Taxon Details: Miconia longidentata Michelang. & W.Meier
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Family:
Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)
Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)
Scientific Name:
Miconia longidentata Michelang. & W.Meier
Miconia longidentata Michelang. & W.Meier
Accepted Name:
This name is currently accepted.
This name is currently accepted.
Description:
Description Author and Date: Fabián A. Michelangeli and Winifried Meier, based on A new anisophyllous species of Miconia (Melastomataceae: Miconieae) from the Coastal Cordillera in northern Venezuela. F. A. Michelangeli & W. Meier. Phytotaxa 79: (1): 37-44 (2013)
Type: VENEZUELA. Límite entre estados Vargas/Miranda: Cordillera de la Costa, vertiente norte, al sur del pueblo Chuspa, en bosque a lo largo del Rio Chuspa, 10° 33’ N 66° 19’ W, 330–360 m, 19–22 February 1993, fl, fr, W. Meier 3432 (holotype VEN!; isotypes B!, US!).
Description: Shrub, up to 2 m tall. Young stems terete to slightly flattened in the younger internodes, glabrous, internodes longitudinal ridges absent, nodal line absent. Leaves anisophyllous; large leaves petiole < 4 mm long, glabrous; blade 8.5–12.5(–16) × 2.2–3.5(–5.5) cm, narrowly ovate to lanceolate, membranaceous to chartaceous, apex gradually acuminate to acute, base cordate with a sinus 2–2.5(–4.0) mm long, margin sparsely denticulate, teeth appressed and up to 0.8 mm long; glabrous on both surfaces; secondary veins 1 pair plus 1 pair of faint marginals, basally nerved, tertiary veins percurrent, quaternary veins reticulate, areoles 1.6–2.2 mm wide, veins flat on the adaxial surface and raised on the abaxial surface. Smaller leaves of each pair 20–50(–80)% the size of the larger leaf, varying even in the same branch, with the smaller leaf alternating sides on the branch, broadly ovate (in the more reduced leaves) to broadly lanceolate. Inflorescences axillary in younger internodes, mostly paired on both sides of the node, rarely only on one side, a 1–3 flowered cyme, on a peduncle 2–3 mm long; peduncles terete, glabrous; bracteoles ca 0.6 mm long, lanceolate, persistent. Flower pedicel 0.7 mm long. Hypanthium (from the base to the calyx tube base) 2.3–2.5 mm long, cylindrical, 1.2–1.3 mm wide at the torus, external indumentum with a mix of short pinoid hairs and glandular setae up to 0.6 mm long, internal surface smooth, androecial fringe absent. Calyx open in bud, the tube 1.1 mm long at anthesis, the lobes ca. 0.5 mm long, narrowly triangular; calyx teeth subulate, 3.5–4.2 × ca. 0.15 mm, glabrous, upright in bud and spreading at anthesis. Petals 4, 4.9–5.1 × 2.1–2.2 mm, obovate, white at anthesis, glabrous, apex round, base obtuse, margin entire. Stamens diplostemonous, isomorphic, around the style at anthesis; filament 3.4–3.5 mm long, glabrous, anthers with 2 locules, thecae 2.6–3 × 0.3 mm, straight, opening by 1 dorsally oriented minute pore, connective glabrous, 0.15 mm extended below the thecae, with a dorsal descending tooth, up to 0.15 mm long. Ovary 4-locular, 60% inferior, the free portion conical, the apex with 8 teeth < 0.1 mm long around the union with the style, but otherwise lacking a collar; style 6–6.5 mm long, straight, glabrous; stigma punctiform, ca. 0.3 mm wide. Berries 4.5–4.8 × 2.4–2.8 mm, globose, narrowing towards the apex, black, glandular trichomes mostly persistent when mature, calyx and teeth persistent in fruit. Seeds 0.6–0.7 mm long, pyramidal, raphe covering 33% of the apex of the seed, without tertiary sculpturation, testa golden brown.
Habitat and Distribution: Miconia longidentata is known from mid and low elevation forests in the central portion of the Coastal Cordillera in northern Venezuela, on both the northern and southern slopes above 350 m.
Etymology: This new species is named after its long and persistent calyx teeth.
Taxonomy and Systematics: Miconia longidentata is morphologically similar to two species of Clidemia with anisophyllous leaves found in the Coastal Cordillera in Venezuela: Clidemia farinasii Wurdack (1964a: 211) and C. flexuosa (Triana 1871: 141) Cogniaux (1891: 1103). However it differs from both species on vegetative and reproductive characters, notably on inflorescence size, stem, hypanthium and leaf pubescence, and the size of the calyx teeth (see table 1). Anisophylly, or the presence of leaves of different size in each pair (Cremers 1995, Dengler 1999), in the Melastomataceae is not restricted to these three species, as it is also found in several other genera. In the Neotropics anisophylly has been reported in some species of Bertolonia Raddi (1820: 384), Blakea Browne (1756: 323), Clidemia, Leandra Raddi (1820: 385), Miconia, Macrocentrum Hook. f. in Bentham & Hooker (1867: 732), Tococa Aublet (1775: 437), and Triolena Naudin (1850: 308), and in all three species of Maieta Aublet (1775: 443) (Cremers 1995, Muelbert et al. 2010). The degree of anisophylly varies greatly among species, and in some cases the smaller leaves may even be caducous or apparently altogether lacking, conferring the plant an apparent alternate phyllotaxis (Cremers 1995). A recent study of anisophylly in selected species of Miconia and Leandra in Eastern Brazil (Muelbert et al. 2010) showed that this character varies greatly even within the same individual, and those authors stated that it may not be of great taxonomic value. However, within the species traditionally placed in Clidemia at least 35 species (including the one described here) show consistently marked anisophylly that does have taxonomic significance. Some of these species also have ant domatia and have been listed elsewhere (Michelangeli 2010). Based on floral and vegetative morphology, as well as on limited sampling of this group in recent molecular phylogenetic studies (Goldenberg et al. 2008, Michelangeli et al. 2008), anisophyllous species of Clidemia do not form a monophyletic group, and this trait has probably evolved several times within the tribe Miconieae. In order to aid the identification of this assemblage of species, we provide a comprehensive list of species of traditionally placed in Clidemia that are consistently anisophyllous, along with their distribution. Conservation Status:—The four specimens known of Miconia longidentata are effectively clustered in two different areas. The area above 350 m bracketed by these two populations delimits a potential extent of occurrence (EEO) of approximately 120 km2. Most of these EEO falls within the Waraira Repano National Park, but parts of the eastern population are outside the park limits. Given the distribution and population sizes, we provisionally assign Miconia longidentata a IUCN (2001) conservation status of Endangered, as defined by the IUCN guidelines (IUCN 2011).
Description Author and Date: Fabián A. Michelangeli and Winifried Meier, based on A new anisophyllous species of Miconia (Melastomataceae: Miconieae) from the Coastal Cordillera in northern Venezuela. F. A. Michelangeli & W. Meier. Phytotaxa 79: (1): 37-44 (2013)
Type: VENEZUELA. Límite entre estados Vargas/Miranda: Cordillera de la Costa, vertiente norte, al sur del pueblo Chuspa, en bosque a lo largo del Rio Chuspa, 10° 33’ N 66° 19’ W, 330–360 m, 19–22 February 1993, fl, fr, W. Meier 3432 (holotype VEN!; isotypes B!, US!).
Description: Shrub, up to 2 m tall. Young stems terete to slightly flattened in the younger internodes, glabrous, internodes longitudinal ridges absent, nodal line absent. Leaves anisophyllous; large leaves petiole < 4 mm long, glabrous; blade 8.5–12.5(–16) × 2.2–3.5(–5.5) cm, narrowly ovate to lanceolate, membranaceous to chartaceous, apex gradually acuminate to acute, base cordate with a sinus 2–2.5(–4.0) mm long, margin sparsely denticulate, teeth appressed and up to 0.8 mm long; glabrous on both surfaces; secondary veins 1 pair plus 1 pair of faint marginals, basally nerved, tertiary veins percurrent, quaternary veins reticulate, areoles 1.6–2.2 mm wide, veins flat on the adaxial surface and raised on the abaxial surface. Smaller leaves of each pair 20–50(–80)% the size of the larger leaf, varying even in the same branch, with the smaller leaf alternating sides on the branch, broadly ovate (in the more reduced leaves) to broadly lanceolate. Inflorescences axillary in younger internodes, mostly paired on both sides of the node, rarely only on one side, a 1–3 flowered cyme, on a peduncle 2–3 mm long; peduncles terete, glabrous; bracteoles ca 0.6 mm long, lanceolate, persistent. Flower pedicel 0.7 mm long. Hypanthium (from the base to the calyx tube base) 2.3–2.5 mm long, cylindrical, 1.2–1.3 mm wide at the torus, external indumentum with a mix of short pinoid hairs and glandular setae up to 0.6 mm long, internal surface smooth, androecial fringe absent. Calyx open in bud, the tube 1.1 mm long at anthesis, the lobes ca. 0.5 mm long, narrowly triangular; calyx teeth subulate, 3.5–4.2 × ca. 0.15 mm, glabrous, upright in bud and spreading at anthesis. Petals 4, 4.9–5.1 × 2.1–2.2 mm, obovate, white at anthesis, glabrous, apex round, base obtuse, margin entire. Stamens diplostemonous, isomorphic, around the style at anthesis; filament 3.4–3.5 mm long, glabrous, anthers with 2 locules, thecae 2.6–3 × 0.3 mm, straight, opening by 1 dorsally oriented minute pore, connective glabrous, 0.15 mm extended below the thecae, with a dorsal descending tooth, up to 0.15 mm long. Ovary 4-locular, 60% inferior, the free portion conical, the apex with 8 teeth < 0.1 mm long around the union with the style, but otherwise lacking a collar; style 6–6.5 mm long, straight, glabrous; stigma punctiform, ca. 0.3 mm wide. Berries 4.5–4.8 × 2.4–2.8 mm, globose, narrowing towards the apex, black, glandular trichomes mostly persistent when mature, calyx and teeth persistent in fruit. Seeds 0.6–0.7 mm long, pyramidal, raphe covering 33% of the apex of the seed, without tertiary sculpturation, testa golden brown.
Habitat and Distribution: Miconia longidentata is known from mid and low elevation forests in the central portion of the Coastal Cordillera in northern Venezuela, on both the northern and southern slopes above 350 m.
Etymology: This new species is named after its long and persistent calyx teeth.
Taxonomy and Systematics: Miconia longidentata is morphologically similar to two species of Clidemia with anisophyllous leaves found in the Coastal Cordillera in Venezuela: Clidemia farinasii Wurdack (1964a: 211) and C. flexuosa (Triana 1871: 141) Cogniaux (1891: 1103). However it differs from both species on vegetative and reproductive characters, notably on inflorescence size, stem, hypanthium and leaf pubescence, and the size of the calyx teeth (see table 1). Anisophylly, or the presence of leaves of different size in each pair (Cremers 1995, Dengler 1999), in the Melastomataceae is not restricted to these three species, as it is also found in several other genera. In the Neotropics anisophylly has been reported in some species of Bertolonia Raddi (1820: 384), Blakea Browne (1756: 323), Clidemia, Leandra Raddi (1820: 385), Miconia, Macrocentrum Hook. f. in Bentham & Hooker (1867: 732), Tococa Aublet (1775: 437), and Triolena Naudin (1850: 308), and in all three species of Maieta Aublet (1775: 443) (Cremers 1995, Muelbert et al. 2010). The degree of anisophylly varies greatly among species, and in some cases the smaller leaves may even be caducous or apparently altogether lacking, conferring the plant an apparent alternate phyllotaxis (Cremers 1995). A recent study of anisophylly in selected species of Miconia and Leandra in Eastern Brazil (Muelbert et al. 2010) showed that this character varies greatly even within the same individual, and those authors stated that it may not be of great taxonomic value. However, within the species traditionally placed in Clidemia at least 35 species (including the one described here) show consistently marked anisophylly that does have taxonomic significance. Some of these species also have ant domatia and have been listed elsewhere (Michelangeli 2010). Based on floral and vegetative morphology, as well as on limited sampling of this group in recent molecular phylogenetic studies (Goldenberg et al. 2008, Michelangeli et al. 2008), anisophyllous species of Clidemia do not form a monophyletic group, and this trait has probably evolved several times within the tribe Miconieae. In order to aid the identification of this assemblage of species, we provide a comprehensive list of species of traditionally placed in Clidemia that are consistently anisophyllous, along with their distribution. Conservation Status:—The four specimens known of Miconia longidentata are effectively clustered in two different areas. The area above 350 m bracketed by these two populations delimits a potential extent of occurrence (EEO) of approximately 120 km2. Most of these EEO falls within the Waraira Repano National Park, but parts of the eastern population are outside the park limits. Given the distribution and population sizes, we provisionally assign Miconia longidentata a IUCN (2001) conservation status of Endangered, as defined by the IUCN guidelines (IUCN 2011).