Passiflora skrabaliana Kuethe & Wettges, 2025

Kuethe, J. R., Wettges, Martin, Jiménez, Marco M. & Fuentes, Alfredo, 2025, A new section within Passiflora subgenus Decaloba (Passifloraceae) borne from the “ Passiflora lobbii group ”, with three new species from the montane forests of southern Ecuador and Bolivia, Phytotaxa 691 (2), pp. 173-187 : 176-180

Passiflora skrabaliana Kuethe & Wettges sp. nov. ( Figures 1–2 )

Type: — ECUADOR. Loja province: Reserva Privada “El Madrigal del Podocarpus ”, sureste de Loja, 4°2’53.4”S, 079°10’11.7”W, 2372 m, 20 January 2024 (fl.), M. Jiménez, M. Jiménez Villalta, N. Espinosa-Ortega 2032 (holotype: HUTPL!, isotypes: QCA!).

Diagnosis: This new species is similar to Passiflora exoperculata and Passiflora lobbii , from which it differs by being glabrous throughout (vs. pubescent), the position of the petiolar nectaries being just above the middle of the petiole (vs. just below or in lower third), and the greenish-white (vs. greenish-yellow) colour of the flower.

Description: — Plant a trailing vine with long trailing branches of 3–5 m, glabrous throughout. Stem reddishgreen, green when young, terete to slightly striate. Internodal distance 1–3.5 cm. Stipules reddish to brownish, very obscure and often soon deciduous, linear, 2–3 mm long. Petiole 1.3–2.2 cm long, terete to caniculate till midway, with a single pair of opposite petiolar nectaries borne 2/3rd or 4/5th the length of the petiole; glands sessile, slightly

3

cup-shaped, purple-brownish in color, not producing. Leaf blade transversely ovate to lanceolate, terminating in acute apices, distinctly 2-lobed to obscurely 3-lobate, (8–)9.5–11(–13) cm wide, 2.3–3.6 cm long when measured along the central vein, length of the lateral veins 4.6–5.5 cm, lobes narrowly triangular to lanceolate, base of the blade very shallowly cordate, apices acute, mucronulate with the veins ending in small mucron, the central lobe (if present) very shallowly deltoid, truncate when absent, texture thick coriaceous to chartaceous, dark green adaxially, dullish green abaxially. Inflorescence in pairs, borne on short peduncles of no more than 15 mm, articulated at 8 mm from base. Bracts obscure, linear to narrow lanceolate, 1.5–2 mm long, dark brown. Flowers greenish white to green, 22–23 mm wide, inconspicuous with a very weak scent; hypanthium disc-shaped, slightly pentagonal in outline, 3–4 mm wide, about 1 mm high; sepals ovate-lanceolate, 9–10 × 3–4 mm, apices acute, green, ecorniculate; petals subequal to sepals, lanceolate, 7–8 × 3–3.5 mm, apex acute, white, membranous; corona biserial, whitish-green with a purple-brownish base; outer series filiform to liguliform, outfacing, 5–6 mm long, whitish-green in upper 2/3rd, purplish-brown in lower 1/3rd; inner series dark purplish-green, filiform, 1–1.5 mm long, erect; operculum clavate to plicate, pale purplish-brown with a white tinge, folded, margins serrate, about 1 mm long; limen absent; androgynophore small, about 1 mm high, green; stamen approximately 3 mm long, green, pollen yellow; ovary oval, green, glabrous, 1–1.1 mm high; style ca. 2–3 mm long, green, stigma lighter green, globose, <1 mm. Fruit a small blackish berry, subglobose, 10–11 × 7–8 mm when mature; mesocarp about 1 mm thick, whitish-green; pulp a pale orange, with 3–5 black seed per fruit; seed ovoidal, ca. 2–3 × 1–1.5 mm, resticulate.

Phenology: —This tiny species has been observed with flowers in November, December, January and February, presenting fruits from December to March.

Distribution and habitat: — Passiflora skrabaliana is endemic to the submontane dry forests of the south-central Andes of Ecuador. It is found almost exclusively within the province of Loja, where it grows vigorously in the hills surrounding the provincial capital of Loja itself. Numerous populations were seen in the mountains immediate north, south-west and south of the city, where it was seen growing along the main road going to Saraguro (north); Zumba (south) and Catamayo (south-west). Smaller populations of P. skrabaliana were seen in the Portovelo and Fierro Urcu regions, as well as outside the village of Malacatos and along the scenic RT-35. This small species is found in submontane to montane Andean dry forest at elevations between 1,800 and 2,750 meters, where it grows with long trailing branches next to roadsides and farmed areas.

Etymology: —This species is dedicated to Jürgen Skrabal, German botanist who contributed profoundly to the studies of the P. lobbii group and was among the first authors to coin the authenticity of this species.

Preliminary conservation status: —With an Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of about 4,600 km 2 and an Area of Occupancy (AOO) of about 120 km 2, P. skrabaliana scales EN (Endangered) in accordance with IUCN criteria B1 & B2. However, during field work conducted in 2022, the authors found large populations of the species growing vigorously and abundantly in [often] disturbed dry-forest habitats; along road sides and dirt tracks; and in,- or near agricultural areas meaning that P. skrabaliana is a resilient and adaptable species with rapid reproductive cycles. This convinces the authors that a conservation status of LC or NT based on IUCN criteria C, D & E ( IUCN 2022) is more applicable here.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— Passiflora skrabaliana : ECUADOR. Loja: Km 11 - 14 Yangana - Valadolid road. Humid montane forest dominated by Clusia and Hedyosmum , 04°22’S 079°10’W, 2220 m, 31 July 1986, P. M. JØrgensen 61359 ( QCA) ; Km 91 on Pan American Highway , N of Loja, 03°25’S 079°10’W, 5 May 1973, L. B. Holm-Nielsen, S. Jeppesen, B. LØjtnant & Benjamin Øllgaard 5033 ( QCA) ; Nudo de Sabanilla, western slopes on road Yangana-Valladolid , 04°28’S 079°11’W, 2400 m, 8 February 1985, Gunnar Wilhelm Harling & Lennart Andersson 21823 ( QCA) ; Summit and upper slopes of cerro Villonaco Macchia , 04°00’S 079°15’W, 2400 m, 12 April 1974, Gunnar Wilhelm Harling & Lennart Andersson 13460 ( QCA) ; Loja, 03°54’S 079°16’W, 21 July 12 1990, P. M. JØrgensen & Carmen Ulloa 91989 ( MO) ; Road Yangana - Valladolid , 04°25’S 079°10’W, 2400 m, 18 April 1989, Jens E. Madsen 86002 ( QCA) ; Along main road 1-5 km N of entrance to Refugio Carboncillo , 03°33’S 079°15’W, 26 June 1998, Simon Laegaard 18944 ( US) ; Loja-Saraguro. Km 25. Forest remnants, 03°51’39”S 079°16’52”W, 1750 m, 22 April 1994, P. M. JØrgensen, Carmen Ulloa & Homero Vargas 507 ( QCA) ; Cerro Villonaco. New road Loja-La Toma , 04°00’03”S 079°16’30”W, 2450 m, 17 April 1994, P. M. JØrgensen, Carmen Ulloa, Abendaño & Homero Vargas 289 ( LOJA) ; Road Yangana-Valladolid , 04°24’18”S 079°09’21”W, 2150 m, 12 February 2009, P. M. JØrgensen & Segundo Chimbolema 2448 ( QCNE) ; road Loja - Catamayo , montane cloud forest remnant, 03°59’S 079°16’W, 2540 m, 12 May 2007, Jürgen Homeier, Florian A. Werner, L. Chambers & K. Ledesma 2578 ( LOJA) ; Cerro de Villonaco. Loja-La Toma, turnoff towards Chuquiribamba , 03°56’52”S 079°15’52”W, 18 April 1994, P. M. JØrgensen, Carmen Ulloa, Homero Vargas & Abendaño 388 ( QCA) ; South of Yangana on road to Valladolid from Vilcabamba. Above Yangana , 04°24’S 079°11’W, 19 July 1986, John M. MacDougal & John Couch 1972 ( CQA) ; Old road from Loja to Catamayo , km 11, 04°01’S 079°25’W, 17 April 1997, Gwilym P. Lewis 3157 ( QCNE) ; La Cofradia, Loja–Saraguro rd. km 30, 03°51’S 079°14’W, 11 May 1995, H. Borgtoft Pedersen, Pablo Lozano, Omar Cabrera & Bolívar Merino 1024221 ( QCA) ; Road Loja-Uritusinga-Las Palmas , km 14, 04°03’29”S 079°13’45”W, 11 February 2009, P. M. JØrgensen & Segundo Chimbolema 2445 ( MO) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Direct comparison between Passiflora skrabaliana (A, C, E) and Passiflora exoperculata (B, D, F). The material for Passiflora exoperculata taken from near the Type location in La Paz, Bolivia. The material for Passiflora skrabaliana taken from Valladolid – Ecuador. Photo courtesy by J.R. Kuethe (A, C, E) and Hermes Justiniano (B, D, F).

FIGURE 2. Passiflora skrabaliana sp.nov. LCDP (Lankaster Composite Dissection Plate).A. Flower,A frontside,A backside, A a bud, 1 2 3 and A 4 a longitudinal section of the flower; B. Vegetative morphology with B 1 being the adaxial surface of the leaf, B 2 the abaxial side and B 3 the location of the petiolar nectaries; C 1 habit and C 2 the stipules; D. fruit shape, with D 1 showing a mature fruit, D 2 and immature fruit, and D showing the seeds. Composed of photos taken by J.R. Kuethe.