Carlowrightia ovata A.Gray

  • Authority

    Daniel, Thomas F. 1983. Carloivrightia (Acanthaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 34: 1-116. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Acanthaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Carlowrightia ovata A.Gray

  • Type

    Type. Mexico. Chihuahua: Rocky hills near Chihuahua, 19 Aug 1885, Pringle 695 (GH!, holotype; F!, MO!, NY!, US!, isotypes).

  • Description

    Species Description - Erect to prostrate subshrub to 4 dm high, arising from a stout, woody caudex to 20 mm in diameter or a woody rhizome to 6 mm in diameter. Older stems bisulcate or quadrate, becoming terete with age, 1-6 mm in diameter, glabrate. Younger stems green, bisulcate, smooth to multistriate, 0.5-1.0 mm in diameter, sparsely pubescent in 2 vertical, decussate lines in the grooves between the ridges, the trichomes eglandular, retrorse, 0.05-0.20(-0.50) mm long (strigose), frequently the ridges with similar trichomes, the internodes rarely glabrous, the nodes frequently pubescent with erect to flexuose trichomes, 0.1-0.5 mm long. Leaves ascendent, short-petiolate; petioles 0.2-1.5(-3.0) mm long, pubescent with scattered, flexuose trichomes to 1 mm long; laminas lanceolate to ovate to cordate, (4-) 10-30 mm long, 3-18 mm wide (reduced in size acropetally into flower bearing bracts), mostly (1.0-) 1.5-3.0 times longer than wide, obliquely attenuate to rounded to subcordate at base, acuminate to acute at apex; margins flat, ciliate with trichomes 0.1-0.9 mm long, the longer ones near the base of the lamina; surfaces glabrous to sparsely strigose; several orders of venation prominent. Inflorescence typically consisting of 1 or usually several slender, spicate axes, 3-15 cm long, collectively forming a terminal, leafy panicle. Inflorescence axes pubescent like younger stems. Reduced dichasia solitary or opposite at the nodes of the inflorescence axes, sessile or short (to 1 mm long) pedunculate in the axil of a bract; occasionally the dichasia borne on peduncles to 8 mm long from the upper leaf axils; flowers 1-3 per dichasium, each sessile, subtended by 2 bractlets. Bracts sessile, lanceolate to subulate, 2.5-10.0 mm long, 0.5-4.0 mm wide, pubescent like leaves or frequently more densely so. Bractlets linear to subulate, 1.5-2.5 mm long, 0.3-0.4 mm wide, pubescent like bracts. Calyx 2.5-4.0 mm long, the outer surface pubescent like bracts, the inner surface glabrous to sparsely pubescent with trichomes 0.05-0.10 mm long; tube 0.5-1.0 mm long; lobes subulate, 2.03.0 mm long, 0.5-0.6 mm wide at base. Corolla purple-violet, 9.0-11.5 mm long, sparsely pubescent on the outer surface with trichomes 0.05-0.10 mm long; tube 2.0-2.8 mm long, 1.0-1.1 mm in diameter; upper lip obovate to spatulate, 6.5-9.0 mm long, 1.5-3.0 mm wide, entire at apex; lower lip 6.5-9.0 mm long, the lobes apparently identical in form, oblanceolate to elliptic, 6.0-9.0 mm long, 1.2-3.0 mm wide. Stamens 6.0 mm long; filaments 5.0-5.5 mm long, 0.2-0.3 mm wide at base, glabrous to sparsely pubescent with trichomes 0.05-0.10 mm long; anthers light-colored (yellow?), thecae 0.8-1.0 mm long. Disc 0.2-0.3 mm high. Style 6.0-9.0 mm long, glabrous. Stigma lobes 0.1-0.2 mm long. Capsules 8.0-9.0 mm long, glabrous; stipe 3.5-4.0 mm long; head spherical to partially flattened, 4.2-5.0 mm long (including a terminal beak 0.5-1.0 mm long), 3.0-3.5 mm wide; retinacula 1.0-1.5 mm long. Seeds flat to subconcavoconvex, obliquely cordate in outline, 3.5-4.0 mm long, 3.0-3.1 mm wide, apex rounded; testa papillose to subtuberculate; margins dentate, the teeth with minute retrorse barbs. Flowering. The three collections of this rare species were collected in August and September.

  • Discussion

    Discussion. Considering the apparent close relationship between C. ovata and C. haplocarpa, the floral morph can be assumed to be Type I. As in both C. haplocarpa and C. parviflora, no evidence of a papillate eye was found on the corollas. The number of seeds per capsule varies from two to four in the collections available.

  • Distribution

    Carlowrightia ovata is known only from rocky ledges in the vicinity of Chihuahua at an elevation of 1500-1700 meters. Pringle’s type collection is from hills in the vicinity of the Santa Eulalia Mountains, east of Chihuahua, where I unsuccessfully sought material of this species in August of 1978.

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