Grias angustipetala Cornejo & S.A.Mori
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Family
Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)
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Scientific Name
Grias angustipetala Cornejo & S.A.Mori
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Primary Citation
Brittonia 64: 319 (320-321, fig. 1). 2012
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Type Specimens
Specimen 1: Isotype -- J. L. Clark 7103
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Description
Author: Xavier Cornejo and Scott A. Mori
Type: Type: Ecuador. Esmeraldas: Awá Indígenous Territory, Río Bogotá community (future biological research station), 2 km S of Lita-San Lorenzo road, near quebrada Pambilar, 78°35'60"W 0°58'57"S, 350-600 m, very wet forest with abundant epiphytes, 11 Feb 2003 (fl), J. Clark 7103 (holotype: NY; isotypes: QCNE [2 parts], US).
Description: Unbranched to few-branched pachycaul trees, 3.5-8 m tall × 6-10 cm dbh, the trunk cylindric to base. Stem-bearing leaves 15-30 mm diam. at lowest leaf attachement. Mature leaves clustered at apices of trunk or stems; petioles absent or scarcely developed, the midrib or short petiole hemispherical to suborbicular in cross-section at base of leaf; blades oblanceolate to oblanceolate-spathulate, 100-220 × 17-35 cm, coriaceous, adaxially glabrous, dark-green and abaxially minutely puberulous on midvein and sometimes along secondaries in fresh leaves, pale green, the trichomes not easily seen in dried specimens, punctations numerous, the base long tapering, the margins entire, the apex narrowly- to broadly-obtuse or shortly acuminate; venation brochidodromous, the midrib narrowly carinate for most of length adaxially, longitudinally multi-sulcate abaxially when dry, the secondary veins in 45-65 pairs, 1.4-2.5(-4) cm apart in mature leaves, adaxially plane to slightly impressed, abaxially salient, ± sub rounded, the tertiary veins inconspicuous to prominulous, percurrent, joining secondaries at ca. 90° angles, the higher order venation inconspicuous. Inflorescences cauline from lower to middle part of trunk, racemes very reduced or inflorescences subfasciculate, the rachis 1-5 × 0.8-1.5 mm, bearing up to 4 flowers; floral bracts triangular, 1-4 x 1.5-2.5 mm; pedicels 5-10 × 0.7-1.5 mm, pulverulent to papillose when dry, not observed in vivo, green; bracteoles caducous, no bracteole scars seen on pedicels. Flowers ca. 4-5 cm diam. at anthesis; calyx enclosing bud, then apiculate, at anthesis splitting into 2 to 4 irregular, hemiorbicular to deltoid or ovate, 3-6 × 4-7 mm lobes, the lobes sometimes fused at bases to form rim around summit of ovary, pulverulent to papillose, at least in part, green; petals oblong, widely spreading at anthesis, 2-2.5 × 0.8-1 cm (smaller, ca. 1.3-2.5 x 0.4-0.8 cm, when dry), carnose (when fresh, but membranaceous when dry), glabrous, white or cream to bright pinkish-red at anthesis, the apex acute to broadly-obtuse or rounded and slightly reflexed; androecium actinomorphic, ± orbicularly arranged when viewed apically, the lower staminal tube short, the upper staminal tube longer, flared outward, the stamens 60-80, inserted at three levels, creamish or bright pinkish-red, the filaments reflexed inward at anthesis, carnose, subangular in cross section, the outermost 8-10 mm long, the anthers subterminal (i.e., filaments extend beyond anther) 0.5-0.8 mm long, with introse dehiscence; ovary inferior, turbinate, ca. 3-4 x 4 mm (ca. 2 x 2 mm when dry), glabrous, green, the summit truncate, with red annular disc, the style ca. 0.8 mm long, with 4 stigmatic lobes; ovary 4-locular, the ovules 2-3 per locule, pendulous from near apex of septum, the funicle short, linear. Fruits ellipsoid to obovoid, ca. 7-9 × 4-5 cm, brown at maturity when fresh, on very short pedicels 5-10 mm long, the base broadly cuneate, the apex truncate, the sepals not persistent; seeds one per fruit; embryo white.
Common names: Hoja borrego (Beck et al. 3028), pacora (Aulestia et al. 17, Neill et al. 12486, a name also applied to other species of Lecythidaceae such as Grias peruviana and Gustavia spp.), puri gugj (Tipaz et al. 1494).
Distribution: Known only from the Awá Indígenous Territory and the Reserva Ecológica Cotacachi-Cayapas between 50 and 1800 m elevation in Esmeraldas and adjacent Carchi provinces, northwestern Ecuador.
Ecology: This species is an occasional understory tree of tropical lowland rain forests to montane forests
Phenology: Flowers have been collected in Feb, Apr, Jun and Oct; and fruits have been found mostly during the drier season, in Mar, Jun, Jul and Aug.
Pollination: No observations recorded. Knudsen and Mori (1996) have suggested that some species of Grias are pollinated by beetles, Mori et al. (2010) indicate that Grias purpuripetala may be pollinated by bats, and the yellow flowers of G. neuberthii suggest bee pollination. There are, however, no field studies that support these suggestions.
Dispersal: The fruits of this species have an edible mesocarp which is most likely eaten by mammals that in turn may disperse the seeds.
Predation: The fruits are eaten by squirrels (Aulestia et al. 17).
Field characters: Because the large leaves and pachycaul habit of this species are similar in most species of Grias, the species are difficult to distinguish without using a combination of floral characters, most of which are best seen with a 10x hand lens. Thus, Grias angustisepala can be recognized in the field by its white to reddish-pink, narrowly oblong petals; the outer stamens spreading outward at anthesis; and, by its subterminal anthers with introrse dehiscence.
Taxonomic notes: Because of their similar pachycaul habits, leaves clustered at the stem apex, and short cauline inflorescences Grias angustipetala and G. ecuadorica Cornejo & S. A. Mori are morphologically similar to one another. However, Grias angustipetala differs from G. ecuadorica as well as from the remaining species in the genus by flowers with oblong, narrower petals (0.8-1 cm wide in fresh flowers, 0.4-0.8 cm wide in dry flowers) and by stamens with subterminal anthers with diverging bases and introrse dehiscence, this anther type is also found in G. subbullata and G. ecuadorica. It is the filament apex that extends above the anthers and not the connective. G. angustipetala also differs from G. ecuadorica by the narrower inflorescence rachis (0.8-1.5 versus 3-5 mm wide) and the tendency to have a closer arrangement of secondary veins in mature leaf blades (1.4-2.5[-4] versus 2.4-4 cm apart). The shortly pedicellate flowers of Grias angustipetala resemble those of G. subbullata Cornejo & Mori, another endemic to northwestern Ecuador (Cornejo & Mori, 2011). In addition to the characters mentioned above, the new species is also separated from G. subbullata by its papillose but otherwise glabrous versus densely pubescent hypanthium; different ovary summit colors in flowers at anthesis when fresh (red versus green); and by the plane versus conspicuously subbullate adaxial leaf blade surfaces.
Conservation: Grias angustipetala is known from the Awá Indígenous Territory and the Reserva Ecológica Cotacachi-Cayapas which are part of the Ecuadorian national system of protected areas (Patrimonio de Áreas Naturales del Estado). Due to steady logging and deforestation even in protected areas in western Ecuador, we suggest that this new species be assigned the IUCN conservation status of vulnerable, VU A2c (IUCN, 2001).
Uses: None recorded.
Etymology: The epithet refers to the narrow petals, which distinguish this species from all other species of the genus.
Source: Based on Cornejo and Mori (in press).
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to J. L. Clark and C. Potascheff for allowing us to use their images to illustrate the characters of this species.
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