Clusia dotana Hammel, 2024

Luján, Manuel, Wodcke, Emma & Hammel, Barry, 2024, Two new species of Clusia (Clusiaceae) endemic to Costa Rica, Kew Bulletin 79 (4), pp. 881-887 : 882-884

Clusia dotana Hammel sp. nov.

Type: Costa Rica. San José, Cantón de Dota, Santa María de Dota por Cedral, finca de Joaquín Solís , 9°37'29"N, 83°57'46"W, 1935 m, 3 Aug. 2005, fl. ♀, fr, B. Hammel & I. Pérez 23724 (holotype CR [ INB0003964391 ]; isotypes 6 for distribution).

http://www.ipni.org//urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77348201-1

Shrub or tree, 2 – 6 (– 10) m, epiphytic or terrestrial, dioecious; twigs drying light brown to light reddish-brown, ± cylindrical, the epidermis not exfoliating; colourless resin. Leaves with petioles 1 – 5 cm, ± cylindrical with a small proximal adaxial pit; laminas drying olive green or light brown, 9 – 17 × 4 – 8 cm, elliptic, bases attenuate, apices rounded, coriaceous, ± complete, 15 – 25 secondary veins at 45°– 55° to the midvein, 3 – 6 mm apart, obvious, joining into a submarginal nerve (2 – 3 mm from margin); resin lines, when visible (only on the abaxial side and under magnification), intermittent and widely branched which can be seen as a mesh. Inflorescences deflexed to pendulate, 4.5 × 3.5 cm, lax, with 1 – 4 flowers; peduncles 0.5 – 2.5 cm; bracteoles 2. Flower buds 10 – 13 mm. Flowers unisexual, the perianth differentiated; sepals 4; petals 4, erect to patent, cream, fleshy, fully open during anthesis; androecium (staminate fls) without resin, uniform, c. 4.5 mm, convex, the androphore 1 – 1.5 mm, square; stamens 100 +; filaments separated, up to 0.2 mm; anthers 1.5 – 2.3 mm, with lateral dehiscence; staminodes (pistillate fls) c. 24 – 26 (– 42), in 2 groups of 12 or 13, ± conspicuous, 2.5 – 3 mm, resembling stamens, non-resiniferous; apical stigmas, 6 – 8, ovate to discoid, sessile. Fruits green, 3.5 – 5.5 × 3.5 – 4 cm, ellipsoid, without ribs, without stylar peaks; seeds ovoidglobular, covered with an abundant yellow aril ( Fig. 1 ).

RECOGNITION. By its relatively large fruits with 6 – 8 stigmas and seeds covered in a massive, yellow-coloured aril, Clusia dotana is most similar to C. torresii , but differs from it in having leaves with a more rounded apex (vs acute to obtuse apex in C. torresii ), a midvein that becomes distally thinner and similar to the secondary veins (vs midvein clearly demarcated and more pronounced than the secondary veins to the very tip of the lamina) and pistillate flowers with 24 – 26 (– 42) staminodes (vs 8).

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT. Clusia dotana occurs in wet forests and oak forests, from (1100 –) 1500 – 2700 m on the Pacific slopes of Cordillera de Talamanca, Cerros de Escazú, and Cerro Caraigres ( Map 1 ).

SPECIMENS EXAMINED. COSTA RICA. San José: Desamparados, San Cristóbal de Candelaria , 1700 m, s.d., H. Pittier s.n. ( US [barcode 02959043 ]) ; Acosta, zona protectora (Z. P.) Caraigres, Cuenca del Pirrís-Damas , Fila de cal sin nombre (Heartbreak Ridge) , W del punto oeste de Cerro Caraigres , 9°44'20"N, 84°10'35"W, 1600 m, 20 Dec. 2000, B. Hammel 22325 ( CR, MO) ; Acosta. Z. P. Caraigres , Cuenca del Pirris-Damas , Heartbreak Ridge , 09°44'20"N, 84°10'35"W, 1500 m, 27 Sept. 2006, B. Hammel, I. Pérez, J. Morales & G. Crow 24220 ( CR, MO) ; Acosta, Z. P. Cerros de Escazú, Cuenca del Pirrís-Damas, región de Salvaje , c. 5 km E de Palmichal ; mirador c. 0.8 km al N de las cabinas, propiedad de Jorge Salgado , 9°51'18.4"N, 84°9'31.5"W, 2000 m, 8 Oct. 2008, B. Hammel, I. Pérez, D. Cordero & D. Solano 24956, 24960 ( CR, MO) ; Acosta, Z. P. Caraigres , Cuenca del Pirrís-Damas , Acosta-Aserrí , Fila Aguabuena , fila Heart Break Ridge , 9°44'15"N, 84°10'35"W, 1600 m, 30 July 2007, J. F. Morales, M. Grayum, B. Hammel & I. Pérez 15451 ( CR, MO) ; Cerros de Escazú, Cedral , bosque secundario en la Cuenca de la Quebrada Honda , 9°49'51"N, 84°5'21"W, 1600 – 1800 m, Aug. 1991, J. F. Morales 66 ( CR, MO) ; Z. P. Cerros de Escazú, Cedral , falda NW del Alto Hierba Buena , Cuenca del Río Saurez ( Cucubres ), 9°50'37"N, 84°07'03"W, 1800 – 2100 m, 11 March 1992, J. F. Morales 211 ( CR, MO) ; Dota, El Cedral , Fila Dota , Lomas Sur Santa María , 09°37'30"N, 83°57'10"W, 2000 m, 11 April 1994, Q. Jiménez, L. Poveda & V. H. Ramírez 1547 ( CR, MEXU, MO) ; Dota, Cuenca del Pirrís-Damas , c. 3.5 km S de Santa María de Dota , potreros rumbo a Cedral , 9°37'38"N, 83º57'41"W, 1900 m, 14 – 15 July 2005, B. Hammel, H. Kennedy & I. Pérez 23717, 23718, 23721 ( CR, MO, USJ) ; Dota, Santa María , parque frente a la Iglesia , c. 1500 m, 11 Oct. 1992, S. Martén 379 ( USJ) ; Dota, Cuenca del Pirrís-Damas , Santa María de Dota por Cedra , finca de Joaquín Solís , 9°37'29"N, 83°57'46"W, 1935 m, 3 Aug. 2005, B. Hammel & I. Pérez 23725 ( CR, MO) ; Dota, Forêts du Copey , 1800 m, Feb. 1898, A. Tonduz 11749 ( US [barcode 02959039 – mixed collection, part A]) ; ibid. A. Tonduz 11891 ( US [barcode 02959042 – this specimen erroneously entered under “ Tonduz 11191” with an * because of a spot that makes the “8” difficult to see – 02959038 ]) ; Cordillera Talamanca, Río Blanco de Copey , 9°38'55"N, 83°53'10"W, 2000 m, 29 May 1995, M. Chavarría & A. Solano 871 ( CR, MO) ; Dota, Reserva Forestal (R. F.) Los Santos , Cuenca del Naranjo y Paquita , Río San Joaquín y Río San Lucas , en el cruce por San Lucas , 9°36'40"N, 83°57'20"W, 1750 m, 3 June 2001, J. F. Morales 8185 ( CR, MO) ; El Cedral de Santa María de Dota , 9°38'N 83°57'W, 2000 m, 8 March 1987, W. Burger, L. Poveda, P. Sánchez & T. Antonio 12087 ( F, MO) ; Dota, vicinity of Santa María de Dota , 1500 – 1800 m, 14 – 26 Dec. 1925, P. Standley 41659 ( US) ; ibid. 26 Dec. 1925 – 3 Jan. 1926, P. Standley & J. Valerio 44104 (US) ; Pérez Zeledón, R. F. Los Santos, Cuenca del Savegre , San Gerardo de Dota , trail to waterfall along Río Savegre , to W of trail between 2nd and 3rd bridge, 9°32'20.1"N, 83°49'7.9"W, 2050 m, B. Boyle 7595 ( CR, MO) ; Pérez Zeledón, P. N. Chirripo, Cuenca Térraba-Sierpe , camino a Chirripó (por todo el sendero), 9°27'30"N, 83°32'15"W, 2700 – 2700 m, 6 Dec. 1996, E. Alfaro 993 ( CR, MO) ; Pérez Zeledón, P. N. Chirripó, Cuenca Térraba-Sierpe , del límite del Parque al sendero Termómetro , 9°27'53"N, 83°33'43"W, 2000 – 2400 m, 5 May 1997, R. Aguilar & J. F. Quesada 5078 ( CR, MO) ; Pérez Zeledón, P. N. Chirripó, cuenca Térraba-Sierpe , de la Fila Cementerio a la Máquina a cuesta del Águila , 9°26'36.8"N, 83°32'13.79"W, 2700 m, 7 March 2002, E. Alfaro, H. Monge & L. González 3886 ( CR, MO, USJ) ; Santa Ana, Cuenca del Tárcoles , Santa Ana , calle Pabellón , por Rancho de Macho , 9°55'16.4"N, 34°11'34.4"W, 1100 m, 10 Jan. 2014, B. Hammel 26670 ( CR, MO) ; Tarrazú, Cuenca del Pirrís-Damas , 12 km SW de San Marcos de Tarrazú , por el Cementerio , 9°37'7"N, 84°4'33"W, 1800 m, 12 Jan. 2006, B. Hammel, I. Pérez & D. Santamaría 24003 ( CR, MO) ; Pérez Zeledón, Cuenca del Barú, Río Nuevo , por Fila Barranco (locally known as Fila San Marcos ), 5 – 6 km W de Río Nuevo , por el camino a San Marcos , sitio del Sat Yoga Ashram , 9°24'33.5"N, 83°49'54.2"W, 1150 m, 2 May 2010, B. Hammel, I. Pérez, K. Arras, W. Haber & W. Zuchowski 25669 ( CR, MO).

CONSERVATION STATUS. Clusia dotana is known from five localities in Costa Rica, only three of which are within protected areas, namely the Cerro Caraigres y Cerros de Escazu protected zones and Chirripó National Park. The other two localities are in, or near, urban areas where plants are prone to habitat transformation. With an AOO of 64 km 2, an EOO of 1,460 km 2, a small number of localities and estimated decline in quality of habitat, we provisionally assess the conservation status for C. dotana as Endangered [EN B1ab(iii) + 2ab(iii)], based on the IUCN (2019) guidelines and criteria.

NOTES. The closely related Clusia dotana and C. torresii are narrowly allopatric, with C. dotana found only on the pacific slopes of the Talamancan mountains to the east of San José, and C. torresii found only on the Atlantic slope of the northern end of the Talamancan mountains and from there west on both slopes of the mountains from the Cordillera Central to the Cordillera de Guanacaste in Costa Rica, with a few collections found also in the mountains of mid to northeastern Nicaragua. Besides C. torresii , C. dotana can be confused with the other new species described here, C. osaensis , both having an elliptical rounded leaf apex and a midrib that reduces distally, resembling the secondary veins in thickness. The two differ markedly by the smaller inflorescences, more numerous stamens and staminodia and thick yellow arils of C. dotana [ Fig. 1 ] (vs longer inflorescences, less numerous stamens and staminodes and thin and orange aril in C. osaensis ). Apparently, the range of these two may overlap in the Talamancan mountains, but C. dotana is found mostly at higher elevations than C. osaensis . Clusia dukei of the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica and Panama has acute to acuminate leaf blades, pointed at the tip, staminate flowers with fewer stamens (<50) and pistillate flowers with only c. 8 staminodia. The more northern C. suborbicularis is distinctive from all others with mesh-like resin lines in the Flava group by virtue of its numerous bracteoles, 6 – 22 (vs only 2 in other species), borne just below each flower. Clusia dotana was treated as “ Clusia sp. I ” in the Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica ( Hammel 2010) where a species identification key is provided.

Figures

Map 1. Distribution of Clusia dotana and C. osaensis in Costa Rica.

Fig. 1. Clusia dotana. A staminate flower; B pistillate flower (B. Hammel 23724); C staminate inflorescence (A & C B. Hammel 23716); D branch with an open fruit; E habit; F branch with immature fruits (D – F B. Hammel 23717); G cross section of a fruit, note yellow aril covering the seeds (B. Hammel 23718). Scale bars: 1 cm. PHOTOS: B. HAMMEL.