Gaultheria serrata var. organensis (Meisn.) Luteyn
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Authority
Luteyn, James L., et al. 1995. Ericaceae, Part II. The Superior-Ovaried Genera (Monotropoideae, Pyroloideae, Rhododendroideae, and Vaccinioideae P.P.). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 66: 560. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Ericaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. Brazil. Rio de Janeiro: Serra dos Orgaos, in 1841 (fl), Gardner 5803 (lectotype, here designated, W; isotypes, B, destroyed, photo F neg. 4755, CGE, Fl, G, K, NY, OXF, W).
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Synonyms
Gaultheria ferruginea Hook., Gaultheria x caparoensis Brade ex Sleumer, Gaultheria luetzelburgii Sleumer, Gaultheria organensis Meisn., Brossea organensis (Meisn.) Kuntze
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Description
Description - Mature stems and twigs moderately to densely hirsute with spreading to ascending, basally swollen, straight to crisped, ferruginous, eglandular hairs to 3.5 mm long, glabrate but then scabrous (± punctate) due to remnant hair bases. Petioles hirsute all over. Rachis and pedicels puberulent and also moderately to densely hirsute with hairs similar to those of twigs but to only 2 mm long. Corolla short-pilose, also sometimes short-hirsute to strigose.
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Discussion
Gaultheria serrata is characterized by its nitid, glabrous or setose-hirsute stems; distinctly reticulate-veined, glabrous, more or less elliptic, punctate leaves longer than 2 cm; racemose inflorescences with short-pilose, pink corollas; and southeastern Brazil distribution.
Two varieties are herein recognized whose primary differences lie in the types and distribution of hairs on the stems and inflorescences. The two taxa have previously been referred to as G. elliptica and G. organensis. Gaultheria elliptica was a plant with essentially glabrous stems and puberulent racemes and pedicels, whereas G. organensis was characterized by setose-hispid branches, racemes, and pedicels. However, even in the protologue of G. organensis, Meisner (1863: 153) mentioned that perhaps this plant was merely a variety of G. ellipticaW. J. Hooker (1853: t. 4697) described G. ferruginea (sensu Hooker; =G. serrata var. organensis sensu this treatment) from a plant raised from seed sent by Gardner from the Organ Mountains, Brazil, as a morphologically variable species. He also stated that he would not be surprised if many of the plants (of Gaultheria) from the Andes of South America to Mexico might be the same species as his (G. ferruginea).Sleumer (1952; pers, comm., 1986), Marques (1975) by implication, and Kinoshita-Gouvea(1980), in their strictly regional treatments, all continued to maintain two species- G. elliptica and G. organensis. My more general studies suggest that, given the ephemeral type of morphological variation in these two species (i.e., primarily the presence or absence of setose hairs), the presence of local hybridization in the Brazilian taxa (see below), the presence of tiny, gland-tipped setae on the stems or scattered along the rachis and/or pedicels of some specimens of G. elliptica, and the apparent ecological and geographical overlap, I feel it is biologically more meaningful to recognize only a single species with two varieties. In 1952, Sleumer described two species of hybrid origin, viz., G. ×luetzelburgii and G. ×caparoensis, which involved putative crosses with G. organensis. Sleumer felt that G. x luetzelburgii was a cross between G. willisiana (here recognized as G. eriophylla var. eriophylla) and G. organensis, and G. x caparoensis between G. eriophylla (var. eriophylla as treated herein) and G. organensis. He based these conclusions primarily on the presence of the tomentose indumentum in the hybrids somewhat similar to but much less dense than that found in G. eriophylla. The putative hybrids are rare and scattered, however, and no hybrid swarms are known. Burtt (1955) reduced G. willisiana to synonymy under G. eriophylla and thereby concluded that these two hybrids represented the same interspecific cross. Furthermore, Burtt stated that G. × luetzelburgii morphologically tended toward G. organensis and G. × caparoensis toward G. eriophylla- observations with which I concur. There is no question that the "luetzelburgii" type of indumentum is atypical in G. serrata var. organensis and that that of "caparoensis" (i.e., minutely gland-tipped in the inflorescence), may indicate further introgression with G. erecta. In fact, there really is very little evidence for the hybrid nature of these plants- G. eriophylla is not yet found at either Serra do Capara6 nor Serra da Bocaima, from which "caparoensis" comes-and, in any event, neither putative cross is common enough (nor important enough) that the names ought to become established.The oldest epithet for this species, Andromeda serrata, was published by Vellozo in his Flora Fluminensis (1829) and figured in his Icones (1831). Because of the difficulty in tracing Vellozo’s original material, a formal transfer to Gaultheria never took place until Sleumer related the history of the plant to Dr. Luiza Sumiko Kinoshita-Gouvea and myself. According to Sleumer (pers, comm.), no type specimen was preserved by Vellozo. However, J. G. Kuhlmann told Sleumer (in 1949) that the original drawings, done in silver pencil and from which t. 95 of the Icones was made, were still preserved [at that time] in a “convento” in Rio de Janeiro, but apparently no one cared for them and so they were inaccessible. Therefore, Dr. Kinoshita-Gouvea made the proper combination, in Gaultheria, in her thesis (Kinoshita-Gouvea, 1980), and it was subsequently validly published 1989 (cf. Luteyn, 1989a: 16).The photo of the Berlin holotype of G. elliptica bore the collection number Sellow 823. None of the other extant Sellow collections bears a number. The HAL sheet, however, bears in Chamisso's handwriting the annotation "Gaultheria elliptica N" exactly in the same hand and manner as on the Berlin sheet, indicating that Chamisso saw this sheet. Therefore,I selected it as the lectotype.Gaultheria serrata var. organensis occurs throughout the entire range of the species, whereas var. serrata occurs only in the northern half. The two are sympatric (at least the general area of collections is similar) in the area of Serra de Caparao (Minas Gerais-Espírito Santo border area) and Serra da Bocaima (São Paulo). At both of these localities, as well as Serra dos Orgãos (Rio de Janiero), where only var. organensis occurs, there is also G. eriophylla var. eriophylla; here putative hybrids between them have been found.For a discussion of the relationships of G. serrata, see G. reticulata. -
Common Names
urze dos órgãos
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Objects
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Distribution
Minas Gerais to Santa Catarina at 1000-2650 m elev.
Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Paraná Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| Santa Catarina Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America|