Sapindus drummondii var. glabratus A.R. Franck

Franck, Alan R., 2024, Revision of Sapindus sect. Sapindus (Sapindeae, Sapindoideae, Sapindaceae), including the description of three new species, Phytotaxa 648 (1), pp. 1-71 : 20-21

2b. Sapindus drummondii var. glabratus A.R. Franck , var. nov. (LSID: 77340325-1) ( Figure 7 ).

Type:— MEXICO. Nuevo Leon: valley of Monterey , 17 June 1889, C. G . Pringle 2709 (holotype: MEXU19289 !; isotype: F263142 !) .

Etymology:—For the glabrate leaves.

Description:—Tree, to 20 m tall, bark not observed. Petiole 2–5 cm long, glabrate to puberulent, light green, unwinged; rachis glabrate to puberulent, unwinged or wing to 1 mm wide on one side; leaflets 10–20; petiolule 0–3 mm long, glabrate to puberulent; leaflet blade narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, usually asymmetric to sometimes nearly symmetric, usually falcate to sometimes nearly straight, the apex obscurely acuminate with an acute to blunt tip, 2–8.5 cm long, 0.5–2.5 cm wide, 3.5–13 times longer than wide, adaxially drying green, olive green, to brown-green, glabrous along the midrib, midrib pale yellow to pale green, at mid-blade the ridge 0.1–0.2 mm wide, 0.1–0.2 mm high, the blade even with the midrib base or scarcely sunken along the midrib, secondary veins pale green, tertiary venation prominulous to obscure, intermediate in color between blade surface and secondary veins, quaternary and quinternary venation prominulous to becoming obscure, abaxially drying pale green, glabrate, along the midrib sometimes sparsely curved-puberulent, midrib pale yellow, secondary veins prominent, pale green, tertiary venation prominulous, nearly concolorous with the blade surface, quaternary venation obscure; foveolae inconspicuous to conspicuous abaxially on the blade surface, exudates clear. Petal with 2 appendages. Mature mericarp 10–16 mm wide, seed 6–10 mm wide.

Distribution, habitat, and phenology:—Northern and eastern Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Veracruz) and south-central USA (southern Texas) ( Fig. 3 ), 20– 900 m. Arroyos, deciduous forest, desert scrub, matorral, riparian woodland, and selva baja. Flowering (February) April–June.

Notes:—The leaves of S. drummondii var. glabratus are typically glabrate, often with only few, sparse, curled hairs at the base of the leaflet. The variety is geographically restricted to the southern range of the species. This variety occurs near populations of S. saponaria and S. standleyi . Compared to the prior two species, S. drummondii var. glabratus has foliaceous cataphylls, smaller fruits, petals with appendages, and usually more numerous and smaller leaflets. Unlike S. saponaria , S. drummondii var. glabratus flowers in late spring to early summer. An anomaly is a cultivated specimen (Runyon 5462) of S. drummondii var. glabratus flowering in February from Texas, USA. Unlike S. standleyi , S. drummondii var. glabratus has leaflets that dry to a generally green color and it occurs at lower elevations.

Conservation Status:—This variety should be considered Least Concern, given its relatively large extent of occurrence ( IUCN 2012).

Specimens examined:— MEXICO. Chihuahua: near Lake Santa Maria , 7 September 1899, Nelson 6392 ( F) ; Coahuila: Canon Bocatoche , 2 September 1939, Muller 3133 ( F, MICH) . Nuevo Leon: east of Papagallos , 28 May 1847, Gregg 816 ( MO) ; Monterrey , 19 March 1900, Trelease 60 ( MO) ; near Monterrey , July 1933, Mueller & Mueller 92 ( F) ; El Pinto, 8 km al Nor-oeste de Hualhuises, Mpio. de Linares , 460 m, 13 August 1986, Reid 15 ( BRIT) . Tamaulipas: Talus slope, La Morita, vicinity of Marmolejo , 3 August 1930, Bartlett 10808 ( F, MEXU, MICH) ; Jaumave , 1932, Rozynski 391 ( F) ; Novilla Canyon , WSW of Cd. Victoria, 5 May 1953, Martin 152 ( MICH, VT) ; 30 kms al NE de Soto la Marina , 23 December 1964, Medrano 887 ( F, MICH) ; Villa Mainero Mpio., 14 km SW de Villa Mainero, 670 m, 3 May 1969, González-Medrano & Sánchez 2327 ( MEXU) ; Rancho Vista Hermosa en Garza Valdez , 16 April 1981, Villarreal Q. s.n. ( BRIT) ; Mun. San Nicolás, Puerto La Sardina, ca. 25 km por tierra al NE de Sn Carlos hacia Sn Nicolás , 24° 43’ N, 98° 54’ W, 870 m, 17 May 1994, Martínez & Martínez 2347 ( MEXU) . Veracruz: Palo Gacho, municipio de Dos Rios , 300 m, 10 August 1971, Ventura A. 3844 ( BRIT, MICH) ; Tantima Mpio., Sierra de Tantima , 21° 17’ N, 97° 51’ W, 23 August 1979, Calzada 5551 ( F) ; Vega de Alatorre Mpio., Sta. Gertrudis , 20 July 1981, Ortega O. et al. 1889 ( F, MEXU) ; Tramo Almolonga a Trapiche del Rosario, Carretera para La Concepcion a Actopan , Mun. Actopan , 19° 34’ N, 96° 48’ W, 500 m, 28 April 1980, Calzada 5938 ( MEXU) . USA. Texas: Cameron County: Brownsville , 10 February 1936, Runyon 5462 [cultivated] ( BRIT) . Hidalgo County: along the Rio Grande, 8 mi. so. of Alamo , 4 April 1933, Clover 779 ( MICH) ; along the Rio Grande at Hidalgo Park and Dam , SSW of McAllen, 10 December 1998, Schotz & Schotz 1689 ( BUF) . Webb County: Laredo, Victoria Street , 28 April 1962, Zertuche 29 ( BRIT) .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Native distribution of cited specimens of Sapindus in the Americas and eastern Oceania (cultivated or naturalized occurrences are not mapped). Longer names of some taxa are abbreviated, i.e. S. drummondii var. drummondii (abbreviated as drum. var. drum.), S. drummondii var. glabratus (drum. var. glabratus), S. saponaria subsp. jardinianus (sap. subsp. jard.), and S. saponaria subsp. saponaria (sap. subsp. sap.), The symbol for the occurrence of S. saponaria subsp. jardinianus in Hawaii is placed beside Hawaii on the map.

FIGURE 7. Sapindus drummondii var. glabratus, clockwise from top-left: fertile branch (Pringle 2709, cortesía del Herbario Nacional de México [MEXU], Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), adaxial side of petal with white arrow pointed at one appendage (Pringle 2709, F), leaflet adaxial surface (Pringle 2709, F), leaflet abaxial surface (Pringle 2709, F), and petiole base (Pringle 2709, F).