Hiraea venezuelana C.E.Anderson, 2016

Anderson, C., 2016, Circumscription and nomenclature of Hiraea barclayana, H. reclinata, and H. ternifolia (Malpighiaceae), and of seven species misassigned to them, Blumea 61 (2), pp. 125-146 : 145

10. Hiraea venezuelana C.E.Anderson , sp. nov. — Fig. 10 ; Map 10

Differt a H. reclinata umbellis lateralibus floribus (5–)6; laminae foliorum majorum basi cuneatae vel anguste truncatae, abaxaliter pilos T-formes et pilos appressos ferens. — Type: C. Benítez de Rojas 2739 (holo MICH; iso F, VEN), Venezuela, Aragua, Dtto. Girardot, Parque Nacional Henri Pittier , por la vía hacia Choroní, vertiente sur, 1000–1200 m, 19 May 1980.

Woody vine,small shrub,or treelet;stems sericeous when young, soon glabrous. Leaves opposite. Laminas of the larger leaves 6–17 by 2.5–7 cm, elliptical to oblanceolate, apex acute to rounded, mucronate, base cuneate to briefly truncate in largest laminas, adaxially sericeous when very young, soon glabrous, abaxially with a sparse mixture of subsessile and mostly T-shaped hairs, eventually glabrescent, the oldest glabrous but often some hairs retained on and along the costa and secondary veins, stalk of hairs 0.05–0.1 mm long, trabecula 0.5–1.5 mm long, straight or wavy; margin with scattered glands 0.2–0.3 mm diam in distal 1/4–1/2 or sometimes only near apex or eglandular; costa and secondary veins not or slightly impressed adaxially, prominent abaxially. Petioles (6.5–)7–15(–21) by 1–2 mm, densely sericeous, with a pair of glands at apex or up to 1.5(–2) mm below apex, each gland 0.5–1 mm long. Stipules 1.8–4 mm long, borne at middle to distal 1/3 of petiole. Inflorescences 1– 2 axillary ternate and sometimes also biternate cymes; inflorescence axis 0.5–3.5 mm long, bracts 0.8–2 by 0.8–1.5 mm; lateral axes 1–2 mm long, subtended by bracts 0.5–0.7 mm long and wide; in ternate cymes peduncles 1.5–6.5 mm long, the central peduncle usually shorter than the lateral two, central umbel 4-flowered, lateral umbels (5–)6-flowered; in biternate cymes the tertiary axes 1– 2 mm long, bearing peduncles 1–2 mm long and subtended by bracts 0.7 by 0.5 mm, central and lateral umbel 4-flowered; umbels without a gland in the centre; bracts and bracteoles subtending pedicels 1–2 by 0.8–1.5 mm; pedicel (8–)17–22(–25) by 0.4–0.5 mm; axes, abaxial surface of bracts and bracteoles, and pedicels densely sericeous. On leafless branches, inflorescences often crowded and condensed, sessile to subsessile, pedicels 8–11 mm long. Sepals 1.8–2 mm long and wide, triangular, adaxially glabrous, abaxially sericeous; anterior sepal eglandular, the lateral four biglandular, glands 1.5–1.8 mm long, or all sepals eglandular. Petals yellow, glabrous; lateral petals with the claw c. 2 mm long; limb of anterior-lateral petals 6.5–7 mm long and wide, orbicular, margin subentire, limb of posterior-lateral petals 5.5–6.5 mm long and wide, orbicular, margin subentire but apex irregularly dentate, teeth to 0.2 mm long; posterior petal with the claw 3–3.5 mm long and thicker than that of lateral petals, limb 5–5.5 mm long and wide, orbicular, margin glandularfimbriate, fimbriae to 0.4(–5) mm long. Stamens glabrous, filaments basally connate. Stamen opposite anterior sepal: filament 3–3.5 mm long, anther c. 1 mm long; stamens opposite anterior-lateral petals: filaments c. 2.5–3 mm long, anthers c. 0.9 mm long; stamens opposite anterior-lateral sepals: filaments 3–3.3 mm long, anthers 0.9–1 mm long; stamens opposite posterior-lateral petals: filaments 2.3–2.5 mm long, anthers 0.8–0.9 mm long; stamens opposite posterior-lateral sepals: filaments 2.5–3 mm long, anthers 0.8–0.9 mm long; stamen opposite posterior petal: filament 2–2.2 mm long, anther c. 0.6 mm long. Styles incurved, glabrous; anterior style 3.3–3.7 by 0.4–0.5 mm, apex extended into a spur 0.1–0.2 mm long; posterior styles 3.2–3.5 by 0.4–0.5 mm, apex extended into a spur 0.05–0.1 mm long. Ovary c. 1.5 mm long, densely villous. Samara butterfly-shaped; lateral wings 2.5–3 by 1.7–2.5 cm; dorsal wing a crest to 1.2 mm high, coarsely dentate or denticulate; nut subspherical, 4–4.5 mm diam, areole 2–2.5 mm diam. Embryo spherical, 4–4.5 mm diam.

Distribution — Northern Venezuela (Aragua, Barinas, Lara, Yaracuy).

Habitat & Phenology — In forest, matorral, and at roadsides; sea level to 1300 m; collected in flower in April and May, in fruit in April through August.

Additional specimens examined. VENEZUELA, Aragua, Rancho Grande, Parque Nacional, Badillo 1999 (MY); 4–5 km NE de Bahía de Cata, por la vía hacia Cuyagua, Carnevali et al.513 (VEN); along R. Chuao, Pittier 12180 (A, NY, US, VEN);Dtto.Girardot, carretera Cata-Cuyaga, Romero 567 (MY); Dtto. Girardot, carretera Maracay-Ocumare de la Costa, Parque Nacional Henri Pittier , Romero 574 (MY). Barinas, vicinity of Barinitas, Lasser 44 ( US); Quebrada de Paranguleta, Lasser 66 (VEN). Lara, entre La Piedad y Sarare, Saer 423 (F, VEN); enter Cujicito y Sarare, Saer 454 (F, VEN). Yaracuy, Dtto. Nirgua, San Vincente, Benítez de Rojas 2367 (MO, MY, VEN); 5 km N of Salom, Gentry & Puig­Ross 14386 (MICH, VEN).

Note — Hiraea venezuelana is distinctive in its inflorescences. The ternate cymes, 1–2 per leaf axil, bear (5–)6 flowers in the lateral umbels. Leafless flowering branches may have some condensed biternate cymes mixed in among the ternate cymes (e.g., Pittier 12180, Romero 574, Saer 423). In such biternate cymes, all umbels are 4-flowered, and the most distal umbels are essentially sessile ( Fig. 10c ). Hiraea venezuelana superficially resembles H. reclinata , but the young laminas are abaxially covered with a mixture of sessile, subsessile, and T-shaped hairs. In H. reclinata the hairs are appressed, and all umbels are 4-flowered. The petioles of H. venezuelana have a pair of glands sometimes at the apex but mostly on the petiole, up to 2 mm below the apex, and the pair of stipules is placed at the middle to the distal 1/3.

Figures

Map 10 Distribution of Hiraea ternifolia (Kunth)A.Juss. (■) and H. venezuelana C.E.Anderson (●).

Fig. 10 Hiraea venezuelana C.E.Anderson. a. Portion of stem with a large leaf and two inflorescences, each a ternate cyme; b. petiole with a pair of glands and a pair of stipules; c. inflorescence with the lateral branches also ternately branched; d. posterior petal; e. posterior-lateral petal; f. anterior-lateral petal; g. androecium, abaxial view, the stamen fifth from right opposite posterior petal; h. gynoecium, anterior style at left; i. samara, abaxial view; j. detail of samara showing dorsal winglet; k. embryo (from: a, d–h. Benítez de Rojas 2739, MICH; b. Romero 574, MY; c. Saer 473, VEN; i–k. Badillo 1999, MY). — Scale bar: a = 4 cm; b, j = 8 mm; c = 1.3 cm; d–f = 5.7 mm; g, h = 2.7 mm; i = 2 cm; k = 4 mm. — Drawn by Karin Douthit.