Simira colorata Ståhl & C.H. Persson, 2017

Ståhl, Bertil & Persson, Claes, 2017, Simira colorata (Rubiaceae), a new species from western Ecuador, Phytotaxa 311 (3), pp. 283-287 : 284-285

Simira colorata Ståhl & C.H. Persson , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 )

Type:— ECUADOR. Manabí: Road from San Sebastián to Agua Blanca , 01°30’S, 80°34’W, 200–400 m, 20 September 1991 (fl), C. E. Cerón 16624 (holotype GB-01150505; isotype MO web-photo) .

Tree 5–17 m tall; dbh to 25 cm; wood turning red when exposed to air. Branchlets 2.5–4 mm thick, glabrous. Stipules caducous, narrowly triangular, 13–20 × 1.5–2 mm, slightly twisted, glabrous outside, apex narrowly acute. Leaves opposite; petioles 6–11 × 1 mm, glabrous; blades elliptic, (7–)9–18.5 × (2.5–) 3.5–7 cm, papyraceous, acute to obtuse at base, acuminate at apex with acumen 1–1.5(–2.5) cm long, glabrous above and below, the midvein prominent, secondary veins 10–14 on each side of the midrib, prominulous, tertiary and quaternary venation forming a distinct network below; tuft domatia present. Inflorescences thyrsoid, pyramidal, 50–200-flowered, with 2–3 pairs of secondary branches, these 15–18 mm long; pedicels to 1 mm long, bracts and bracteoles triangular, ca. 1 × 1 mm, with round apex, inflorescence branches and bracts minutely puberulent. Flowers sessile or short-pedicellate; pedicels to 1 mm long. Hypanthium laterally compressed, ca. 1.5 × 1 mm, minutely puberulent. Calyx tube absent, lobes 4, widely triangular, 0.5 × 0.8 mm, without calycophylls, outside minutely puberulent, inside with 4–5 colleters at base of each calyx lobe. Corolla funnelform, 4-lobed with imbricate aestivation, 3–4 mm long, lilac, drying reddish brown; tube 2–3 mm long, 1.5 mm wide at base, very finely puberulent outside, with a ring of dense hairs at 1 mm above base inside, below glabrous, without a membranaceous fold inserted between corolla tube and stamens insertion, above finely pubescent and gradually more sparsely towards apex; lobes widely triangular, 1.5 × 1 mm, acute to obtuse at apex. Stamens 4, exserted, filaments flat, 4 mm long, inserted ca. 1 mm above base of the corolla tube, densely pubescent at base, finely pubescent above; anthers oblong, 1.5 × 0.5 mm, subdorsifixed, apex rounded, base truncate, pale pink, drying orange. Style ca. 4.5 mm long, sparsely pilose, glabrous towards tip; style branches 2, ca. 1.5 mm long. Ovary bilocular, with a straight placenta in each locule; ovules 10–12 per locule. Capsules loculicidally dehiscent, depressedglobose, 1–1.5 × 1.1–2 × 1.3–1.5 cm, each valve with secondary splitting (resulting in four lobes at capsule complete dehiscence), woody, glabrous, greyish brown. Seeds 10–12 on each placenta, attached horizontally in 2 somewhat overlapping rows, flat with a slightly lunate outline, winged, 9–10 × 3–4 mm (including wing).

Distribution and habitat: — Simira colorata is endemic to the adjacent lowlands and lower slopes of the coastal mountains in western Ecuador. It occurs in remnants of seasonally dry, semideciduous forests, at 50–450 m altitude.

Conservation status:— According to people living in the vicinity of the town of Balzar, in the northern province of Guayas, S. colorata was still plentiful in the surrounding forests in the 1950s and 1960s, and its wood was often used for house constructions. Since most natural forests in the area have now been converted into pastures or plantations, especially of teak, S. colorata has become very rare or disappeared in much of its natural range. Today individuals or small stands of S. colorata are restricted to forest fragments, often along streams. Following the IUCN criteria ( IUCN 2012), S. colorata is best considered vulnerable (VU).

Common names: ―Colorado (Cerón 16624; Cornejo & Bonifaz 807; Persson & Peña 1357); colorado de montaña (Cornejo & Bonifaz 886).

Uses: ―The wood is used for construction and for grill sticks.

Additional specimens examined (Paratypes): ― ECUADOR. Guayas: Hacienda Monocongo, 01°15’S, 79°49’W, ca. 22 km N of Balzar on road to Empalme, 50–60 m, 3 February 2007 (ster.), B. Ståhl 6802 ( GB, GUAY) ; same locality, 10 May 2008 (ster.), C. Persson & F. Peña 1357 ( AAU, GB, GUAY) ; same plant as B. Ståhl 6802, 16 April 2007 (fl), J. Pons Lara s.n. ( GB) . Manabí: Jama, Camarones, 24 km S of Pedernales , SE of the coastal highway, 00°05’38”S, 80°08’44”W, 75–125 m, 6 October 1999 (fr.), T. Delinks & C. Robles 356 ( GB, MO web-photo) ; road from San Sebastián to Agua Blanca, 01°30’S, 80°34’W, 200–400 m, 20 September 1991 (fl.), C. E. Cerón 16624 ( GB, MO web-photo) ; Río Ayampe, Cerro Cabeza de Vaca , 01°38’S, 80°38’W, 350 m, 26 November 1993 (ster.), X. Cornejo & C. Bonifaz 807 ( GB, GUAY n.v.) . Santa Elena: Río Ayampe, Cerro El Burro , 01°41’S, 80°40’W, 450 m, 28 November 1993 (ster.), X. Cornejo & C. Bonifaz 886 ( GB, GUAY n.v.). Without province : 1802 (fr.), “Herbario de Ruiz & Pavón ”, s.d., s.n. ( MA 816024 ) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Simira colorata.A, Branch with inflorescences; B, Axillary shoots; C, Flower; D, Style; E, Stamen; F, Ovary in cross section; G, Seeds; H, Fruits. A from Cerón 16624 (holotype); B from Delinks & Robles 356; C–F from Pons s.n.; G–H from Cornejo & Bonifaz 886. Drawn by B. Ståhl.