Fleischmannia neei H. Rob., 2015

Robinson, Harold, 2015, The genus Fleischmannia in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay (Eupatorieae, Asteraceae), PhytoKeys 57, pp. 61-92 : 74-75

Fleischmannia neei H. Rob. sp. nov.

Type.

Bolivia: Santa Cruz, Prov. Florida, along road from Santa Cruz to Samaipata, gorge of Río Laja, 1 km W of bridge over Río Colorado in Bermejo, sandy areas along river, in semi-deciduous short forest, 18°08'S, 63°19'W, alt. 900 m, herb, heads light violet, 9 Aug 1987, M. Nee 35613 (NY, US). (Figure 5 ).

Description.

Erect to scrambling perennial herbs to 1.2 m tall, stems terete, scarcely striate when dry, weakly puberulous to glabrate or glabrous; branches spreading at ca. 45 to nearly 90° angles; leaves opposite; petioles slender, 0.3-1.7 cm long, finely puberulous; leaf blades ovate, 2.3-6.5 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, base broadly rounded, scarcely acuminate at petiole, margins of lower leaves with teeth often sharply acute, apex short to narrowly acute, adaxial surface mostly glabrous, slightly shiny, abaxial surface slightly paler, puberulous on larger veins, mostly glabrous between; triplinervate from base of blade, larger veins whitish. Inflorescence a lax pyramidal panicle with mostly elongate, opposite, spreading branches, bearing small clusters of heads at tips; below and in inflorescence with small foliiform bracts on main axis; axis and branches of inflorescence glabrous or nearly so; peduncles 3-7 mm long, glabrous. Heads narrowly to broadly campanulate, 6 mm high, ca. 4 mm wide; involucral bracts ca. 25 in ca. 5 series, gradate,1-4 mm long, 0.3-1.0 mm wide, with narrowly scarious margins and apex, most basal bracts narrowly ovate, inner bracts oblong with obtuse apices, outer surfaces glabrous; florets ca. 17 in a head, corollas pale violet or pink, 2.0-2.3 mm long, basal tube ca. 0.4 mm long, throat 1.5-1.7 mm long, lobes ca. 0.3 mm long with few uniseriate hairs outside; anther thecae ca. 0.5 mm long, apical appendage ca. 0.15 mm long; style branches not broader distally. Achenes ca. 1.8 mm long, ribs sparsely setiferous above scabrid below, not or scarcely paler; pappus white, bristles ca., 30, ca. 2 mm long, not broader at base, not contiguous, fragile,

Paratypes: Bolivia: La Paz, Noryungas, Polo-Polo bei Coroico, alt. 1100 m, Oct-Nov 1912, Otto Buchtien 3934 (US); La Paz, Prov. Nor Yungas, 4.5 km below Yolosa, then 0.7 km W on road to Río Huarinilla, 16°12'S, 67°45'W, elev. 1200 m, ford across Río Coroico, corollas lavender, 14 Nov 1982, J.C. Solomon 8909 (MO, US); Santa Cruz, Prov. Ichilo, Parque Nacional Amboró, ca. 15 km (SE) up the Río Pitasama from the Río Surutú, moist tropical forest on lower montane slopes, sandstone, elev. 700 m, 17°44'S, 63°40'W, corollas pink, growing on dry, grassy cliff face, 28 Aug. 1985, J.C. Solomon & S. Urcullo 14129 (MO, US); Santa Cruz, Prov. Florida, 10 km (by road) W of Bermejo, on road from Santa Cruz to Samaipata, brushy hillsides, grazed, with semi-evergreen forest, 18°09'S, 63°42'W, alt. 1150 m, 1 m tall, flowers pale violet. 6 Aug. 1987, M. Nee & C. Coimbra S. 35527 (NY, frag. US); Santa Cruz, Prov. Florida, steep slopes with semi-deciduous forest, along nearly dry tributary to Río Bermejo, 1.5 km NW (upstream) from junction with Río Piojeras to form the Río Piraí, 18°11'S. 63°34'W, alt. 800 m, herbs to 1.2 m tall, leaves shiny above, buds only or a few pale lavender flowers, 13 July 1994, M. Nee 45188 (NY, US); Santa Cruz, Prov. Florida, slopes of massive red sandstone along highway from Santa Cruz to Samaipata, 6.2 km (by road) from bridge over Río Laja, 18°09'S, 63°43'W., alt. 1230 m, herb, flowers light lavender, 12 July 1998, M. Nee & D. Atha 50086 (NY, US).

Fleischmannia neei is most distinct among Bolivian members of the genus by the glabrous branches of the inflorescence. The Buchtien collection was annotated by Rusby as Eupatorium polopolense B.L. Robinson, probably because of the locality. Many of the other specimens were subsequently also given that name. Typical Fleischmannia polopolensis differs obviously in its large denser corymbiform inflorescence and its densely puberulous peduncles. Relationship of the new species might seem much closer to the newly described Fleischmannia steinbachii , with which it cooccurs in Santa Cruz, but the latter again has densely puberulous peduncles, more pubescent leaf surfaces, and lacks larger acute teeth on the margins of the lower leaves. An additional distinction of the new species seems to be the shorter corollas and much shorter anther thecae.

The new species also resembles the newly described Fleischmannia hatschbachii of Mato Grosso, Brazil, but that has thinner branches in the inflorescence, more pilosulous leaves and white corollas.

Figures

Figure 5. Fleischmannia neei H. Rob., holotype (US).