Gymneia chapadensis Harley, 2013

Harley, R. M., 2013, Notes on the genus Gymneia (Lamiaceae: Ocimeae, Hyptidinae) with two new species from Brazil, Phytotaxa 148 (1), pp. 57-64 : 61-63

Gymneia chapadensis Harley , spec. nov.

Inter species Gymneiae habitu inflorescentiae et tubo calycis fructificantis infra faucem valde deflexi conveniens, sed a G. platanifolia caulis erectis aut suberectis nunquam decumbentibus radicantibus differt, et ab omnibus aliis speciebus, praeter G. virgatam , foliis in rosula basale, foliis caulinis reductis squamiformis, aut raro pari unico foliorum caulinorum deminutorum, differt. A G. virgata , rosula basale conveniens, sed foliis rosulae persistentibus non marcidis ad florescentiam et lamina foliorum cordata vel ± truncata nunquam attenuata versus basin, et diametro inflorescenciae 2.5−3.0 cm non 1−2 cm distinguenda.

Type:— BRAZIL. Goiás: 19 km N of Alto do Paraiso , ca. 1250 m elevation, 20 March 1971, Irwin, Harley & Smith 32821 (holotype UB! isotypes K!, MO, NY!) .

Subshrubs or herbs 40–80 cm tall, sub-scapose, with one or more unbranched, erect stems from a broadly fusiform, entire, woody, tuberous, woody rootstock or xylopodium?, bearing a rosette of leaves at ground level, not withering before flowering; stems 2–3 mm diam., quadrangular, green with paler angles or sometimes purple-tinged, glabrous or, especially on lower internodes, sparsely hairy, with whitish appressed hairs and scattered sessile glands, on the faces. Leaves opposite; rosette leaves with petiole (0.8–)1.0– 4.2 cm long, angled and up to c. 3 mm diam., often purple-tinged, rather densely hairy and with scattered sessile glands, lamina 4.5–17.0 × 3.5–10.8 cm, broadly elliptic-ovate to elliptic-oblong, membranous, apex broadly rounded to obtuse and usually minutely apiculate, base cordate to ± truncate, margin usually shortly and bluntly lobed and irregularly denticulate or dentate, upper surface mid-green, slightly rugose, rather densely hairy, but not obscuring lamina surface, with coarse, rather broad-based hairs, patent at base and cernuous toward apex, and sparse sessile glands, lower surface pale green and often purple-tinged, densely covered with long, white, slender, curled hairs and numerous, shorter, unequal, stalked and stipitate glands and glandtipped hairs, veins prominent; cauline leaves usually absent or rarely a single pair near base, smaller than and just above rosette leaves. Inflorescence a terminal, erect, spiciform, purple-tinged thyrse, (3.5–)7.5–18.5 × <2.5–3 cm, usually unbranched or rarely with few short branches, of congested verticils or rarely the lowest slightly remote, borne on an elongate scapose stem (flowering stem <50 cm tall), with nodes leafless and bearing minute, scale-leaves, bracts 9–10 × 2–3 mm, linear-filamentous, vinaceous, margins densely ciliate, with long, slender, white, curled hairs <1 mm long, bracteoles similar, 5.5–9 × 1–2 mm. Flowers with pedicels 1.0– 2 mm long, with small hairs and minute gland-tipped hairs and sparse sessile glands, calyx at anthesis 6.3–6.5 mm long, purple-tinged, tube c. 2 mm long, 1.4–1.6 mm diam., narrowly infundibular, with oblique throat and longer on posterior side, thin-walled, externally with long, slender, delicate, white hairs and sessile glands, internally glabrous, sinuses long-ciliate, with long, white, slender hairs, lobes 4.5–5.0 mm long, unequal, with posterior longer, linear-setaceous, calyx in fruit accrescent, with tube c. 5.0 mm long, tubular-ellipsoid, slightly inflated in mid-tube and slightly deflexed below throat, lobes 6.5–7.0 mm long, slightly curved; corolla c. 5.5 mm long, tube 3.5–4.0 mm long, pale, cylindrical, white or cream, posterior lobes cream with deep red spots, often coalescing into a blotch, anterior lip yellowish, stamens with anterior filaments ± glabrous, posterior filaments shorter, hairy; style glabrous, stigma lobes short, stylopodium absent. Nutlets 1.6 × 0.9 mm, oblong-ovoid, glabrous, pale brown, smooth to weakly rugulose, mucilage not found on wetting, abscission scar bilobed, white. ( Fig. 2 ).

This striking new species is characterized by its erect habit, not with sterile stems decumbent and rooting at the nodes as in G. platanifolia , and with a large rosette of leaves at base, which persists over the flowering period, the cauline leaves reduced to scales or rarely with one pair of leaves much reduced. The only other species of the genus with a rosette of leaves is G. virgata , but in that species, the rosette is not persistent at flowering, but withers early, and the leaves are attenuate at the base, and not cordate to truncate. Both G. chapadensis and G. virgata have a spiciform inflorescence which is usually unbranched and densely congested, except sometimes for the lowest verticillaster, but in G. chapadensis the inflorescence spike has a diameter of up to 2.5−3.0 cm, as opposed to 1−2 cm diameter in G. virgata . Other species, such as G. malacophylla (Benth.) Harley & Pastore (2012: 23) , G. ampelophylla (Epling) Harley & Pastore (2012: 23) and G. interrupta lack a rosette of leaves at base of flowering stem, have several pairs of cauline leaves and often have branched or interrupted inflorescences.

Phenology:—All known collections were made in February or March, and were in both flower and fruit.

Distribution:—Known only from the Chapada dos Veadeiros, Goiás State, Brazil.

Additional specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Goiás: Chapada dos Veadeiros, 10 km S of Cavalcante, 1000 m elevation, cerrado, 8 March 1969, Irwin et. al. 24065 ( K!, MO, NY!, UB!); idem, 29 km by road N of Alto Paraiso, 1800 m elevation, 9 March 1973, Anderson et al. 6744 ( K!, MO, NY, UB); idem, Rodovia GO- 118, próximo ao Rio das Almas, entre Teresina e Alto Paraiso , 8 February 1987, Pirani, Harley et al. 1814 ( K!, SPF!); Nova Roma, estrada para Alto Paraiso de Goiás , 13° 50’ 15” S, 46° 58’ 04” W, 24 April 2009, Queiroz, L. P. et al. 14245 ( HUEFS!) .

Note:— Gymneia chapadensis has been known for many years, although only rarely collected. Other species which have been recorded from the area are G. ampelophylla , G. interrupta and G. malacophylla .

Habitat:—The Chapada dos Veadeiros range, about 200 km N of Brasília, is an area of elevated metamorphic sandstones, with marshy areas interspersed with outcropping rocks and savanna habitats with Cerrado, and supporting an extremely rich Campo Rupestre flora, noted for its many endemic species. This species favours more open areas at altitudes of 872–1800 m.

Conservation status:—The species is only known at present from the above four collections. A large part of the region is already designated as a National Park, due to the very high endemism found among the plant species. Nevertheless, the area is subject to frequent fires, and the plant must be considered Critically Endangered, according to IUCN Red List Criteria ( IUCN 2001).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Gymneia chapadensis. A. habit; B. inflorescence; C. detail leaf lower surface; D. detail leaf upper surface; E. verticillaster; F. flower; G. stigma; H. calyx; J. fruiting calyx; K. nutlet. (A, C−K from Irwin et al. 32821 (K isotype), B from Anderson 6744). Drawn by Margaret Tebbs.