Pilocarpus spicatus var. lealii (Machado) Kaastra

  • Authority

    Kaastra, Roelof C. 1982. A monograph of the Pilocarpinae (Rutaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 33: 1-198. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Rutaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Pilocarpus spicatus var. lealii (Machado) Kaastra

  • Type

    Type. Machado RB 75557, Brazil. Rio de Janeiro: Restinga da Tijuca, 5 Feb 1947, fl & fr (lectotype, RB (fl); isolectotypes, RB 2x, US n.v., WU n.v.).

  • Synonyms

    Pilocarpus lealii Machado, Pilocarpus minutiflorus R.S.Cowan

  • Description

    Variety Description - Branchlets and petioles pubescent with hairs 0.05 mm long, or densely pubescent with hairs 0.2-0.3 mm. Leaves (sub)opposite, aromatic when crushed, pubescent with spreading hairs to 0.3 mm, mainly at base, on principal nerves, and on the margin, the indument often soft to the touch below but occasionally nearly absent there. Racemes often several near tips of branchlets, to 1 cm wide; pedicels 1.5-3(-3.5) mm long, in fruit to 6 mm. Flowers 4-merous, rarely some 5-merous, 4.5-6 mm in diam.; petals 1.9-2.2(-2.5) × 1.3-1.5(-1.9) mm; filaments ± subulate, the tip acute or acuminate, but never truncate; anthers versatile.

  • Discussion

    The flowers of var. lealii are nearly always 4-merous and always stalked. In these characters this variety differs from var. spicatus, which has usually 5-merous stalked or subsessile flowers. Variety lealii is typically a plant from the restinga’s of the Brazilian eastern coasts, whereas var. spicatus chiefly grows more inland.

    Some specimens are in their leaf shape rather similar to subsp, longeracemosus. These specimens are densely pubescent below. Others resemble var. spicatus in the indument of the leaves. On the same locality specimens were collected with the leaves subglabrous below and others with densely pubescent leaves. Intermediate specimens are also known: Lutz 673 and J. G. Kuhlmann RB 53634, for instance. The presence of hairs on disc and ovary is not correlated with the indument of the leaves, neither could other correlations with the indument of the leaves be found. The habitat of hairy and subglabrous specimens is always the same too. Therefore in my opinion there is no reason to create a separate taxon for subglabrous specimens.

    Cowan based Pilocarpus minutiflorus on two subglabrous collections from Cabo Frio. The pedicels of the holotype are rather long: 3-3.5 mm; this is 0.5 mm longer than the range of P. spicatus var. lealii. In the paratypes however, they are postflorally only 2.5 mm long. In other characters P. minutiflorus is similar to specimens of var. lealii with subglabrous leaves; the petals of P. minutiflorus are ca. 2 mm long and therefore not different either.

    The original description of P. lealii: "Petala cum diametro mm 3 usque 3,5. Petala ovatae ..." apparently is an error and should be read as "Flores cum diametro ..." (these measurements apparently were made without spreading the petals). This can be observed from the photo in the protologue and also from the paratypes. Hairy discs occur in subglabrous and in pubescent forms of var. lealii, and the same applies to glabrous discs. The only difference of P. minutiflorus with var. lealii, therefore, is the slightly longer pedicels in one of the original specimens. I suppose that if Cowan had studied authentic material of P. lealii he would not have published his P. minutiflorus. Now I have to reduce this species to synonymy.

    Machado did not designate a type of var. lealii, he only gave a type locality. From that place he collected several specimens and identified them as P. lealii or P. longeracemosus. Apparently I did not see all the collections, because Albuquerque (1968) mentions some more specimens; Machado could also have studied additional collections from other collectors. Because Machado did not designate a type, and since Albuquerque only made mention of a "cotypus": Machado s.n., Restinga da Tijuca, 27 Feb 1947 (RB), Kaastra (1977) selected one of the original specimens of Machado in RB as the lectotype.

  • Common Names

    jaborandi-graúdo-da-restinga

  • Distribution

    Brazil, Bahia and Espírito Santo (rare), Rio de Janeiro; locally frequent in restinga woods on sandy soil. Flowering Feb-May(-Sep).

    Brazil South America| Espirito Santo Brazil South America| Bahia Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America|