Tabebuia bibracteolata (Griseb.) Britton
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Authority
Gentry, Alwyn H. 1992. Bignoniaceae--part II (Tribe Tecomeae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 25: 1-370. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Bignoniaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. Cuba. Oriente (Holguín): Sierra de Nipe ad Río Piloto, Wright s.n. (holotype, GOET; isotypes, GH, HAC (as 3037), K (as 3037), NY-fragm.).
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Synonyms
Tecoma bibracteolata Griseb., Tabebuia nervosa Urb., Tabebuia nipensis Urb., Tabebuia furfuracea Urb., Tabebuia subcordata Urb., Tabebuia candicans Borhidi & O.Muñiz
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Description
Species Description - Shrub or small tree, dichotomously branched, the branchlets terete, lepidote, also with long-stalked lepidote trichomes, the peltate apical scale with incised margin, these often caducous leaving the stalk as a straight simple trichome, the branch apices with flexuous multicelled simple trichomes. Leaves 3-5(-6)-foliolate, the leaflets elliptic or elliptic-oblong to obovate, obtuse to acute (rarely subacuminate) at apex (sometimes mucronate), the base generally obtuse, rounded to very broadly cuneate, the terminal 3.5-11 cm long, 1.5-5 cm wide, the basals 2-7 cm long, 1-3.5 cm wide, often asymmetrically subsessile, coriaceous, lepidote with sessile scales above, below densely lepidote with stellate scales, also sparsely puberulous with a mixture of long-stalked peltate trichomes and the stalks of decapitated stalked scales, olive above, whitish to grayish below, slightly rough to the touch at least below, midvein impressed above, the secondary veins brochidodromus and prominent below, slightly impressed above, the petiolules 0.1-2.4 cm long, petiole 3-6.5 mm long, lepidote abaxially, lepidote and with stalked-lepidote trichomes (or their bases) adaxially. Inflorescence once or twice dichotomously branched, often with a flower in the axis of the first dichotomy, sometimes reduced to two or three single flowers, strongly rufescent with a mixture of lepidote scales and stalked lepidote trichomes, usually with one or two linear or subulate bracteoles, these typically 5-7 mm long and immediately subtending calyx. Flowers with calyx irregularly bilabiate, 10-15 mm long, 5-8 mm wide, strongly rufescent from the peculiar stalked-lepidote trichomes, the corolla magenta to dark purple, tubular-infundibuliform, 3-5 cm long, 0.8-1.5 cm wide at mouth of tube, the tube 2-3.5 cm long, the lobes ca. 1 cm long, glabrous outside, the lobes usually sparsely ciliate, the tube pubescent in two bands inside with short trichomes, the ovary (only one examined) tetragonal, linear-oblong, angled, 3-4 mm long, densely lepidote; disk cylindrical pulvinate, 1.5 mm long, 2 mm wide. Fruit linear-cylindric, 8-15 cm long, 6-8 mm wide, densely rufescent, not ribbed, subtended by persistent calyx, the seeds thin, bialate, 4-5 mm long, ca. 20 mm wide, the hyaline-membranaceous wings sharply demarcated from the seed body.
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Discussion
A species easy to recognize by the unusual indumentum of calyx, inflorescence, leaf undersides and twigs. The trichomes rather resemble antheridiophores of a Marchantia liverwort with a peltate cap at the apex of the stalk. The cap, however, often breaks off, leaving an apparently simple trichome. The calyx and inflorescence have a rufescent aspect reminiscent of mainland T. chrysantha and allies, except that they differ in having the rufescence of stellate or dendroid trichomes. Although Urban suggested the affinity of T. nipensis to be with T. brooksiana and of T. subcordata to be with T. sauvallei, both of which differ in lacking the distinctive trichomes of this species, he apparently overlooked the fact that T. bibracteolata has exactly the same trichome type. Alain (1957) differentiated T. nipensis from T. bibracteolata on account of 5-foliolate vs. 3-foliolate leaves and from T. furfuracea and T. subcordata by acuminate vs. acute to rounded leaflets but these characters are clearly not worthy of specific distinction: one of the type sheets of T. nipensis at S has mostly 5-foliolate leaflets with both acuminate and broadly rounded (even retuse) leaflet tips while the other type sheet has only 3-foliolate leaves. Urban’s only comment on the affinities of T. furfuracea was “valde affinis T. nipensis Urb.” to which I can only add “amen.” Together, the two so-called “species” are known from a total of three collections, all from the same locality. T. subcordata, also collected at exactly the same locality and known only from the type is identical—the leaflets of the single leaf of the Stockholm sheet, at least, have rounded rather than subcordate bases. Tabebuia nervosa, also known only from the type, is also from the Sierra de Nipe, but differs from the other “species” here referred to T. bibracteolata only in having a few 6-foliolate leaflets and being sterile; its leaves are only sparsely stalked-lepidote but the midvein is distinctly though slightly puberulous (as well as lepidote) from the persistent trichome stalks. The type locality of T. bibractolata was not specified other than “Oriente” but may well be the same as for the rest of the collections. Tabebuia pulverulenta is very similar to this species and may be no more than a form of it, with less development of the peculiar indumentum and mostly 5-7-foliolate leaves often with narrower leaflet bases. Its calyx and inflorescence dry black, lacking the conspicuously rufescent aspect, though having the same trichome type. Finally, the calyces tend to have noticeable longitudinal ridges, a feature not found in any of the flowering material referred to T. bibracteolata. Another relative is T. polymorpha, known only in sterile condition so that the calyx character cannot be evaluated. Its 1-3-foliolate leaves suggest assignment to T. bibracteolata but the lowland habitat suggests T. pulverulenta. Although the type is only very faintly stalked-lepidote and puberulous, other material from the same locality is more strongly puberulous. All of these have at least a few long flexuous trichomes on the terminal buds.
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Objects
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Distribution
Known only from the Cuban Oriente, from Monte Verde and the Sierra de Nipe.
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