Cinchona antioquiae L.Andersson

  • Authority

    Andersson, Lennart. 1998. A revision of the genus (Rubiaceae--Cinchoneae). Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 80: 1-75.

  • Family

    Rubiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Cinchona antioquiae L.Andersson

  • Description

    Latin Diagnosis - Arbor ad 18 m alta ramis juvenibus ± dense pubescentibus. Stipula 1.1-1.5 cm longa; petiolus ± puberulus vel villosulus, (0-)0.9-4 cm longus, saepe debiliter definitus; lamina in sicco chartacea, obovata, longitudine vulgo 2plo ad 3plo latitudine, ad basin cuneata vel attenuata, ad apicem rotundata ad obtusa, vel obtuse acuminata, 8.5-23 X 2.6-13 cm, adaxiali pagina impolita, glabra, vel costa et venis parce villosulis, abaxiali pagina costa et venis ± puberulis vel hirtellis et pagina interstitiali glabra vel puberula ad hirtella, domatia desunt. Calyx 1.7-3.7 mm longus lobis 0.4-1.3 mm longis; corollae tubus 14-21 mm longus intus glaber, lobi 4.6-7.1 mm longi; ovarium dense pubescens. Capsula ± cylindrica, 15-47 X 5-8 mm, endocarpio tenui chartaceo. Semina 10-14 X 1.6-2.9 mm ala inclusa.

    Species Description - Shrub, or tree to 18 m tall and >15 cm dbh. Young branches ± densely pubescent. Stipules densely (at base) to sparsely pubescent, 1.1-1.5 X 0.6-1.3 cm; petioles (0-)0.9-4 cm long (often rather poorly defined), ± puberulous or villosulous; leaf blades chartaceous when dry, 8.5-23 X 2.6-13 cm (often larger on vegetative shoots), obovate (length:width ratio 1.7-3.3), cuneate or attenuate at base, rounded to obtuse or bluntly acuminate at apex, secondary veins 7-11 pairs, level to prominulous above, prominulous beneath, tertiary venation level to slightly impressed above, prominulous beneath, adaxial surface matte, glabrous, or midrib and secondary veins sparsely villosulous, abaxial surface ± puberulous or hirtellous on veins beneath, often also on intervenous surface, margin slightly revolute, domatia absent (or very indistinct, pouch-shaped). Inflorescence axes ± densely pubescent. Calyx 1.7-3.7 mm long with lobes 0.4-1.3 mm, sparsely to rather densely pubescent outside, sericeous inside, at least at base, with hairs >0.5 mm long, without colleters; corolla pinkish or purplish, tube 14-21 mm long, glabrous inside, lobes 4.6-7.1 mm long; filaments attached 4-6 mm (ca. 30-40% of tube length) above base of corolla tube in short-styled flowers, 8-10 mm (ca. 50-60% of tube length) in long-styled ones, 4-4.7 mm long in short-styled flowers, 0.7-4 mm in long-styled ones, anthers 2.9-5.2 X 0.7-0.9 mm; ovary densely hirtellous or villosulous, 1.3-3.3 X 1.2-2.4 mm; style 2.9-5.5 mm long in short-styled flowers, 1014 mm in long-styled ones, stigmatic lobes 2.3-5.3 mm; disk glabrous. Capsules ellipsoid to subcylindrical, 15-47 X 5-8 mm, acropetally dehiscent, with a chartaceous endocarp ca. 0.15 mm thick. Seeds 10-14 X 1.6-2.9 mm including wing, wing margin sparsely irregularly dentate.

    Distribution and Ecology - Distribution and habitat. Cinchona antioquiae is known only from a small area in the N part of the Cordilleras Occidental and Central, NW Colombia (Fig. 11D). It has been collected at altitudes between 1600-1700 and 2800 m, in forest on steep slopes, at forest edges, and from solitary trees in pastures.

  • Discussion

    Type. Colombia. Border of depts. Antioquia and Chocó: Alto La Unión, headwaters of Río Dauro, 6 km S of Alto El Plateado, 15 km NE of Carmen de Atrato, 05°58’N, 76°05’W, 2600 m, 4 Mar 1944, F. R. Fosberg & E. L. Core 21532 (holotype, NY; isotype, S). Judging from its matte upper leaf surface, absence of domatia, comparatively large inflorescence, short-lobed calyx, narrowly cylindical capsules with thin endocarp, and oblong seeds, C. antioquiae is rather closely related to C. pubescens, and it has usually been misidentified as C. pubescens in herbaria. Cinchona antioquiae differs from C. pubescens in having chartaceous (vs. ± papyraceous) leaf blades, which are obovate (vs. ovate, elliptic or oblong to suborbicular) and usually proportionally narrower (length:width ratio 1.7-3.3 vs. 1.1-2.1), in having the calyx distinctly sericeous inside, with hairs mostly >0.5 mm long (vs. glabrous, or with a few scattered hairs <0.2 mm), and usually larger corollas (corolla tube 14-21 vs. 8.8-14 mm long). Colombian collections of C. pubescens usually have a hirtellous disk, whereas the disk of C. antioquiae is consistently glabrous.