Capsicum mirum Barboza, 2022

Barboza, Gloria E., Garcia, Carolina Carrizo, Bianchetti, Luciano de Bem, Romero, Maria V. & Scaldaferro, Marisel, 2022, Monograph of wild and cultivated chili peppers (Capsicum L., Solanaceae), PhytoKeys 200, pp. 1-423 : 1

30. Capsicum mirum Barboza sp. nov.

Fig. 91

Diagnosis.

Capsicum mirum is morphologically most similar to C. cornutum (Hiern) Hunz., but differs in having antrorse pubescence on stems and leaves, longer petioles, a 2-3-flowered inflorescence, shorter pedicels, purple buds, subequal calyx appendages, smaller corollas almost entirely purplish outside and within and longer filaments.

Type.

Brazil. São Paulo: Mun. Bananal, a unos 17 km al sur de Bananal, por ruta SP 247, rumbo a Sertao do Bocaina , 22°45'31"S, 44°23'09"W, 1150 m elev., 26 Feb 2006, G.E. Barboza, E.M. Filippa, A. Gutierrez & G. Bertone 1648 (fl, fr) (holotype: CORD [CORD 00101760], isotypes: BHCB [BHCB 195615], CORD [CORD00101760]) .

Description.

Erect to compact shrubs 1.5-2 (-3) m tall, much branched above, the branches dichotomous, much spreading horizontally and leafy. Young stems angled, fragile, green, densely pubescent with flexuous, antrorse, curved, simple, uniseriate, 4-7-celled, eglandular trichomes 0.3-0.8 mm long; nodes solid, purple; bark of older stems brown, moderately pubescent; lenticels absent. Sympodial units difoliate, the leaves geminate, the leaf pair unequal in size and similar or dissimilar in shape. Leaves membranous, slightly discolorous, green adaxially, pale green with the mid-vein and the secondary veins prominent abaxially, moderately pubescent on both surfaces and margins, abaxial veins densely pubescent with antrorse, curved, 3-6-celled, eglandular trichomes; blades of major leaves 7-10.5 cm long, 2.5-3.5 cm wide, elliptic or ovate, the major veins 5-6 on each side of mid-vein, the base unequal and attenuate, the margins entire, the apex acute to acuminate; petioles 1.4-2.5 cm long, green adaxially and abaxially, moderately pubescent, the trichomes antrorse; blades of minor leaves 4.5-5.7 cm long, 2.5-2.7 cm wide, ovate, the major veins 3-4 on each side of mid-vein, the base attenuate or rounded, the margins entire, the apex acute; petioles 0.8-1 cm long, green, moderately pubescent, the trichomes antrorse. Inflorescences axillary, 2-3 flowers per axil or flowers solitary; flowering pedicels 12-17 mm long, thin, angled, erect to slightly spreading, geniculate at anthesis, green or with purple lines, the youngest purple, densely pubescent, the eglandular trichomes long and spreading, the glandular trichomes sparse, small; pedicels scars inconspicuous. Buds globose to ovoid, purple to strongly purple and green at the base. Flowers 5-merous. Calyx 1.8-2 mm long, ca. 2.5 mm wide, cup-shaped, circular in outline, fleshy, green, strongly 10-nerved, the veins purple, densely pubescent with short antrorse eglandular trichomes, the calyx appendages 10, (1.7-) 2-3.2 mm long, subequal, thin, spreading, cylindrical, green, inserted very close to the margin, densely pubescent with spreading, long, eglandular trichomes. Corolla 6-8 mm long, 11-14 mm in diameter, almost entirely purple, with a thin white margin and yellowish-green centre outside and within, stellate with thin interpetalar membrane, lobed halfway to the base, pubescent adaxially with glandular trichomes (stalk long, 2-3-celled; head globose, peltate, unicellular) in the throat and base of the lobes, glabrous abaxially, the tube 2-3 mm long, the lobes 4-5 mm long, 3.5-4 mm wide, triangular, the margins with short eglandular trichomes, the tips papillate or with short eglandular trichomes. Stamens five, equal; filaments 3-3.2 mm long, white, inserted on the corolla ca. 1 mm from the base, with auricles fused to the corolla at the point of insertion; anthers 1.3-1.6 mm long, ellipsoid, lilac or pale blue, with a broad cream connective before opening, not connivent at anthesis. Gynoecium with ovary ca. 1.2 mm in diameter, light green, globose; ovules more than two per locule; nectary ca. 0.5 mm tall, paler than the ovary; styles homomorphic, 3.5-5 mm long, barely exserted beyond the anthers, cream, clavate; stigma 0.2-0.3 mm long, ca. 0.8-0.9 mm wide, discoid, cream. Berry globose, green when immature (mature berries not seen), pungent, the pericarp with giant cells (endocarp alveolate), stone cells absent; fruiting pedicels 20-30 mm long, pendent and curved, angled, slightly widened at the apex, green; fruiting calyx 3-4 mm in diameter, persistent, not accrescent, discoid, green or purple, the appendages 2.5-3.5 mm long, spreading, straight or slightly curved. Seeds 9-12 per fruit, 2.4-3.2 mm long, 1.8-2.3 mm wide, C-shaped, brownish-black to black, the seed coat reticulate and tuberculate at margins (SM), reticulate with pillar-like outgrowths at margins (SEM); the cells irregular in shape, the lateral walls sinuate, polygonal at margins; embryo imbricate.

Distribution.

Capsicum mirum occurs in a very restricted area in south-eastern Brazil ( São Paulo State) (Fig. 92 ).

Ecology.

Capsicum mirum occurs in small populations in the coastal Atlantic Forests (Mata Atlântica), at the margins of the forest usually in the sun, between 1,100 and 1,300 m elevation.

Phenology.

The species has been collected in flower and in immature fruits (but mature seeds) in February and April.

Chromosome number.

Not known.

Etymology.

The specific epithet comes from the Latin mirus (wonderful, extraordinary), referring to the remarkable beauty of this species given by the colourful corolla and the showy calyx.

Common names.

None recorded.

Uses.

None recorded.

Preliminary conservation assessment.

EOO (1.205 km2); AOO (8 km2). Capsicum mirum is the species with the narrowest extent of occurrence in the genus and with only three collections probably belonging to a single population. The species has been collected in an unprotected clearing of the Atlantic Forest where a continuing decline of the mature individuals has been observed. According to IUCN criteria, C. mirum is proposed as a Critically Endangered species (CR; B1ab; C2a(i)).

Discussion.

Capsicum mirum belongs to the Atlantic Forest clade ( Carrizo García et al. 2016, as C. hunzikerianum ). It is a beautiful species due to its profuse flowering branches (Fig. 91A ), the intensely purple buds and corollas (Fig. 91C-G ) and the long and spreading calyx appendages (Fig. 91E, H, I ). Although C. mirum is a very attractive plant, it has been poorly collected.

Capsicum mirum is morphologically similar to C. cornutum , C. mirabile and C. carassense with which it shares geniculate flowering pedicels at anthesis, stellate corollas, pungent fruits, brownish-black to black seeds with seed coat reticulate and tuberculate at margins and similar habitat. Differences between these species are provided in Table 4 .

Capsicum mirum (as C. hunzikerianum ) resolved as sister to C. schottianum ( Carrizo García et al. 2016). The two species have an overlapping range in São Paulo and their habitats are close enough for the two species to interact. Capsicum schottianum is easily differentiated from C. mirum by its glabrescent to moderate pubescence, greenish-white buds, lack of calyx appendages (or five minute appendages) and mostly white corolla with a different intensity of the purple spots within (Fig. 116B-H ). No intermediate individuals have been found in the area, but intensive field explorations are needed to better understand the range of C. mirum and if it hybridises with C. schottianum .

Paratypes.

Brazil. São Paulo: Mun. Bananal, a unos 17 km al sur de Bananal, por ruta SP 247, rumbo a Sertão do Bocaina, 22°45'50"S, 44°23'35"W, 1150 m elev., 26 Feb 2006 (fl, fr), G.E. Barboza et al. 1649 (CORD); do cruzamento de Bananal rumo à Estacão Ecológica de Bananal, 22°46'55.8"S, 44°22'41.1"W, 1333 m elev., 5 Apr 2018 (fl, fr), J.R. Stehmann et al. 6474 (= G.E. Barboza & R. Deanna 5028) (BHCB).

Figures

Figure 91. Capsicum mirum A plant B flowering branch C bud on geniculate pedicel D flower in pre-anthesis E flower, lateral view F flower, in front view G flower, seen from behind H fruiting calyx I immature fruits. No specimen vouchers. Photos taken in situ by J. Lackey (Associazione PepperFriends).

Figure 92. Distribution of C. mirum, C. muticum, C. neei and C. parvifolium.

Figure 116. Capsicum schottianum A plant B flower buds on geniculate pedicel C flower, in pre-anthesis D-J flowers, in front view, showing variations in the purple and greenish pigmentation of the corolla K, L flowers, seen from behind M flower in lateral view, showing not connivent anthers and style slightly exserted N immature fruits O mature fruit A, C Barboza et al. 1638 B, J, K, M from Barboza 5043 D, G, L from Barboza & Deanna 5019 E from Barboza & Deanna 5017 F from Barboza & Deanna 5029 H from Barboza & Deanna 5018 I, O from Barboza & Deanna 5014 N from Barboza & Deanna 5006. Photos by G. E. Barboza and R. Deanna.