Lundia laevis Kaehler
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Authority
Kaehler, Miriam. 2011. A new species of
(Bignoniaceae) from the Brazilian Amazon. Brittonia. 63 (4): 461-464. -
Family
Bignoniaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Latin Diagnosis - Liana caule, folíolo calyceque glabrescenti, calyce tubulari, corolla anguste infundibuliformi alba vel rosea, staminum filamentis glabris, gynoecii stylo pubescenti et stigmate rotundo pubescenti. Ad Lundiam erionema proxime accedit, sed calyce non calyptrato corollaque anguste infundibuliformi et stigmate rotundo recedit. Etiam ad L. corymbifera accedit, sed caule, folíolo calyceque glabrescenti, calyce tubulari et stigmate rotundo a hac recedit.
Description - Liana, 3-10 m high. Young branchlets terete, striate, sparsely lenticellate, glabrous (sometimes puberulous), trichomes glandular lepidote (sometimes also simple unicellular), interpetiolar ridge absent, bark with patelliform interpetiolar glands. Prophylls broadly triangular, shortly apiculate, puberulous at the apex. Petiole 1.5-2 cm, petiolules 0.8—1.2 cm, usu ally equal (sometimes not equal) between them, glabrous (sometimes puberulous), trichomes simple multicellular and glandular lepidote. Leaves bifoliolate (sometimes trifoliolate), ten drils simple, primary venation basal actino dromous with 3(—5) veins, secondary venation brochidodromous, tertiary venation randomly reticulate, with domatia type trichome tufts in the axils of the veins, leaflets ovate (sometimes elliptic), apex short-acuminate, base cordate (sometimes rounded ) asymmetric, 6-7 cm long, 3-3.5 cm wide, margin entire (sometimes revolute), chartaceous, the abaxial surface glabrescent (sometimes puberulous at the margin), the adaxial surface glabrescent, the trichomes on the both laminar surfaces simple multicellular and glandular lepidote, patelliform glands evenly distributed on the laminar surface. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, a conical dichasium, with two orders, first order 0.5-1.2 cm, second order 0.2-0.4 cm, floral pedicel 0.3-0.5 cm, axis of the inflorescence glabrescent, trichomes glandular lepidote, bracts of the inflores cence persistent, narrow triangular, 1.8 2.5 mm, not apiculate, floral bracts broadly triangular, 0.3-1 mm long. Calyx 4-6 mm when open, 3-4 mm wide, tubular, pale green to pale yellow, shortly apiculate, lobes 0.2-0.5 mm long, the calyx base and apex chartaceous, calyptrate, the aper ture transverse, glands patelliform. Corolla 3-4.2 cm long, 0.9-1.3 cm wide at the opening of the tube, white outside (some times pale pink) and yellow inside, the tube narrow infundibuliform 2.2—2.5 cm long, lobes straight (sometimes crenulate), the upper lobes 0.7-0.9 x 0.8-1.2 cm, the apex of the upper lobes rounded (sometimes shortly acuminate) and the lower lobes rounded, internally glabrous at the top of the tube, velutinous to villous at the base, trichomes glandular capitate long- and short stalked, with pale pink nectar guides, trichomes on the nectar guides glandular capitate, short stalked. Stamens attached at the same height from the base of the corolla, 0.3-0.5 cm from the base, shorter filaments 0.8-0.9 cm long, longer filaments 1.3-1.5 cm long, the filaments glabrous, the staminode 0.3-1.6 mm (sometimes not visible), placed at 0.2-0.3 cm from the base, glabrous (sometimes puberulous at the apex), anthers 2-3 mm, white when fresh, villous. Pistil 2-2.3 cm, the ovary cylindri cal, 1.9-2.4 mm long, 0.9-1 mm wide, four series of ovules per locule, style 2-2.2 cm, completely puberulous, the stigma round, completely puberulous. Fruit unknown.
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Discussion
Phenology.-Flowering samples collected in May and June. Etymology. -The epithet laevis refers to the smooth aspect of the leaflets and branches.
This species is readily distinguished by the smooth appearance of the branches and leaf lets, which normally lack simple trichomes but are densely covered by peltate secretory trichomes. The calyx is tubular, calyptrate, with a transverse opening, and glabrous. The corolla is narrowly infundibuliform, white or pink on the outside, but always yellow inside, with pale pink nectar guides.
One of the most similar species is Lundia erionema DC., which differs from L. laevis by its non-calyptrate calyx and wide infundibuli form corolla. In contrast, L. laevis has a calyptrate calyx and the corolla is narrowly infundibuliform. Another similar species is L. corymbifera, which has a similarly shaped corolla and leaflets. Lundia corymbifera is distinct, however, by its pubescent leaflets, inflorescence axis, and calyx (vs. glabrescent in L. laevis), and by its campanulate calyx (vs. tubular) and rhomboid stigma (vs. rounded). Despite the morphological similarity, L. laevis is not related to these species. A phylogenetic study of Lundia (Kaehler et al., in prep) recovered L. laevis in a trichotomy, related to two clades that do not include these morpho logically similar species. One of the clades is composed of two species, one endemic to the Brazilian Caatinga (L. gardneri Sandwith) and the other widely distributed in Central America, the Andes, and the Amazon (L. puberula Pittier). The other clade contains five species, all distributed in eastern Brazil (L. damazioi C. DC., L. longa (Veil.) DC., L. nitidula DC., L. obliqua Sond., and L. virginalis DC.).