Sciodaphyllum punctatum Jiménez-Mont. & Idárraga, 2025

Jiménez-Montoya, Jaider & Idárraga-Piedrahíta, Álvaro, 2025, Four new species of Sciodaphyllum (Araliaceae) from the Western Cordillera of the Andes in Colombia, Phytotaxa 708 (2), pp. 128-144 : 139-142

Sciodaphyllum punctatum Jiménez-Mont. & Idárraga , sp. nov. ( Figs. 8–9 ).

Type:— COLOMBIA. Antioquia. Jardín, vereda La Mesenia, recorrido desde el alto de Chamí hasta la parte media del paramillo por el sendero hacia el alto del Chamí , 5º28’58.4” N, 75º53’42.6” W, elev. 2532 m, 10 August 2022 (fl., fr.), Á. Idárraga, G. Wahlert, S. Hoyos, L. Clavijo, H. David, S. Vieira & U. Rendón 8629 (holotype JAUM [accession 95128]; isotype MO!) .

Diagnosis: — Sciodaphyllum punctatum differs from S. manus-dei ( Cuatrecasas 1946: 540) Lowry, Plunkett & Mora in Lowry et al. (2019a: 10), the species it most closely resembles, in having mealy indument adaxially on the leaflet blades (vs. glabrous), with dense and tiny clusters of trichomes that look like dots abaxially on the leaflet blades (vs. glabrous), secondary veins prominulous adaxially (vs. plane), hypanthium and calyx tomentose ferruginous (vs. white tomentose), and the ovary disc convex (vs. flat).

Sarmentose shrub, 2–7 m high, branched, terrestrial, occasionally hemiepiphytic; branches 1.1–1.4 cm diam. in sicco, lenticels circular, elliptic or hemispherical, scattered. Plant with mealy to puberulous indument, glabrescent; trichomes 0.3–0.8 (–1.1) mm long, dendritic or stellate, ferruginous or sometimes whitish. Leaves palmately compound, arranged toward branchlet apices, with few linear lenticels throughout; stipular ligule 3–5.6 cm long, triangular, apically acute, acuminate, occasionally bicuspid, abaxially canaliculate, lenticellate at the base, mealy indument abaxially, glabrescent, persistent, coriaceous; petiole (9.1–) 13–25 cm long, terete, slightly thickened at the base, with mealy to puberulous indument; leaflets (5–) 7–10, arranged in a single whorl, held horizontally or semi-pendulous; petiolules (1–) 1.5–7.5 cm long, terete, not thickened at either end, with mealy to puberulous indument, similar in size to each other; blades (4.7–) 9.5–26.5 × (2.2) 3–7.4 cm, elliptic to obovate, symmetrical, adaxially mealy to glabrescent, abaxially it look like uniformly distributed dots, formed by dense and tiny clusters of trichomes, short, thick, and ferruginous; base acute, convex or rounded, margin entire, apex acute to acuminate, acumen 0.8–1.7 cm long; venation pinnate, prominulous adaxially, prominent abaxially; secondary veins (24–) 27–50 (–57), brochidodromous, irregularly spaced, prominulous in both sides, intersecondary veins less than one per intercostal area; alternate percurrent tertiary fabric, obtuse to the midvein, inconspicuous. Inflorescence a terminal panicle, axes mealy to tomentulose; primary axis 1.9–4 cm long; 2–4 secondary axes, each (23–) 26–44 cm long, subtended by a bract 3.5–6.3 cm long, triangular or deltate, apex acute and straight, persistent or late caducous; peduncles 23–41 per secondary axis, each 0.7–1.6 cm long, subtended by a bracteole 2.3–4.2 mm long, deltate, apex acute and apiculate, caducous; ultimate inflorescence units globose heads (0.6–) 0.7–1 cm diam., expanding to 1.2–2 cm diam. in fruit, with (9–) 16–22 (–25) flowers, each subtended by a bracteole 1.2–2.6 (–2.9) mm long, deltate or triangular, margin entire, irregular or ciliate, apex acute and rounded. Hypanthium 3–4.5 × 3–4.8 mm (1.6–3.5 × 2.2–2.9 mm in sicco), obconic, with mealy indument; calyx forming a truncate rim, ca. 0.3 mm long, margin ciliate; corolla 1.6–2.1 × 2.2–3.5 mm, calyptrate, non-fissured between the petals, abaxially with mealy indument, adaxially glabrous; stamens 5 (–6), filaments 2–3 mm long, hyaline, anthers 1–1.2 × 0.7–1 mm, ovate, purple, dorsifixed; ovary disc convex, ringed, white-cream; styles 2–4, connivent, 1–1.5 mm long; carpels 2–4. Fruits drupaceous, (6.4–) 6.8–7.7 × 5.8–7.4 mm, obpyramidal, slightly angular, pale-yellow when immature, garnet when mature in vivo; calyx 0.6–1.3 mm long; styles 1.6–2.3 (–2.6) mm long, patent; pyrenes 4–5 × 1.3–2 mm, flattened laterally.

Distribution and habitat: — Sciodaphyllum punctatum is only known from one locality in the Western Cordillera of the Andes, in a locality between the municipality of Jardín in the department of Antioquia, and Mistrató in the department of Risaralda ( Fig. 3 ), around 2200–2500 m in elevation. This population grows in a well preserved low montane humid forest (bh-MB; Holdridge 1971).

Phenology: —We observed specimens bearing flowers in August and fruits in January, April and August. Based on these records, we think that the flowering and fruiting of this species occur throughout the year, as in many other species of the genus.

Etymology: —The epithet “ punctatum ” means dotted, referring to the presence of dense and tiny clusters of trichomes that look like dots, which are uniformly distributed abaxially on the leaflet blade.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes): — COLOMBIA. Antioquia. Jardín, vereda La Mesenia, recorrido desde el alto de Chamí hasta la parte media del paramillo por el sendero hacia el alto del Chamí , 5º28’54.0’’N, 75º54’13.0’’W, elev. 2520 m, 09 August 2022 (bud), Á. Idárraga et al. 8620 (FMB!, HUA!) ; ibid., 5º28’58.4’’N, 75º53’42.6’’W, elev. 2532 m, 10 August 2022 (im. fr.), Á. Idárraga et al. 8638 (COL!, CUVC!) ; vereda La Mesenia, subiendo al filo del Paramillo , 5°29’13’’ N, 75°53’53’’ W, elev. 2280–2380 m, 09 January 2005 (fr.), C. Robles et al. 704 (HUA!, JAUM!) ; vereda La Mesenia, ascenso a Paramillo , límites con Risaralda, 5°28’55’’ N, 75°53’50’’ W, elev. 2539 m, 10 August 2016 (fl., fr.), J. Jiménez & S. Giraldo 2738 (HUA!; JAUM!, MO!) ; ibid., (bud), J. Jiménez & S. Giraldo 2739 (CUVC!, JAUM!) .

Discussion: — Sciodaphyllum punctatum is similar to S. manus-dei in general aspects such as shrubby growth habit and dimensions of the leaves, in the number of leaflets [(5–) 7–10 in S. punctatum vs. 9 in S. manus-dei ], the inflorescence with a short primary axis [1.9–4 cm long vs. 4.7–6 cm], the few secondary axes [2–4 vs. 3] with similar length [(23–) 26–44 cm long vs. 22–26 cm], the ultimate inflorescence units in globose head with similar diameter [(0.6–) 0.7–1 cm diam. vs. 0.7–0.9 cm] and number of flowers [(9–) 16–22 (–25) vs. 16–32], the calyptrate corolla, and the similar number of carpels and styles [2–4 vs. 4]. Sciodaphyllum manus-dei is also endemic to Colombia, recorded in the Valle del Cauca department in the Western Cordillera of the Andes, about 225 km south of the new species.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Distribution map of Sciodaphyllum apiciflorum, S. bracticonspicuum, S. monteblancense, and S. punctatum.

FIGURE 8. Sciodaphyllum punctatum. A. Branch with leaves and inflorescence. B. Stem segment with stipular ligules. C. Ultimate inflorescence unit with flowers. D. Ultimate inflorescence unit with fruits. E. Floral bud with the calyptra removed (top). F. Adaxial (left) and abaxial (right) surface of the leaflets with abaxial detail.A–F from J. Jiménez & S. Giraldo 2738 [Drawing by Diego Zapata Z.].

FIGURE 9. Sciodaphyllum punctatum. A. Branch with leaves and inflorescence. B. Detail of the abaxial surface of leaflet blade. C. Abaxial surface of the leaflet blade. D. Stem segment with stipular ligules. E. Ultimate inflorescence unit with flowers. F. Ultimate inflorescence unit with fruits.A–F from J. Jiménez & S. Giraldo 2738 [Photographs by J. Jiménez].