shape, the blades ovate, elliptic, or obovate, thin chartaceous, glabrous to sparsely pubescent (densest along the veins), the base cuneate to attenuate, sometimes oblique, the margin entire, usually undulate, the apex acuminate, the petiole 0.2-1.5 (2) cm long, the larger leaf blades with 4-6 primary veins on each side of the midvein. Flowers solitary or in groups of 2-6 (10), axillary, oriented horizontally; peduncles absent; pedicels 13-28 mm long and erect in flower, 18-25 mm long (probably longer) and erect in fruit, glabrous to sparsely pubescent; calyx 1.5-2.5 mm long, 1.75-2.5 mm in diameter, urceolate to campanulate, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, the margin truncate, with 10 spreading linear appendages 1-3.5 mm long emerging 0.3-0.5 mm below the calyx rim; fruiting calyx enlarged, widely bowl-shaped, ca. 2 mm long, 4 mm in diameter, the appendages to 4 mm long (possibly longer); corolla (0.5) 0.9-1.4 cm long, campanulate to reflexed in orientation, mostly entire in outline (with shallow notches), with abundant interpetalar tissue, sometimes the interpetalar tissue tearing as the corolla opens, adaxially white, glabrous, abaxially color unknown, sparsely pubescent near the major veins; stamens unequal, straight, the four short filaments 1.25-1.5 mm long, the one long filament 4-5 mm long, glabrous, the anthers 3.5-4 mm long, lanceolate, free of one another, yellow, glabrous, poricidal at the tips, the pores ovate, all dehiscing toward the style, not opening into longitudinal slits; pistil with glabrous ovary, the style 7-9 mm long, linear, curved upward at tip, glabrous, the stigma oblong-capitate, slightly bilobed. Fruit a berry, ca. 6 mm long, 4 mm in diameter (probably larger), ovoid, usually apiculate due to persistent style base, color unknown, glabrous, lacking sclerotic granules. Seeds not yet seen.

Chromosome number.

Unknown.

Distribution and habitat.

Mexico (Puebla, Veracruz) in disturbed broadleaved cloud forest and oak forest, in shady canyons and on mountainsides, 1250-1450 m in elevation (Fig. 111 ).

Common names and uses.

None known.

Phenology.

Flowering specimens have been collected from April to November; specimens with mature fruit have been collected in November. The diurnal corolla movements are not known, however the corollas on specimens are usually closed, indicating that the flowers are probably only open in the early morning.

Preliminary conservation status.

Lycianthes venturana is a rarely collected species of eastern Mexico, represented by 8 collections, none of which is from a protected area. The EOO is 2,022.587 km2, and the AOO is 32 km2. Based on the IUCN (2019) criteria, the preliminary assessment category is Endangered (EN).

Discussion.

Lycianthes venturana is known from limited material from which mature fruit size and color, seed type, and corolla color and shape cannot be exactly ascertained. It is morphologically similar and most likely related to the species of series Tricolores ( Dean et al. 2017a). Of those species, it is most similar to L. jalicensis in being nearly glabrous throughout, especially on the calyx and corolla, but it is distinguished from that species by having a smaller calyx as well as being geographically disjunct. The corolla is likely white and probably has greenish coloration along veins of the lobes on the abaxial side. Whether or not the corolla has the small greenish spots or glands present in related species, such as L. tricolor , is not known, because they do not persist well on pressed material, and the information is not included in label data. The fruits of the type specimen are dark in color, usually apiculate, 6 mm long and 4 mm wide. Whether these fruits are mature is not known. The apiculate tip to the fruits is formed from the persistent base of the style ( Dean et al. 2017a).

Representative specimens examined.

Mexico. Puebla: San Juan Tahitic Village, trail to Zapotepic, locality Hueyaktepet, next to Arroyo de Huaxkonta, 19.9503, -97.5311, 1165 m, 2 Nov 2017, T.B. Croat 107297 (DAV); Veracruz: "El Siete," 19.8, -97.2167, 1445 m, 10 Jul 2008, T. Krömer 2556 (MO).

Figures

Figure 110. Image of herbarium specimen of L. venturana, Ventura 1350 (MO). Specimen used with permission from the Missouri Botanical Garden (http: // www. tropicos. org).

Figure 111. Map of geographic distribution of L. venturana based on herbarium specimen data.