Blakea longiloba (Wurdack) Penneys & Judd,, 2013
publication ID |
https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.712.2.5 |
DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16897680 |
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/6644A932-2776-512C-FF1C-F8ABFCAC84F9 |
treatment provided by |
Felipe |
scientific name |
Blakea longiloba (Wurdack) Penneys & Judd, |
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Blakea longiloba (Wurdack) Penneys & Judd, View in CoL
PhytoKeys 20: 27. 2013. Topobea longiloba Wurdack, Phytologia 6(1): 8. 1957.
( Figs. 1–2 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 )
Type:— COLOMBIA. Putumayo, cuenca alta del río Putumayo en el Valle de Sibundoy , bosque paramero en el filo de la cordillera, La Cabaña , 2800 m, 2 January 1941, J. Cuatrecasas 11632 (holotype: F 0064029 !, isotypes: COAH 90377 !, COL 000003442 !, COL 000003443 !, P!, US 00123831 !) .
Hemiepiphytic lianescent shrubs, the major branches rather pendant and scrambling, the leafy twigs often curving upwards. Internodes semiterete, densely covered with dendritic, short-axis, conical and slightly rough furfuraceous trichomes, 0.05–0.2 mm long, becoming glabrous with age; nodes 4.5–6.6 mm diam., not swollen, interpetiolar lines slightly raised. Leaves opposite, isophyllous, petiolate; petiole 1.2–3.1 cm long, slightly canaliculate, sparsely covered with trichomes as in the internodes; leaf blades 7.4–14 × 3.2–8.5 cm, chartaceous, elliptic, elliptic-oblong, to obovateelliptic, base obtuse to slightly decurrent, apex acute to slightly acuminate, margin entire, slightly revolute; venation acrodromous, suprabasal, 7-nerved including the faint submarginal pair, innermost pair diverging 1.9–8.2 mm above the base of the blade, second pair diverging 0.5–1.4 mm, percurrent tertiary (transversal) veins spaced 1.4–3.2 mm at the widest portion of the blade, venation deeply impressed on the adaxial surface and prominent on the abaxial surface, reticulation visible on the abaxial surface; adaxial and abaxial surfaces sparsely to densely covered with indumentum similar to internodes when young, glabrous with age, adaxially rugose, abaxially plane; domatia absent. Inflorescences axillary, fasciculate in the distal nodes, each axil with 2–5 flowers; pedicels 8.5–30.5 mm long, flattened, lenticellate, densely covered with trichomes as on the internodes, and short-stalked glands 0.05–0.4 mm long; bracts coriaceous, both pairs free, multinerved, basally adherent to the hypanthium, spreading distally, sparsely covered with indumentum similar to pedicels, green; outer pair 4.9–8.8 × 3.1–4.3 mm, ovate, apex acute, obtuse, to rounded, margin entire; inner pair 4.7–7.2 × 4.1–4.6 mm, ovate, apex rounded, margin entire. Flowers erect. Hypanthium ca. 5.5 mm long, urceolate, sparsely covered with indumentum similar to pedicels externally, glabrous internally, greenish yellow to pinkish orange. Calyx 6-lobed, sparsely covered with indumentum similar to pedicels externally, glabrous internally, greenish yellow; tube 0.5–1.5 mm long; lobes 3.2–6.8 × 2.5–3.5 mm, oblong to obovate-oblong, apex rounded to obtuse, margin entire, spreading to reflexed, pale green. Corolla with imbricate petals; petals six, 6.5–10.2 × 4.5–6.5 mm, spreading to reflexed, elliptic-obovate to elliptic-oblong, apex acute, margin entire, glabrous, white, sometimes with pinkish margins. Stamens 12, isomorphic, bent to one side of the flower at anthesis giving the flower a zygomorphic appearance; filaments 3.9–4.5 mm long, flattened, glabrous, white; connective rugose, prolonged 0.7–1.0 mm dorso-basally into a triangular spur, white; anthers 4.5–4.8 mm long, free, subulate in lateral view, apex acute, yellow; thecae with smooth surface, opening by two confluent apical pores (in appearance and function one); pore ca. 0.3–0.5 mm diam., reniform. Ovary 2/3 inferior, 6-locular, ca. 2.5 × 3.5 mm, apex conic enveloping the base of the style, roof ca. 1.0– 1.5 mm high, glabrous; style 7.5–10.2 mm long, columnar, tapering apically, glabrous, white; stigma 0.1–0.2 × 0.3–0.4 mm diam., subpunctiform, white. Berries urceolate, mature ovary 6.3–9.8 × 6.3–8.6 mm, glabrous, lavender grey, calyx lobes reflexed, light green, bracts apically spreading, light green; seeds 0.5–1.2 × 0.4–0.8 mm, ovoid, light red.
Etymology:— Latin epithet can be divided into two parts; “ longi ” in reference to length and “ loba ” in reference to the calyx lobes. Altogether, the specific epithet refers to the length of the calyx lobes, which are notably long and reflexed, conspicuous morphological characteristics that are quite distinctive.
Distribution & habitat:— Blakea longiloba was previously known from the Andean zone of Colombia in the departments of Caquetá, Cauca, Nariño, and Putumayo between 2650 and 3100 m ( Almeda et al. 2016, Urrea et al. 2023), all localities situated along the eastern slope of the Cordillera Oriental. With the new records enumerated below, B. longiloba is now confirmed from five locations in Ecuador. First, from the eastern slope of the Andes, there is a voucher [misidentified as B. dodsoniorum (Wurdack 1958: 304) Penneys & Almeda (2013: 25) ] collected in 1986, along the road between Santa Bárbara and La Delicia in the former province of Napo (now Sucumbíos). Second, two populations have been found on the same slope further south, near San Juan Bosco, Morona Santiago province. Third, the species has been found in the Tapichalaca Reserve, Zamora Chinchipe Province, the farthest locality to the south. Fourth, from the western slope of the Andes, one specimen has been vouchered from the Golondrinas Protected Forest in the Carchi province, northwestern Ecuador. And lastly, the species was found in Pichincha province on the western slope of the Andes. The species grows in premontane and montane forests and cloud forests along its whole distribution.
Phenology:— Flowering occurs in February, April, August, September, November, and December, and fruiting in December, January, and February.
Conservation status:— Blakea longiloba has an EOO of 111.808 km 2, an AOO of 52 km 2 and is known from eight localities in the departments of Caquetá, Cauca, Nariño, and Putumayo in Colombia, and the provinces of Carchi, Sucumbíos, Morona Santiago, Pichincha, and Zamora Chinchipe in Ecuador. The Caquetá population is found in areas with large forests, with some natural reserves nearby (Caquetá Exotica Natural Reserve) and surrounded by secondary roads. The Cauca population is inside a national protected area (PNN Munchique). The habitat of the Nariño and Putumayo populations are similar to the Caquetá one, but there are no protected areas nearby in both and the roads are closer in Putumayo compared to the other two departments. In Carchi, Morona Santiago, and Zamora Chinchipe, the species grows inside protected areas (Golondrinas Protected Forest, Tinajillas-Río Gualaceño Municipal Conservation Ecological Area, and Tapichalaca Biological Reserve, respectively). In Pichincha, the species grows around a secondary road with farms nearby. In Sucumbíos, no exact location is known, the only collection found is old and lacks coordinates, but from the description, it is probably around the community of Santa Barbara, on the road from Playón de San Francisco to Santa Barbara. This area is threatened by deforestation for livestock farming. Considering the EOO of 111.808 km 2, the number of locations and the estimated stability in the quality of habitat, B. longiloba is categorized as Least Concern (LC) according to the criteria B (B1ab(iii)) of the IUCN Red List guidelines ( IUCN 2024).
Despite the threat category and its wide distribution, it is important to note that the density of the species is low, with only a few collections per locality and an AOO of 52 km 2 (considering as Endangered (EN) according to the criteria B2; IUCN 2024). In addition, in certain localities, particularly in the northern regions, human activities associated with nearby roads may impact areas where the species occurs. Therefore, it is important to continue monitoring the species to evaluate its population status and avoid possible future impacts.
Comments:— Blakea longiloba is easily distinguished by having suprabasal leaf blades without domatia, coriaceous floral bracts, both pairs free, the outer one ovate with acute and reflexed apex, calyx lobes spreading to reflexed, elliptic-obovate to elliptic oblong petals with the apex acute, white, free subulate anthers with the connective dorso-basally prolonged into a triangular spur and opening by two confluent apical pores that look and function as one, and the ovary 2/3 inferior with an apical collar. The specimens studied, both in Colombia and Ecuador, as compared with the protologue of Wurdack (1957), have shorter petioles (1.4–2.2 cm long vs. 2–3 cm long in the protologue), fewer flowers per axil (2–4 flowers per axil vs. 4–5 flowers per axil in the protologue), shorter pedicels (8.5–16 mm long vs. 15–30 mm long in the protologue) and shorter calyx lobes (1.5–5 mm long vs. 6.8 mm long in the protologue). However, they share all the other characteristics of the species, and the variation is continuous throughout its distribution, so, the observations and measurements of additional collections somewhat expand the morphological variation of B. longiloba as described by Wurdack (1957).
Blakea longiloba is morphologically similar to B. ciliata Markgraf (1927: 1146) ( Ecuador and Peru), from which it can be distinguished by the apex of the leaf blade (acuminate vs. caudate in B. ciliata ), longer pedicels (8.5–30 mm vs. 1.9–4.0 mm in B. ciliata ) and the morphology of the margin of the floral bracts and calyx lobes (entire vs. ciliate in B. ciliata ) ( Wurdack 1957). Between the species within the Solanum- flowered clade, B. longiloba is easily distinguished by the combination of characters stated above. In particular, it is more similar to B. anisophylla (Triana 1872: 171) Baillon (1877: 26) and B. alternifolia ( Gleason 1925: 459) Gleason (1945: 390) (both found in Colombia and Ecuador), from which it differs by the isophyllous leaves (vs. anisophyllous in the other two species), elliptic leaf blades with an acute to slightly acuminate apex (vs. elliptic oblong with a long acuminate apex in B. anisophylla and elliptic-obovate with along acuminate apex in B. alternifolia ) and leaves with two pairs of secondary veins (vs. three pairs of secondary veins in the other two species). Although B. longiloba exhibits well defined diagnostic characters, it was previously poorly known. Specimens from Ecuador and some from Colombia were identified only to the genus level and one specimen in Ecuador were identified as B. dodsoniorum , a species easily distinguished from B. longiloba by the strongly anysophyllous leaves with well-developed marsupiform pocket domatia in the abaxial surface and triangular calyx lobes.
Specimens examined:— COLOMBIA. Depto. Caquetá, Florencia: Gabinete , alrededor de la base militar, 1°52’44”N, 75°40’58.4”W, 1000–2000 m, 17 April 2016, D. Sanín et al. 6506 ( COAH!, COL!, HUA!) GoogleMaps ; vereda Tarqui, localidad La Ruidosa , 1°50’14.1”N, 75°40’14.1”W, 2125 m, 16 August 2016, D. Londoño et al. 540 ( UDBC!). GoogleMaps Depto. Cauca, El Tambo, corregimiento Uribe, Parque Nacional Munchique , por la carretera de cabaña La Romelia hacía el km 81, vía a Vista Hermosa , 2°38’51”N, 76°54’30”W, 2655 m, 19 January 2013, M. Alvear et al. 1661 ( CAS, COL!, CUVC!). GoogleMaps Depto. Nariño, Ipiales, carretera de La Victoria a San Jorge, el hospital, 0°38’5.244”N, 77°28’42.743”W, 2100 m, 23 June 1962, L. E. Mora-O. 2156 ( PSO) GoogleMaps ; corregimiento La Victoria, carretera entre La Victoria y el río San Francisco , 0°40’25.64”N, 77°30’43.38”W, 3100 m, 5 September 1972, E. Hernández-R. et al. 315 ( PSO) GoogleMaps ; entre río San Francisco y río Manizales , 0°43’0.012”N, 77°32’59.999”W, 2400 m, 15 April 1992, B. R. Ramírez-P. 4838 ( PSO). GoogleMaps - Depto. Putumayo, valle del Sibundoy, 5 km near Sibundoy , 2760 m, 28 November 1962, M. L. Bristol 378 ( COL!, US!) GoogleMaps ; carretera desde San Francisco a Mocoa , alrededores del km 80, 1°8’34”N, 76°51’2”W, 2740 m, 16 February 2013, M. Alvear et al. 1847 ( CAS, COL!, CUVC!, NY!) GoogleMaps . ECUADOR. Prov. Carchi, Cantón Tulcán, Parroquia Chical , Cerro Golondrinas , campsite #2 (La Laguna) towards Cerro Negro-Aguas Amarillas (towards El Mirador ), 0°52’20.07”N, 78°12’25.61”W, 1800–2225 m, 27 January. 2024, J. L. Clark et al. 18249 ( QCA, SEL, iNaturalist! https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/199161981) GoogleMaps ; Prov. Morona Santiago, Área Ecológica de Conservación Municipal Tinajillas-Río Gualaceño , vía Gualaceo-Limón , 2168 m, 27 September 2023, M. M. Jiménez et al. 1856 ( HUTPL!) ; Jungle Dave’s Farm , cerca de San Juan Bosco, 1750 m, 20 August 2024, M. M. Jiménez et al. 2359 ( HUTPL!) ; Prov. Napo (now Sucumbíos ), carretera Santa Bárbara-La Delicia, 2700–2900 m, 28 December 1986, N. Betancur 431 ( NYBG!, QCA) ; Prov. Pichincha, Cantón Quito, Lloa , carretera alterna entre Chiriboga y Quito, sector Lloa , 0°12’1.3”S, 78°46’4.0”W, 2298 m, 17 December 2024, D. S. Penneys et al. 2568 ( QCNE!, WU!) GoogleMaps .
Photographic records:— ECUADOR. Prov. Zamora Chinchipe, Cantón Palanda, Parroquia Valladolid , Reserva Tapichalaca , cerca de la Casa Simpson , 4°29’42.25”S, 79°07’54.84”W, 2507 m, observation by F. Ramón, 4 October 2024: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/246342553. GoogleMaps
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