Echinoagave nievesiorum A. Vázquez, A.T. Nuño, Cházaro, Padilla-Lepe & García-Mor., 2024

Vázquez-García, J. Antonio, Nuño-Rubio, Ana T., García-Morales, Leccinum Jesús, Lomelí-Hernández, Juan Luis, Cházaro-Basáñez, Miguel. J., Padilla-Lepe, Jesús, Cristóbal-Gabriel, Saúl, Hernández-Vera, Gerardo & Muñiz- Castro, Miguel Á., 2024, Echinoagave nievesiorum (Agavaceae, Asparagales): A new species from the Sierra Madre Occidental, Jalisco, Mexico, Phytotaxa 647 (2), pp. 144-158 : 146-153

Echinoagave nievesiorum A. Vázquez, A.T. Nuño, Cházaro, Padilla-Lepe & García-Mor. sp. nov. ( Figs. 1–4 ).

Type:— MEXICO. Jalisco: Municipio de Bolaños, Cercanías de Las Azucenas , Sierra Huichola , Cerro La Gallina , 21°52’18.20”N, 103°50’23.93”W, elev. 2286 m, con Brahea sarukhanii y Dasylirion acrotrichum (floreció en cultivo en Huentitán El Alto, Guadalajara, 8 años después de haber sido recolectado), April 2021 (fl., bd.), J. Antonio Vázquez-García 10286 w/Ana Teresa Nuño-Rubio & Jesús Padilla-Lepe (holotype: IBUG!).

Diagnosis:— Echinoagave nievesiorum shares with E. rzedowskiana a similar rosette size and cespitose habit, rigid leaves, length of flowers, ovaries, tepal lobes, and size of capsules; however, it differs from the latter by having mature leaves bluish-white to whitish (vs. pale-green to green), narrower at the widest part (12.0– 12.5 mm vs. 13.0–14.0 mm), and narrower at the middle of the leaves (6.0– 6.5 mm vs. 7.0–10.0 mm); leaf sheaths shorter (9.0–11.0 mm vs. 28.0–34.0 mm), triangular and wider at the base (vs. rectangular and wider above the base); inflorescences usually straight and erect, sometimes vertically-curved or geniculate, rarely dropping (vs. usually horizontally-curved, often dropping and sinuous) narrower ovary width (4.5–5.1 mm vs. 5.7–7.5 mm); shorter tube length (5.5–6.4 mm vs. 7.0–10.0 mm); tepal lobes at anthesis converging and tightening the filaments (vs. diverging and not tightening the filaments); larger filament length to flower length ratio (2.0–2.3 vs. 1.8–1.9); fruiting spike narrowly pyramydal thicker (3.5–4.5 cm vs. 2.4–2.5 cm) and denser with the peduncle covered by the capsules and the bracts usually deciduous (vs. cylindroid, slim and lax, with the peduncle conspicuous and the bracts usually persistent); mature capsules broadly ellipsoid with dorsally blackish and opaque valves (vs. broadly ovoid, slightly depressed, with dorsally light brown and shiny valves) ( Table 1 ).

Description:— Perennial, caespitose rosette 35.0–55.0 cm in diameter, 20.0–40.0 cm tall, hemispherical, compact, bluish-white to whitish. Leaves 29.5–32.0 × 1.2–1.25 × 0.2–0.4 cm, sheath length 9.0–11.0 mm, linear-triangular, straight or falcate, rigid, acuminate at the apex, grooved on both surfaces, bluish-white to whitish when mature, green when young; margin non-hyaline, crenate-dentate, 19 teeth per cm; spines 2.5–2.8 × 1.6–2.2 mm; terminal spine blackish at apex, base brown. Inflorescence 130.0–155.0 × 4.3–4.7 cm, usually straight and erect, sometimes curved or geniculate, rarely sinuous or dropping; fertile portion 17.5–38.0 cm, spike narrowly pyramidal dense, oblongoid to obtrullate, truncate at the base and acute at the apex; peduncle bracts 6.5–9.0 × 0.4–0.5 cm, linear, broadest at the sheath base, narrowing towards the apex, needle-like, greyish-white, brown base; flower bracts 2.0–2.3 × 1.0– 1.5 cm, longer than flowers, triangular, caudate at apex, greyish-white. Flowers 65–70 pairs per spike, 21.7–23.5 × 14.0–16.0 mm, funnel-shaped, red to pink; pedicels 2 mm long on fruit. Ovary 7.0–7.8 × 4.5–5.1 mm, cylindrical to fusiform, glabrous. Corolla tube 5.5–6.4 × 10.0–12.0 mm; tepals 4.5–5.5 mm long, adaxially concave, the outer ones wider than the inner ones. Filaments 4.3–4.6 cm long, brown at anthesis then turning purple. Anthers 9.0–12.0 mm long, centric, arched, oblong, and rounded at both ends, brownish to yellow or pinkish-purple. Style 4.5–6.0 cm long, filiform, sinuate to straight. Fruiting spike 18–21 × 3.5–4.5 cm, narrowly pyramidal, covering ¼ of the length of the peduncle, capsules densely appressed hiding the peduncle, bracts usually deciduous. Capsules 0.8–1.1 × 0.8–1.0 cm, broadly ellipsoid, apically dehiscent, valves dorsally blackish and opaque; perianth deciduous. Seeds 3.24–3.53 × 1.68–2.15 mm, laminate, lunate (“D” shape), one of the angles right, the other a cleft, the cleft 0.10–0.25 mm deep, black (Fig. 7).

Distribution, habitat and phenology:— Echinoagave nievesiorum is endemic to Sierra Huichola (Sierra Wixarika), in the Bolaños municipality, Jalisco, Mexico (Fig. 8). It inhabits rocky outcrops on top of the mountains or vertical cliffs, usually found between 2000–2600 m in elevation, on pine-oak forests with some woody species such as Alnus jorullensis Kunth (1817: 20) , Arbutus glandulosa Martens & Galeotti (1842: 533) , Arctostaphylos pungens Kunth (1818: 278) , Brahea sarukhanii Quero Rico (2000: 110) , Comarostaphylis glaucescens ( Kunth 1818: 278) Zucc. ex Klotzsch (1851: 76) , Pinus lumholtzii Robinson & Fernald (1895: 122) , and Quercus gentry Muler (1942: 474) , it may also coexist with a great diversity of herbaceous or shrubby species including Dasylirion acrotrichum Zuccarini (1843: 228) , Agalinis peduncularis ( Bentham 1835: 209) Pennell (1918: 135) , Ageratina sp. , Bletia roezlii Reichenbach f. (1877: 7) , Castilleja sp. , Cuphea sp. , Dalea sp. , Echeveria dactylifera Walther (1972: 179) , Echinocactus sp. , Epidendrum sp. , Eucnide sp. , Gaultheria sp. , Gaura sp. , Graptopetalum amethystinum ( Rose 1905: 11) Walther (1931: 12) , Lamourouxia viscosa Kunth (1817: 338) , Lobelia laxiflora Kunth (1818: 311) , Lupinus madrensis Seemann (1856: 278) , Milla biflora Cavanilles (1793: 76) , Oncidium graminifolium ( Lindley 1840: 384) Lindley (1841 : sub t. 48), Pellaea ternifolia ( Cavanilles 1802: 266) Link (1841: 59) , Penstemon sp. , Phaseolus sp. , Pinaropappus diguetii McVaugh (1972: 373) , Pippenalia delphiniifolia ( Rydberg 1924: 419) McVaugh (1972: 470) , Plantago sp. , Salvia sp. , Sedum jaliscanum Watson (1890: 148) , Seymeria sp. , and Tillandsia sp. Flowering from March to April and fruiting from September to October.

Etymology:— The specific epithet honors the family members of Prof. Gregorio Nieves Hernández, who have contributed notably for over a decade to the knowledge of vascular flora and ethnobotany of the Sierra Wixarika.

Conservation status:— The known geographic distribution of Echinoagave nievesiorum covers an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 54.96 km 2. According to the IUCN Red List Criteria ( IUCN 2022), E. nievesiorum could be categorized as Critically Endangered CR B1+B2ab(ii,iii) due to its EOO <100 km 2 (B1 criterion), and an area of occupancy (AOO) of 16 km 2 (B2) with severely fragmented locations [condition (a)] and an estimated continuing decline of its area of occupancy [condition (b)(ii)], and quality of habitat (b)(iii). Further exploration is required in neighboring municipalities and states to determine if this species may have a wider distribution.

Additional specimens examined:— MEXICO. Jalisco: Municipio de Bolaños, La Toma , Cerro La Gallina , km 20[22] hacia Puente de Camotlán , 16 June 1990 (young fr.), A. Flores M., G. Martínez P. & N.P. Ramos G. 1890 ( IBUG, IEB, MEXU) ; La Toma , 30[22] km NW of Bolaños, 1 July 1991 (young fr.), A. Flores M. & J.M. Flores M. 2734 ( IEB, MEXU, WIS). Cerros cercanos a La Toma , km 17 del camino a Tuxpan de Bolaños , 21°53’N, 103°50’W, elev. 2100–2170 m, 12 March 2001 (fr.), P. Carrillo-Reyes & M. Barba 1515 ( IBUG, IEB) ; Los Alisos (arriba de depósito de agua, “ La Toma ”), Cerro La Gallina , km 22 al NW de Bolaños, rumbo a Crucero Banderitas (Tuxpan de Bolaños-Bajío del Tule), 15 November 2003 (sterile), J. A. Vázquez-García, 7614 w/ G. López D. & M. Mantilla B. ( IBUG), same locality, elev. 2100 m, 8 April 2004 (sterile), J. A. Vázquez-García 7790 w/ M. Cházaro & R. Perez M. ( IBUG) ; Cerro El Gallo , km 29 al NW de Bolaños, elev. 2600 m, rumbo a crucero banderitas, 9 April 2004 (fl. buds and old infructescence) ; J. A. Vázquez-García , M. Cházaro & R. Perez M. 7813 ( IBUG) ; Frente a El Nalgazo, 23 km al NW de Bolaños, rumbo a Crucero Banderitas , elev. 2180 m, 21 October 2022 (sterile), Vázquez-García, González-Villegas & Romero González 10205 ( IBUG) ; Same locality, 29 Octubre 2022 (fr.), J. A. Vázquez-García, J. Padilla-Lepe, A. Prinz, J. L. Lomelí-Hernández, A. Chavarín & S. Cristóbal-Gabriel 10216a ( IBUG) ; El Nalgazo , elev. 2200 m, 29 October 2022 (fr.), S. Cristóbal-Gabriel, A. Prinz & J.L. Lomelí-Hernández 10216b ( IBUG) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Echinoagave nievesiorum. A. Fruiting rosette on top of Sierra Wixárika, Cerro El Gallo, Bolaños, Jalisco. B. Stages of flower and inflorescence development, from a specimen cultivated at Huentitán El Alto, Jalisco, México. C. Miguel Cházaro on Cerro El Gallo, Bolaños, Sierra Wixárika. D. At moist vertical cliffs with Dasylirion acrotrichum and Brahea sarukhanii at El Nalgazo, Bolaños, Photographs:A by M. Chazaro, B by A.T. Nuño-R. (April 2021); C & D by J.A. Vázquez-García (April 2004 and October 2022, respectively).

FIGURE 2. Differences in leaves, spines, margins (upper row), flowers (mid row), and fruits (bottom row) among Echinoagave sp. from Concordia, Sinaloa (A); E. rzedowskiana from San Cristóbal de La Barranca, Jalisco (B); and E. nievesiorum from Bolaños, Jalisco (C). Photographs: Leaves, spines, margins, flowers (A), and fruits (A–B) by L.J. García-Morales; flowers (B) by S. Rosales; flowers (C) by A.T. Nuño-R.; and fruits (C) by J.A. Vázquez-G.

FIGURE 3. Infructescences of three species of Echinoagave: A. E. sp. from Concordia, Sinaloa, Vega-Aviña & Gutiérrez-García 1000 (MEXU). B. E. rzedowskiana from San Cristóbal de la Barranca, Jalisco. C. E. nievesiorum from La Toma, Bolaños, Jalisco, Flores-M. & Flores-M. 2734 (WIS), D. E. nievesiorum from E of Astillero, Bolaños, Calonico-Soto & Flores-Franco 3199 (MEXU). Photographs: A, C & D from the MEXU and WIS herbaria virtual collections; and B by J. G. Morales-Padilla (left), by S. Rosales-M. (central top and right) and by M. Cházaro (central bottom).

FIGURE 4. Map of Echinoagave nievesiorum and morphologically similar species. Different colors represent the biogeographic provinces sensu Morrone et al. (2017).