Declieuxia passerina Mart. & Zucc. ex Schult. & Schult.f.
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Authority
Kirkbride, Joseph H., Jr. 1976. A revision of the genus Declieuxia (Rubiaceae). Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 28 (4): 1-87.
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Family
Rubiaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Subshrub or rarely perennial herb 10-40(-55) cm tall with 1 to several erect fastigiately branched stems, the young stems terete and puberulous, the older stems glabrate to puberulous, the internodes 1-6.5(-9) mm long. Stipules reduced to a ridge or rarely absent. Leaves opposite, ternate, or quaternate, sessile, decurrent; blade coriaceous, subrevolute to revolute, narrowly ovate to ovate or rarely to narrowly elliptic, or narrowly elliptic to elliptic or rarely to narrowly subovate, or linear to linear-subulate, apex acuminate to acute, base acute to cordate or straight, 4-13(-14.5) x 0.5-4.5(-6.5) mm, 1.7-6.7 or 8-17.5 times longer than wide, with 1-6 arcuate lateral veins on lower half of blade on each side or none evident, the midrib prominent as 2 ridges or rarely plane, prominulous or plane lateral veins, and intercostal areas glabrous to puberulous above, the raised midrib, raised lateral veins, and intercostal areas glabrous to puberulous below, the tertiary venation obscure or faintly discern-able as closed reticulate. Inflorescences axillary, the flowers solitary or in reduced cymules, 6-7 x 3-4 mm, sessile or subpedunculate, with 1 or 2 flowers, with 1 or 2 reduced axes, the axes terete, 0.2-0.5 mm long, glabrous to glabrate; peduncle terete, (0. l-)0.2-1.8 mm long, glabrous to puberulous, rarely with 2 bracts at apex, the bracts narrowly elliptic, acute at apex, cuneate at base, 4.0-5.5 X 0.5-0.9 mm, glabrous or sparsely puberulous. Flowers heterostylous, sessile or subpedicellate with the pedicels terete, 0.1-0.5 mm long, glabrate to gabrous, dichasial bracts narrowly elliptic, linear-subulate, or rarely linear, acute at apex, (1.1-) 1.6-3.8(-5) x 0.1-0.4(-0.5) mm, glabrous to sparsely puberulous, occasionally ciliate; hypanthium broadly ovate to broadly elliptic to broadly obovate or transversely elliptic in outline, (0.2-)0.4-0.6 X 0.5-1 mm, glabrate to puberulous; calyx lobes oblong to triangular or narrowly triangular, acute to broadly acute at apex, 0.2-0.5 x 0.1-0.2 mm, glabrous to glabrate, sometimes ciliate; corolla blue, salverform, the tube 3-5 mm long, orifice (0.5-)0.7-1.5 mm in diam, 0.3-0.8 mm at base, exterior glabrous to sparsely puberulous, the lobes oblong to elliptic or rarely triangular, apex acute to broadly acute, (0.8-) 1.2-2.3 X (0.5-)0.7-1.3 mm, glabrous or rarely sparsely puberulous outside; stamens with the filaments 0.1-0.3 or 0.6-1 mm long, glabrous, the anthers 0.7-1.3 mm long, glabrous with the apex sometimes minutely papillate; style 2.1-3.2 or (4.2-)4.5-5(-9.5) mm long, glabrous. Fruit with the emargination (0.3-)0.5-0.8 mm, subpedicellate, the pedicel 0.1-0.25 mm long, glabrous to glabrate, the mericarps elliptic to circular or suboblong in outline, 1.4-2.2 X 1.6-2.8 mm, 0.6-1 mm thick, glabrous to puberulous, slightly rugose.
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Discussion
8. Declieuxia passerina Martius & Zuccarini ex Schultes Sc Schultes, Mantissa . . . Syst. Veg. 3: 112, 1827. Declieuxia daphnoides Zuccarini ex Schultes 8c Schultes var minor Müller Argoviensis, Mart. Fl. Bras. 6(5): 433, 1881. Type: Brazil, without locality, Martins pro parte 2346 (holotype M, fragment G). Declieuxia orthophylla Müller Argoviensis, Mart. Fl. Bras. 6(5): 451, 1881. Type: Brazil, Minas Gerais, Serra da Lapa, Nov 1824, Riedel 1000 (holotype LE, fragment G; isotype F). Declieuxia schwackei Schumann ex Glaziou, nom nud, Bull. Soc. Bot. France, Mem. 3: 360, 1909. Based upon Glaziou 19717, Brazil, Minas Gerais, Biribiry près Diamantina, Mar 1892 (C, F, LE, R). Type: Brazil, Minas Gerais, inter Lavras da Pindaiba et S. Domingos Prata in Serra Frio, Jun 1818, Martius 1382 (holotype M, fragment G). Declieuxia passerina is a variable species hybridizing with one or possibly two other species of the genus and occurring in two principal morphological forms. The most common form has narrowly ovate to ovate leaves with 3 to 5 (rarely 2 or 6) pairs of lateral veins, whose surfaces together with the intercostal areas range in pubescence from glabrous to puberulous. The next most frequently encountered form has linear to linear-subulate glabrous leaves without lateral veins. A third form, rarely encountered, has narrowly elliptic to rarely quite elliptic glabrous leaves with 1 or 2 lateral veins. The type collection of D. passerina is of the third type. The type collection of D. orthophylla consists of plants of all three forms. The three forms reach their greatest morphological similarity in this latter gathering. Müller Argoviensis apparently based his description upon that portion of the latter collection bearing narrowly ovate puberulous leaves. A hybrid swarm demonstrating possible introgression was found involving the narrowly ovate pubescent leafed form of D. passerina and typical D. fruticosa minor variant 5 (unpublished data; Kirkbride, 1974). The hybrids are intermediate in morphology and flavonoid composition between D. passerina and D. fruticosa minor variant 5 and show increased pollen unstainability. These hybrids seem best represented by the following collections: Anderson, Stieber, Kirkbride 36403 (from the analyzed hybrid swarm) (BR, F, G, K, LIL, NY, RB, UB, US), 36405a (NY, UB), Serra do Cipó, 1220 m, 20 Feb 1972; Atala 140 (R), 143 (NY, R), Serra do Cipó, 4 Jun 1958; Claussen 241A (BR); Duarte 4599, Serra do Cipo, Chapeú de Sol, Dec 1958, (NY, HB); Irwin, Maxwell, Wasshausen 20125 (NY, UB), 20154 (NY, UB, US), 20154a (NY, UB, US), Serra do Cipó, ca Km 120 (ca 145 km N of Belo Horizonte), 1300 m, 15 Feb 1968; Irwin, Maxwell, Wasshausen 20384, Serra do Cipó, ca Km 105 (ca 130 km N of Belo Horizonte), 1150 m, 17 Feb 1968 (C, F, G, K, NY, RB, UB, US); Kuhlman, Pereira 20, Serrado Cipó, 16 Jan 1951 (RB). A second probable axis of hybridization is represented by 8 collections. The morphological trends within this axis, similar to those analyzed between D. passerina and fruticosa minor variant 5, may be characterized as having: 1) increasing leaf size and internode length, 2) increasing inflorescence size as represented by the number of flowers per inflorescence, and 3) increasing number of lateral veins in the leaves. Declieuxia daphnoides Zuccarini ex Schultes Sc Schultes, Mantissa . . . Syst. Veg. 3: 112, 1827, includes those collections most similar to D. passerina. Declieuxia daphnoides var minor is so similar to the rare third form of D. passerina that it is here placed in synonymy under D. passerina. Declieuxia daphnoides var genuina Müller Argoviensis, Mart. Fl. Bras. 6(5): 432, 1881 (type: Brazil, Minas Gerais, Serro Frio, May, Martins sn (holotype M; fragment G), also represented by the following, Lhotsky sn without locality (W)) and D. daphnoides var glabra Müller Argoviensis, Flora 59(28): 433, 1876 (type: Brazil, without locality, Pohl 865 (lectotype G; fragment of isotype F), also represented by Pohl sn, Goiás (probably incorrect), without locality (BR) and Pohl 3158, Minas Gerais, inter Rio Jequitinhonha et Columbi (W)) are intermediate in some characteristics. Declieuxia imbrícata de Candolle, Prodr. 4: 480, 1830, and Psyllocarpus imbricatus Pohl ex de Candolle, in synonymy, Prodr. 4: 480, 1830, (type: Brazil, Pohl sn holotype G-DC, fragment (G)) are synonymous with D. daphnoides var glabra. The extreme form, least like D. passerina, is represented by D. rhexioides Martius Sc Zuccarini ex Schultes & Schultes, Mantissa . . . Syst. Veg. 3: 112. 1827 (type: Brazil, Minas Gerais, Serra de S. Antonio, Martius 1572 (holotype M, fragment G; presumed isotype W). If the D. daphnoides-rhexioides complex exhibits the same type of variation pattern as shown by the D. fruticosa-passerina hybrids, then the most likely putative parental species, among those sympatric with D. passerina, is D. deltoulea. More field work combined with cytological and artifical hybridization studies are needed to definitely prove the assumptions made here. Decheuxia passerina is most closely related to D. cordigera from which it is separated by axillary inflorescences with 1 or 2 flowers and much shorter axes and the mericarps wider. Declieuxia passerina is more advanced than D. cordigera as evidenced by the complete absence of a stipular lobe and its greatly reduced inflorescences.
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Distribution
Distribution. Known from the southern half of the Serra do Espinhaço. Map 8.
Brazil South America|