Justicia chlamydocardioides (Mildbr.) R. Villanueva & J. R. I. Wood, 2025

Villanueva-Espinoza, Rosa, Deng, Yunfei, Scotland, Robert & Wood, John R. I., 2025, Preliminary notes on Justicia (Acanthaceae) in Peru, PhytoKeys 258, pp. 1-123 : 1-123

32. Justicia chlamydocardioides (Mildbr.) R. Villanueva & J. R. I. Wood comb. nov.

Tessmanniacanthus chlamydocardioides Mildbr. , Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 9: 987. 1926. ( Mildbraed 1926: 987). Type. PERU. Puerto Melendez, below Pongo de Manseriche, Tessmann 4788 (presumed holotype B †, photo of holotype FOBN 008790, US- 02869761, isotype NY- 00278328).

Type.

Based on Tessmanniacanthus chlamydocardioides Mildbr.

Description.

Subshrub up to 2 m high. Stems dark brown with warty outgrowths. Leaves petiolate, lamina mostly 15–25 × 8–9 cm, broadly oblong elliptic, acuminate to an acute apex, base cuneate and subcordate, slightly oblique, glabrous except for the veins beneath, the venation patterning very clear abaxially. Inflorescence of shortly pedunculate spikes from the uppermost leaf axils, mostly 10–15 cm long; bracts spathulate with apiculate apex and prominent petiole, 9–11 mm long, the expended part c. 4–5 × 7 mm, thinly glandular ciliate; calyx 5 - lobed to base, lobes 3 × 0.5 mm, linear-lanceolate, glabrous; corolla 12 mm long, pubescent, cream with purple lines on lower lip, thecae c. 2 × 0.5 mm, oblong, parallel, lower with a basal appendage. Capsule 10 × 4 mm, strongly clavate, glabrous (Wasshausen 904, Lewis 12985) or pubescent (Ancuash 1368); seeds 3.5 mm diam., rugose.

Illustration.

Fig. 31 .

Phenology.

Found in flower in January to March, June to August and November.

Habitat.

Lowland rainforest, often near rivers 150– 600 m.

Distribution.

Endemic to Peru in a limited area of Amazonas and Loreto near the Pongo de Manseriche. Fig. 64 .

Material examined.

Peru • Amazonas: Prov. Condorcanqui, Dist. El Cenepa, Quebrada Huampani , 600 m, 17 July 1974, R. Kayap 1149 ( US, USM) ; • ibid., 4°33'S, 78°10'W, Río Cenepa, Comunidad Tutino , 4°33'S, 78°10'W, 350 m, 21 Nov. 1993, R. Vásquez et al. 18416 ( HUT, MOL, USM) ; • ibid., 300 m, 23 Nov. 1993, R. Vásquez et al. 18548 ( HUT, US, USM) ; • ibid., Com. Aguaruna Agui Suwa , 4°31'35"S, 78°10'34"W, 289 m, 22 Jan. 1997, R. Vásquez et al. 22152 ( HUT, US, USM) ; • ibid., vic. Huampami, 5 km E. of Chavez Valdivia , 4°30'S, 78°30'W, 200–250 m, 15 Aug. 1978, A. Kujikat 390 (F, MO, US) ; • ibid., 200 m., E. Ancuash 1368 ( MO, US) ; • ibid., 15 Aug. 1978, E. Ancuash 1519 ( US) ; • ibid., Com. Mamayaque, 4°03'35"S, 78°10'34"W, 260 m, 21 Feb. 1997, E. Rodríguez et al. 1593 (F, MO, USM). Prov. Bagua, Dist. Imaza , Com. Aguaruna de Yamayakat , 250 m, 16 July 1994, C. Diaz et al. 6905 (F, MO, USM) ; • ibid., Com. Aguaruna de Putuim , 4°55'S, 78°19'W, 480 m, 19 June 1996, E. Rodríguez et al. 1120 (F, HUT, MO, US, USM) ; • ibid., Yamayakat, Quebrada Kusu , 5°03'20"S, 78°20'23"W, 380 m, 5 Nov. 1996, R. Vásquez et al. 21522 ( USM) ; • ibid., 480 m, 9 Nov. 1996, R. Vásquez et al. 21785 ( US, USM) . • Loreto: Prov. Alto Amazonas, Río Marañón, near Pongo de Manseriche , 200 m, 14 Feb. 1978, D. C. Wasshausen & F. Encarnación 904 (K, US, USM) ; • ibid., Dist. Pijuayil, Quebrada Tiriima, 1 km S on Río Morona , 4°22'S, 77°17'W, 150 m, 23 March 1987, W. H. Lewis et al. 12985 ( MO) ; • ibid., Dist. Manseriche, Pongo de Manseriche , 4°26'01"S, 77°34'18"W, 500 m, 29 Nov. 1997, R. Vásquez & E. Chávez 25084 ( USM) .

Notes.

Justicia chlamydocardioides was described in a separate genus Tessmanniacanthus by Mildbraed. Mildbraed’s reasons for establishing a distinct genus are not entirely clear but seem to be based on his mistaken belief that it belonged to the Odontonemeae (i. e. Graptophyllinae T. Anderson) rather than the Justiciinae Nees , although he does comment that it resembles Justicia pilosa . He comments that it is distinguished “ durch die Brakteen sehr ausgezeichnet, ”, which are large relative to the flowers, broadly petiolate, the lamina broader than long, the bracteoles minute. None of these characters serve as a justification for a new genus so we have transferred this species to Justicia , so reducing the genus Tessmanniacanthus to synonymy with Justicia .

Justicia chlamydocardioides is close to J. reniformis J. R. I. Wood from Colombia, which is a very local endemic to the Río Claro area of Antioquia ( Wood et al. 2024), so the two populations are very disjunct in distribution. J. chlamydocardioides differs in the larger bracts, the expanded part c. 4–5 × 7 mm (not 2–3 × 5 mm) and longer petiolar base 9–11 mm long (not 2–5 mm). In size the bracts recall another Colombian species, J. axiologa (Leonard) J. R. I. Wood , but the expanded part is subreniform, not suborbicular as in J. axiologa .

Figures

Figure 31. Photograph of inflorescence of Justicia chlamydocardioides (Wasshausen & Encarnación 904).

Figure 64. Distribution of Justicia chlamydocardioides (red polygons), J. schunkei (blue circles), J. werffii (yellow square) and J. spathuliformis (green triangles) in Peru.