Salvia ruizii J.G.González, Uría & E.Rodr., 2024

González-Gallegos, Jesús Guadalupe, Uría, Rolando & Rodríguez, Eric Frank Rodríguez-, 2024, Salvia gibbosa, S. gracilicaulis and S. ruizii (Lamiaceae), three new species from Peru, Phytotaxa 672 (3), pp. 255-266 : 261-264

Salvia ruizii J.G.González, Uría & E.Rodr. , sp. nov.

( Figure 4 )

Type:— PERU: Lambayeque Department, Ferreñafe Province, Incahuasi District , [ Incahuasi , 2–3 km al NO], 6º13’56.96’’S 79º19’54.48’’W, 2733 m, 1 August 2022 (cult. in Mar de Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, since August 2023), R. Uría & J. Lozano Pe27-02 (holotype HUT!, isotype CIIDIR! ).

Shrub to subshrub, decumbent to erect, 0.3–1 m tall; stem densely to moderately lanose with branched whitish hairs. Leaves with petioles (0.7–) 1.4–3.5 cm long, pubescent as the stem; blade ovate to lanceolate, 2.2–6.1 × 1–4 cm, apex acute to acuminate, base cordate, margin crenate, both surfaces pubescent as the stem, but the hairs sparsely distributed above and dense beneath, also accompanied by golden translucid glandular dots. Inflorescence in racemes, 6–9 cm long, peduncle 1.8–3 cm long, verticillasters 5–8, each one 4–6 flowered, the lowermost 1–2 cm apart from each other; peduncle and floral axis with pubescence as the stem. Flora bract deciduous, elliptic-lanceolate to ovate, 3.9–5 × 1.2–3 mm, apex caudate, base truncate, margin entire, outer surface densely lanose with branched hairs. Flower with pedicel 2.7–3.4 mm long, with pubescence as the stem. Calyx (6.2–)9–11 × (3.2–) 4–5 mm, externally pubescent as the stem but also with amber glandular dots, pale to bright violet because the pubescence, tiny and sparsely hispidulous inside, lips acute, the upper one 5-veined and entire. Corolla sky blue with white nectar guides on the lower lip, short pilose towards the throat and lips, the ventral surface of the lower one with translucid glandular dots; tube 6.9–9 × 3.5–4 mm, slightly ventricose, straight near the base, epapillate inside; upper lip 4–5 mm long; lower lip 5.7–8 × 6–7.6 mm. Stamens included, filament 1.9–2.2 mm long; connective 4.7–5.4 mm long, entire or with a tiny tooth near midportion; theca 1.2–1.8 mm long; staminodes not observed. Gynobasic horn 0.6–1 mm long; style 9.5–10.2 mm long, short pilose near the apex, along dorsal and ventral line, upper stigmatic branch longer and arcuate, the lower straight and acute. Mature fruit not seen.

Distribution, habitat and ecology:—This species inhabits also in northern Peru ( Figure 2 ), in exposed slopes, where grasses and small shrubs predominate. It grows in reddish clay soil between 2700–3300 m elevation. It is common in areas disturbed by grazing and farming, and it is associated to Baccharis sp. , Chrysactinium breviscapum Sagástegui & Dillon (1994: 31) , Colletia spinosissima Gmelin (1791: 408) , Nasa lambayequensis Weigend in Weigend et al. (2006: 76), and Ribes (1753: 200) sp.; also close to introduced plants of Eucalyptus globulus Labillardière (1800: 153) and Pinus radiata .

Phenology:—It flowers from March to August, and bears fruit from May to September.

Etymology:—The specific epithet is a recognition to the great impetus, efforts and time spent by Hipólito Ruiz-López (1754–1816) during the Royal Expedition to the kingdoms of Peru and Chile in the period of the Spanish Viceroyalties in America, being the commander officer of the first stage of the expedition from 1777–1788 ( González-Bueno et al. 1991, Pelayo 2018). Although his name tried to be immortalized as the genus Ruizia Pav. in Ruiz & Pavón (1794: 135), this resulted illegitimate against Ruizia Cavanilles (1786 : app. 1) by priority. Nonetheless, there are several specific names dedicated in his honor (Tropicos.org 2024) and we decided to link it also to Salvia and to be a companion of the other names in the genus dedicated to the other protagonists of the expedition Salvia dombeyi Epling (1937: 47) , S. pavonii Bentham (1833: 278) and S. tafallae Bentham (1833: 260) .

Preliminary Conservation status:—The collections of this species are contained within an area of about 11 km ². The population appears to be fragmented, and the main threats are the expansion of agriculture, livestock farming, and tourism, primarily around the town of Incahuasi. Salvia ruizii fits better as Critically Endangered CR B1ab(iii) due to the reduced estimated EOO (10.866 km 2) and AOO (16 km 2), and by the current and future fragmentation in face to the expansion of the economic activities.

Additional specimen examined:— PERU: Lambayaque Department, Ferreñafe Province, Incahuasi District , Incahuasi , 3200 m, 29 October 1995, S. Llatas-Quiroz 4062 ( USM!) ; Incahuasi , 3300 m, 29 June 1996, S. Llatas-Quiroz 4128 ( USM!) ; Lambayeque Department, Ferreñafe Province, Incahuasi District , [4 km al W de Incahuasi rumbo a caserío Riopampa ], 6°14’14.05’’S 79°19’51.05’’W, 2845 m, 1 August 2022, R. Uría & J. Lozano s.n .; Incahuasi , 6°14’31.91’’S 79°18’57.03’’W, 3049 m, 1 August 2022, R. Uría & J. Lozano s.n .; Incahuasi , 6°14’29.56’’S 79°18’58.78’’W, 3037 m, 1 August 2022, R. Uría & J. Lozano s.n .; Lambayaque Department, Ferreñafe Province, [campiña de Uyurpampa ], 6.197861ºS 79.354407ºW, 3318 m, 24 May 2023, D. Montesinos (https://mexico.inaturalist. org/observations/165342803) ; Lambayaque Department, Ferreñafe Province, [9–10 km al N de Icanhuasi rumbo a Marayhuaca ], - 6.211689ºS - 79.313282ºW, 2959 m, 12 April 2024, R. Barbosa-Castro (https://mexico.inaturalist.org/ observations/208341175) .

Notes:— Salvia ruizii fits better into section Flocculosae due to the indument composed by branched hairs, 5- veined upper calyx lip, corolla tube shorter than 1.9 cm long, not invaginated at the base and epapillate inside, lower corolla lip longer than the upper, stamens included under the upper corolla lip, connective with a retrorse tooth, and upper stigmatic branch longer than the lower ( Epling 1939, McBride 1960). Among the species of this section, S. ruizii is morphologically most similar to S. cruikshanksii Bentham (1833: 261) , S. flocculosa Bentham (1846: 244) and S. griseifolia Epling (1935: 78) . Additionally to the distinctive characters of the section, these species share the shrubby habit reaching up to 1 m tall, similar pubescence composed by flexible branched hairs in a tomentum, leaf blades ranking from ovate to lanceolate in shape, and similar in size, between (1–)2–6.1 × (0.6–) 1–4.2 cm, blue to sky blue corolla (frequently with shades of violet), and its tube ventricose and inserted within the calyx, with only the lips exposed ( Epling 1935, 1939).

Salvia ruizii can be distinguished from S. cruikshanksii in having longer petioles ((0.7–)1.4–3.5 vs. 0.2–1 cm), cordate leaf blade base (vs. rounded to subcordate and sometimes shortly cuneate), usually longer calyces ((6.2–)9–11 vs. 5.8–6.7 mm long), acute calyx lips (vs. subtruncate), the upper entire (vs. trimucronate), longer corolla tube (6.9–9 vs. 5–6.6 mm long), and pilose style (vs. glabrous) ( Epling 1935, 1939).

Salvia flocculosa and S. griseifolia are very similar in morphology, they are differentiated mainly by the shape of the margin (entire to obscurely crenulate in S. flocculosa and clearly crenate-serrate in S. griseifolia ), the accrescent, long acute and deeply divergent calyx lips in fruit (vs. not accrescent, shortly acute and parallel to calyx longitudinal axis), and floral bract duration and shape (deciduous and linear-lanceolate, respectively, vs. persistent and ovate-reniform) ( Epling 1935, 1939). It is worth noting that even when Epling (1939) described the floral bracts of S. flocculosa as persistent, these are deciduous instead, with only some few that remain attached early in fruit, as it can be confirmed examining type specimens available at Jstor (2024). Both species differ from S. ruizii in having shorter petioles ((0.2–)0.4–0.9 vs. (0.7–) 1.4–3.5 cm long), rounded-truncate base of the leaf blades (vs. cordate), and shorter corolla tubes (4–6 vs. (6.2–) 9–11 mm long) ( Epling 1935, 1939). Besides, S. flocculosa separates from the new species by presenting an entire to inconspicuously crenulate margin (vs. crenate), longer floral bracts (5.7–15 vs. 3.9–5 mm long), and accrescent, acute to caudate, deeply divergent, calyx lips in fruit (vs. not accrescent, acute, and parallel to longitudinal axis of the calyx). And to distinguish S. griseifolia from S. ruizii , we can also rely on its persistent floral bracts (vs. deciduous) and ovate-reniform (vs. elliptic-lanceolate to ovate), wider floral bracts (3.1–6 vs. 1.2–3 mm wide), and slightly trimucronate upper calyx lip (vs. entire).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Distribution map of the Salvia gibbosa (white dot), S. gracilicaulis (white triangles) and S. ruizii (white diamonds). A closeup to northern Peru is presented in the up-right corner. The background satellite image was extracted from Google Earth (2024).

FIGURE 4. Salvia ruizii A. General habit, B. Close-up to the leaves, C. Inflorescences, D. Short inflorescence showing two corollas, E. Dried corolla, F. Connective and theca of a stamen, G.Anterior portion of the style showing the stigmatic branches (Photographs of living plants taken by R. Uría at the field and in his nursery; floral dissections made from the holotype).