Eschweilera rotundicarpa Batista & S. A. Mori, 2017

Batista, Juvenal E. & Mori, Scott A., 2017, Two New Species of Eschweilera (Lecythidaceae) from rainforest on the Caribbean slope of Panama, Phytotaxa 296 (1), pp. 41-52 : 46-49

Eschweilera rotundicarpa Batista & S. A. Mori sp. nov. ( Fig. 4–6 )

Eschweilera rotundicarpa differs from all other species of Eschweilera in combining leaf blades 4.5–11 × 1.7–6.7 cm, elliptic; pedicel/ hypanthium zone 4–7 mm long; flowers with calyx lobes ovate, 1.5–2 × 1–1.5 mm; androecial hood triple coiled; globose fruits, infracalycine zone olive greenish, lenticellate (smooth white spots) and seeds with aril spreading.

Type: — PANAMA. Provincia de Coclé, Corregimiento El Harino, Parque Nacional General de División Omar Torrijos Herrera, sendero de la Quebrada Yaya (Sendero Los Monos), 8°40’04” N 80°35’53” W, 717 m., 22 September 2014, J. Batista G., A. Es pinosa & J. Monte negro 1085 (holotype: PMA!; isotypes, MO!, NY!, SCZ!, UCH!).

Canopy trees, to 25–30 (–40) m × 24.8–70 cm, buttresses present, 1–3 m tall. Bark dark-brown to light-brown, sometimes peeling in irregular pieces, lenticels brownish-white ( Fig. 4 ). Leaves: petioles to 4–7 mm, terete, canaliculate adaxially; blades 3.1–11 × 1.2–6.7 cm, glabrous, elliptic, chartaceus, with conspicuous, crowded, reddish punctation abaxially (visible without magnification), the base cuneate to obtuse, the margins entire to slightly crenulate, the apex acuminate to acute; secondary veins in 8–14 pairs ( Fig. 3 ), slightly elevated adaxially, visible without magnification. Inflorescences from branches below leaves (ramiflorous), axillary, or terminal (suprafoliar), once branched to unbranched, the principal rachis 4–7 cm long, puberulous (flowers) to glabrous (fruit), sparsely lenticellate; pedicel/hypanthium 4–5 mm long., cylindrical to articulation, puberulous, sparsely lenticellate, lenticels cream ( Fig. 5 ). Flowers 2–3 cm. diam.; hypanthium puberulous, tapered to articulation; calyx with six lobes, ovate, 1.5–2 × 1–1.5 mm, horizontally oriented at anthesis, the bases not imbricate to slightly imbricate; six petals pale yellow, 9–15 × 8–12 mm.; androecial hood with triple coil, intense yellow, ligule 14–16 mm ( Fig. 5 ), ovary with two locules and 3–4 ovules per locule. Fruits globose, woody but thin-walled, greenish-brown when fresh, brown when dry, 3.2–4.5 (including operculum) × 3–4.5 cm. diam; calycine ring visible, remnants of calyx-lobes usually visible, sometimes not persistent; supracalycine zone erect, brownish-cream, infracalycine rounded, olive green and hypanthium short smooth lenticellate, white when dry (white spots). Operculum convex, without an umbo in mature fruits. Seeds globose, 2.2–3.2 × 2.2–3.4 cm, 1–4 per fruit, aril spreading, white-colored, funicle long and flat, 2–2.5 × 0.2–0.25 cm. ( Fig. 6 ).

Etymology: —The specific epithet refers to the globose fruits.

Distribution: —This species has been collected in Central Panama, Cordillera Central (Talamanca Mountains), in General de División Omar Torrijos Herrera National Park, Coclé Province and Valle Grande, Donoso District, Colón Province ( Fig. 7 ).

Habitat and Ecology: —Canopy tree, growing in cloud forests conserved at elevations 700–900 meters above sea level and lowland rainforest at elevations 200–300 meters above sea level ( Fig. 8A, 8B ).

Phenology:—Collection of flowers have been made in October to February and fruiting has been documented from May, June to August.

Conservation Status: — Eschweilera rotundicarpa is know from collections at MO, NY, PMA, comprising two general localities: The General de División Omar Torrijos H. National Park, sendero Los Monos, and a single collection ( Batista 1661) from the Valle Grande lowland rainforest, inside of the Copper Mine concession in Donoso District, Colón Province. Based on the IUCN (2001) criteria this species is considered: Critically Endangered (CR) with AOO 8.0 Km 2 [CR B2 ab(ii,iii,iv)]. The population which is within the copper mine will be severely affected by loss of habitat due to deforestation; the other population is protected by the national park, but is very close to the mine.

Discussion: — E. rotundicarpa is part of the E. integrifolia clade.Additional information and images of this species can be viewed on the Lecythidaceae Pages ( Mori et al., 2010) by consulting the following collections: E. rotundicarpa ( Batista G. et al. 1085, 1268, 1661). E. rotundicarpa grows in the cloud forest in General de Division Omar Torrijos H. National Park and lowland rainforest in Donoso, Colon. This species is similar to Eschweilera aguilarii S. A Mori (2007:111) from lowland rainforest of the Peninsula de Osa and Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica and Yoro, Honduras. However, leaves of the latter species have elliptic-lanceolate to elliptic blades 10–15 × 3–5 cm, apex short to long acuminate, 11–13 secondary veins; pedicel/hypanthium zone 5–9 mm; inflorescence rachis 2.5–8 cm, unbranched to weakly branched, strongly puberulous (vs. elliptic blades 4.5–11 × 1.7–6.7 cm, apex acuminate to acute, 8–14 secondary veins; pedicel/hypanthium zone 4–5 mm: inflorescence rachis 4–7 mm, once branched to unbranched, slightly puberulous to glabrous in E. rotundicarpa ). Eschweilera panamensis Pittier (1927:12) is likewise very similar to E. rotundicarpa (particularly in term of flower morphology) which grows in lowland rainforest of the Caribbean slopes from Panama and the Pacific slopes in the Peninsula de Osa from Costa Rica. The later species has leaf blades elliptic to oblong 15–21.5 x 6–8 cm, secondary veins in 16 pairs, inflorescence rachis 5–7.5 cm, fruits depressedglobose (vs. leaf blades elliptic, 4.5–11 × 1.7–6.7 cm, 8–14 pairs of secondary veins, inflorescence rachis 4–7 cm and fruits globoses in E. rotundicarpa ). E. aguilarii and E. panamensis belongs to E. integrifolia clade, and on the basis of morphology, E. rotundicarpa , likely has well according to (Huang et al.), 2015, see introduction.

Additional specimens examined (Paratypes): — PANAMA. Corregimiento el Harino, Parque Nacional General de División Omar Torrijos Herrera, El Copé, Unidad de muestreo 3598, Parcela 2, árbol 96, UTM 958042 N, 544149 E, 754 m. s.n.m., 1 Oct 2013, S. Martínez et al. 432 ( PMA, SCZ) ; Unidad de muestreo 3598, Parcela 4, árbol 27, UTM 958111 N, 544000 E, 852 m. s.n.m., 2 Oct 2013, J. Carrión et al. 1240 ( PMA) ; Unidad de muestreo 3598, Parcela 4, árbol 117, UTM 958042 N, 544149 E, 866 m. s.n.m., 2 Oct 2013, J. Carrión et al. 1272 ( PMA) ; Unidad de muestreo 3598, Parcela 4, árbol 151, UTM 958062 N, 543948 E, 864 m. s.n.m., 3 Oct 2013, J. Carrión et al. 1300 ( MO, NY, PMA, UCH) ; Unidad de muestreo 3598, Parcela 4, árbol 165, UTM 958056 N, 543904 E, 878 m. s.n.m., 3 Oct 2013, J. Carrión et al. 1310 ( NY, PMA) ; Unidad de muestreo 3598, Parcela 4, árbol 57, UTM 958042 N, 544149 E, 866 m. s.n.m., 2 Oct 2013, A. Espinosa et al. 8032 ( PMA, SCZ) ; Comunidad El Barrigón, Sendero los Monos, Bosque nuboso, 8°40’02.4”N, 80°36’10.0”W, 850 m. s.n.m., 11 Ene 2015, J. Batista & A. Espinosa 1268 ( MO, NY, PMA) ; Comunidad El Barrigón, Sendero los Monos, Bosque nuboso, 8°40’02.3”N, 80°36’01”W, 817 m. s.n.m., 29 Mar 2015, J. Batista & A. Jiménez 1295 ( F, MO, NY, PMA, US, UCH, SCZ) . Colón, Donoso, Valle Grande, UTM 975421 N, 536810 E, 252 m, 6 May 2016, J. Batista et al. 1661 ( MO, NY, PMA, SCZ, UCH) .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Eschweilera donosoensis. A. Lateral view of a nearly mature fruit showing the persistent, woody calyx-lobes. B. Lateral view of immature fruit. C. Artificially opened fruit showing seeds with a lateral aril splitting at the chalazal end into 2–3 branches, the numbers represent the branches of the aril. D. Seeds showing lateral white aril. Vouchered by Batista et al. 1396. Photos by J. Batista.

FIGURE 4. Eschweilera rotundicarpa. A. Bark showing dark-cream colored lenticels. B. Leaf blade showing adaxial surface. C. Old bark, showing slight depressions where irregular plates were shed (= scallops). D. Leaf blade showing abaxial surface. Vouchered by Batista et al. 1268 [A], Batista et al. 1661 [B, C, D]. Photos by J. Batista.

FIGURE 5. Eschweilera rotundicarpa. A. Branched inflorescence showing flowers with white petals, yellow androecial hood, and green buds. B. Close-up of a bud showing scarcely imbricate calyx-lobes at the base. C. Lateral view of flower. D. Medial longitudinal section of an androecial hood showing first, second and third coils. Vouchered by J. F. Carrión et al. 1310. Photos by J. F. Carrión & S. Martínez.

FIGURE 6. Eschweilera rotundicarpa. A. Globose fruits. B. Artificially opened fruit showing disposition and number of seeds. C. Artificially opened fruit showing seeds and spreading white aril; the flattened funicle gives rise to the white tissue surrounding the seeds. Vouchered by Batista et al. 1085. Photos by J. Batista.

FIGURE 7. Distribution of Eschweilera donosoensis and Eschweilera rotundicarpa. In blue the population of E. donosoensis from Donoso District, Colón Province. In red the population of E. rotundicarpa from General de División Omar Torrijos H. National Park, Coclé Province and Valle Grande, Donoso District, Colón Province.

FIGURE 8. Habitat of Eschweilera donosoensis and Eschweilera rotundicarpa. A. Cloud forest from General de División Omar Torrijos H. National Park, Coclé Province. B. Lowland rainforest from Donoso District, Colón Province. Photos by J. Batista.