Bauhinia pansamalana Donnell Smith (1888: 27–28)

Juárez, Pedro, Flores, Rodolfo & Blanco, Mario A., 2018, Bauhinia proboscidea (Fabaceae: Cercidoideae), a new species from Costa Rica and Panama, with notes on B. beguinotii, B. gorgonae and B. pansamalana, Phytotaxa 361 (1), pp. 25-40 : 33

Bauhinia pansamalana Donnell Smith (1888: 27–28) . Casparia pansamalana (Donn. Sm.) Britton & Rose (1930:

216).

Type:— GUATEMALA. [Alta Verapaz]: River banks of Pansamalá and Sacolol, Pansamalá, [ca. 15º28’26” N, 90º18’40” W], alt. 37–3800 ft, June 1885 (fl., fr.), H. von Tuerckheim 681 (holotype: US!, isotypes: GH!, K!, NY!, P!, US!).

Distribution and habitat:— Bauhinia pansamalana occurs on the Caribbean slopes of southern Mexico (Chiapas, Tabasco and Veracruz states), Guatemala and western Honduras, at elevations of 30–1600 m (see also Standley & Steyermark 1946, Wunderlin 1986, Nelson-Sutherland 2008; Fig. 3 ). Available specimens consistently describe the habitat as evergreen montane forest (selva alta perennifolia), and occasionally on limestone-based, rocky soils.

Comments:— Bauhinia pansamalana and B. proboscidea appear to be sister species. Bauhinia proboscidea differs from B. pansamalana in its shorter petioles (1–2 vs. 3–6 cm, respectively), more elongate leaf blades (lengthto-width ratio 2.5–3.3 vs. 1.3–2.8), inflorescences with fewer flowers (1–8 vs. 20–40), longer petals (28–63 vs. 20–25 mm), longer fertile stamen filaments (45–62 vs. 20–25 mm), longer anthers (7 vs. 4–5 mm) and somewhat longer fruits (20–35 vs. 10.7–29 cm). The leaves of B. pansamalana are occasionally bifid to markedly bilobed apically (even on the same plant, as in Pittier 333 US no. 292494), while those of B. proboscidea are either entire or only slightly bifid apically. Also, both species are markedly allopatric.

In his unpublished revision of Bauhinia s.l. for Mesoamerica, Torres Colín (1999) reported the occurrence of B. pansamalana in Costa Rica based on three collections of B. proboscidea (Aguilar 751, Herrera & Fallas 4173 [as Herrera 4173] and Herrera 4204); even his illustration of B. pansamalana was based on a collection of B. proboscidea (Herrera 4204). Because the description of B. pansamalana by Torres Colín (1999) represents an amalgamation of both species, the dimensions reported here for both species are taken directly from herbarium specimens or their images.

According to the classification of tribe Cercideae of Wunderlin et al. (1987), both Bauhinia pansamalana and B. proboscidea belong in series Triandrae Wunderlin, Larsen & Larsen (1987: 14 , characterized by three fertile stamens separated from each other by a staminode) of subgenus Bauhinia section Amaria (S. Mutis ex Caldas 1810: 25) Endlicher (1840: 1318). More recently, Wunderlin (2006: 97) synonymized series Triandrae with series Remotae Wunderlin, Larsen & Larsen (1987: 12) of section Bauhinia .

Conservation status:—The conservation status of Bauhinia pansamalana was previously assessed by Walter & Gillett (1998: 349), who placed it, without an explicit rationale, in the Rare (R) category (based on herbarium records from Guatemala and Mexico only). With an EOO of 43,191.97 km 2, an AOO of 40 km 2, and known from at least 15 localities (10 in Mexico, four in Guatemala, one in Honduras), of which at least two are protected areas (Reserva de la Biosfera Montes Azules in Chiapas, Mexico, and Parque Nacional Cerro Azul, Honduras), our global-level assessment places this species in the Not Threatened (NT) category.

Our national-level assessment for Mexico places Bauhinia pansamalana in the Least Concern (LC) category (EOO= 23,643.92 km 2, AOO= 28 km 2), also considering its occurrence in one protected area. Our national-level assessment for Guatemala places this species in the Endangered (EN B2ab (ii, iii, iv)) category (AOO= 8 km 2); however, we had only two collections with inferred geographical coordinates (we were unable to infer with certainty the precise locality and corresponding geographical coordinates of four other herbarium collections), which made it impossible to calculate the EOO and likely underestimated the AOO. Bauhinia pansamalana has not been collected in any protected area in Guatemala. Finally, our national-level assessment for Honduras places this species in the Vulnerable [VU B2ab (ii, iii, iv)] category (AOO= 4 km 2), considering its occurrence in a protected area.

Additional specimens examined:— GUATEMALA. Alta Verapaz: Between Sepacuité and Secoyocté , 1100 m, [ca. 15º25’59” N, 89º45’07” W], 24 May 1905 (fl., fr.), Pittier 333 ( MO, US [2 sheets]) ; Near Chirriacté, on the Petén highway, 900 m, 9 April 1941 (fl.?), Standley 91659 ( US) ; Near the finca Sepacuite , April 1902 (fl., fr.), Cook & Greggs 581 ( US [2 sheets]) ; Pansamalá , alt. 2800 pp, April 1889 (fl., fr.), Donnell Smith 1631 ( PH, US [2 sheets]) .

Izabal: Along Río Bonita, 30–150 m, 21 December 1941 (st.), Steyermark 41738 ( AAH). HONDURAS. Copán: La Meseta , Lado Sur de la montaña alrededor de la meseta, 12 km al Noroeste de Florida , Parque Nacional Cerro Azul , 1600 m, 15º06’N, 88º55’W, 9 February 1992, Mejía & Hawkins 32 ( EAP, MO). MEXICO. Chiapas: Finca Irlanda, June 1914 (fl.?), Purpus 7302 ( GH [2 sheets, as “ 7203 ”], US) Municipio Berriozábal, La Pera, 1200 m, 16º52’01.5”N, 93º19’39.7”W, no date (fl., fr.), Ortiz Rodríguez 051 ( MEXU) ; Loc. 25 km al E de las Lagunas de Monte Bello , 1 March 1982 (fr.), Cabrera et al. 1826 ( MEXU [2 sheets]) ; Loc. 9.6 km al E de Lago Tziscao y 25 km al E de lagunas de Montebello, 1140 m, 19 February 1983, Torres et al. 2324 ( GH, MEXU, MO) ; Municipio Ocosingo, alrededor del ex-poblado del Charrial , 800 m, 3 December 1976 (fl., fr.), Valdivia 2404 ( MEXU) ; Municipio Ocosingo, Naha, Selva Lacandona , 900 m, 16º56’N, 91º33’W, 30 December 1994 (fl.), Durán 260 ( MEXU) ; Municipio Ocosingo, zona de trabajaderos del viejo poblado Charical, aprox. 10 km desde el puente de Nueva Palestina, Com. Lacandona , 800– 500 m, 16º20’N, 91º15’W, 8 April 2000 (fr.), Paladino & Sánchez 425 ( MEXU [2 sheets]) ; Municipio Ocosingo, Reserva de la Biosfera Montes Azules, callejón de amejoramiento de la zona de trabajaderos del viejo poblado de San Pablo, Nueva Palestina , Comunidad Lacandona , 700 m, 16º50’N, 91º15’W, 2 October 2000 (fr.), Paladino & Sánchez 463 ( MEXU) ; Municipio La Trinitaria, 15 km east northeast of Dos Lagos above Santa Elena , 1000 m, [ca. 16º05’70” N, 90º28’07” W], 29 December 1981 (fr.), Breedlove 56556 ( MEXU [2 sheets], MO). Tabasco: San José Puyacatengo, a orillas del arroyo Ogoiba a 3 km a la der. del CRUSE-UACh, 60 m, 17º33’N, 92º57’W, June 1996 (fl.), Guadarrama s.n. ( MEXU no. 1325866). Veracruz: Municipio Hidalgotit, Río Soloxóxhil entre Hnos. Cedillo y La Escuadra, 150 m, 17º17’N, 94º38’W, 3 April 1974 (fl., fr.), Vásquez et al. V-338 ( MEXU) ; Municipio Minatitlán, lomas al S del Poblado 11, ± 27 km al E de La Laguna , 200 m, 17º14’N, 94º17’30”W, 3 June 1981 (fl.), Wendt et al. 3399 ( MEXU) .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Distribution map of Bauhinia beguinotii, B. gorgonae, B. pansamalana and B. proboscidea, according to the localities of available herbarium collections with geographic coordinates (indicated or inferred, see text).