Gesneria flava Lambert, Simon Joly & J.L.Clark, 2023

Joly, Simon, Lambert, François, Cinea, William & Clark, John L., 2023, Three New Gesneria Species (Gesneriaceae) Support Parc National Pic Macaya (Haiti) as an Important Biodiversity Hotspot, Systematic Botany (Basel, Switzerland) 48 (1), pp. 34-43 : 40-41

Gesneria flava Lambert, Simon Joly & J.L.Clark , sp. nov.

TYPE: HAITI. Departement du Sud: Massif de la Hotte, Parc National Pic Macaya, forested area near Ville Fromon , 18 19'11''N, 74 00'41''W, 986 m, 13 Jan 2015, J.L. Clark, W. Cinea, I. Henrys, M. Despagne & M. Sturla 14465 (holotype: MT! ; isotypes: B , E , FLAS , G , K , MO , NY !, P , SEL !, UNA , US! ).

Differs from other species by flowers with a relatively large uniformly pale yellow corolla and wide elongate green sepals. Its elliptic, oblanceolate to obovate leaves are similarly shaped to those of G. ekmanii but tend to be more obovate. The leaf adaxial surface is covered with numerous small stiff hairs making the surface very rough, while the abaxial leaf surface is rugose, which contrasts to the smooth surface of G. ekmanii .

Evergreen shrub up to 5 m tall, generally few-branched; bark brown to brown-red colored, corky at base, many verrucose vertical lenticels toward apex. Apex resinous. Leaves alternate; petioles 1.2–3.8 cm long, brown to reddish, sometimes green for young leaves; blades elliptic or oblanceolate or obovate, 11–30 cm long, 3–8 cm wide, coriaceous, base cuneate to rounded, apex acute, margin serrulate; adaxial surface shiny green, hispid with numerous small thick and spiky trichomes, abaxial surface light green, rugose and resinous; major veins prominent with few trichomes, resinous, and lightly verrucose, tertiary veins reticulate with few trichomes.Inflorescences axillary, 1–4 flowered cymous; peduncles 12.5–27 cm long, light brown or reddish-brown, lightly resinous; pedicels 0.5–4.4 cm long, green, sometimes reddish at the base; flowers gynandrous; calyx lobes 5, leafy looking, 1.2–2.2 cm long, 4–6 mm wide at base, apex rounded to acute, margin smooth or serrulate, green, curled during anthesis; corolla campanulate with a constriction near the base, pale yellow, 6–7 mm wide at the base, 19–21 mm wide at corolla opening, pilose with glandular trichomes; lobes 5, margin entire, upper lobes 6–7 mm long and 7–8 mm wide, lateral lobes 5–7 mm long and 7–8 mm wide, basal lobes 5–6 mm long and 6–8 mm wide; staminal filaments 10–12 mm long, white, glabrous, fused at circa 1 mm of the corolla base; 4 oblong coherent anthers, circa 3 mm long, 1.5–2.0 mm wide; staminode circa 5 mm long; pollen white; ovary inferior, disc 5-angled, annular, 5–6 mm long, 5–6 mm wide, green; style circa 12 mm long, glabrous, stigma stomatomorphic. Capsule turbinate, 7–10 mm long, 6–9 mm wide, brown, with persistent calyx lobes. Seeds 0.74–1.02 mm long, obovate, striate and sometimes slightly angulate.

Distribution and Habitat — Gesneria flava is a relatively rare endemic to the Massif de la Hotte in Southwest Haiti. It grows in primary to disturbed broadleaved forest over limestone (rak bwa) at altitudes of 950 to 1500 m.

Etymology —The name of the species is a reference to the yellow color of its flowers.

Additional Specimens Examined — Haiti. — DEPARTMENT SUD: Massif de la Hotte, Parc National Pic Macaya, Bois Formond, Butte de karst a l'est du chemin menant vers Formon. A quelques centaines de metres de Formond , 997 m, 18.319789 N, 74.008137 W, 15 May 2014, Lambert, Joly & Merizier 2014–009 ( MT) ; Massif de la Hotte, Parc National Pic Macaya, Bois Formon, Butte de karst a l'est du chemin menant vers Formond. A quelques centaines de metres de Formond, 1015 m, 18.318873 N, 74.009327 W, 15 May 2014, Lambert, Joly & Merizier 2014–010 (MT); Massif de la Hotte, Parc National Pic Macaya, Bois Formon, in Rakbwa, 1012 m, 18.31901 N, 74.00919 W, 24 January 2018, Joly et al. 1119 (MT); Massif de la Hotte, Parc National Pic Macaya, Bois Formon, in Rakbwa, 1012 m, 18.31901 N, 74.00919 W, 24 January 2018, Joly et al. 1120 (MT); Massif de la Hotte, Parc National Pic Macaya, Bois Formon, in Rakbwa at the top of a hill, 1101 m, 18.32034 N, 74.01727 W, 27 January 2018, Joly, Bilbao & Beljean 1127 (MT); Massif de la Hotte, Parc National Pic Macaya, Fond Bleu, dry river on southern slopes of Morne Formon , near Ville Formon , 1528 m, 18 20'59''N, 74 1'22''W, 12 January 2015, Clark et al. 14443 (MT, NY, SEL, US) ; Massif de la Hotte, Parc National Pic Macaya, forested area near Ville Formon , 957 m, 18 19'17''N, 74 0'32''W, 42 January 2015, Clark, Cinea & Sturla 14492 (MT, NY, SEL, US) ; Massif de la Hotte, Parc National Pic Macaya, Bois Formon, to the south of Morne Formon , 950–1050 m, 23 January 1984, Judd 3475 ( US) ; Massif de la Hotte, Macaya Biosphere Reserve, Bwa Deron, along S edge at cliffs , 1100–1200 m, 9 August 1989, Skean & McMullen 2522 ( FLAS) .

Conservation — Gesneria flava is endemic to the lower slopes of Pic Macaya. The high rates of deforestation throughout Haiti and recent increase in human activities inside the park are factors that risk the remaining extant forest. Therefore, this new species is likely to be categorized as Critically Endangered (CR) according to the IUCN Red List criteria ( IUCN 2012, 2019) for restricted geographic range (B1 a,b,c + B2 a,b,c).