Conostegia hammelii (Almeda) Kriebel, 2016

Kriebel, Ricardo, 2016, A Monograph of Conostegia (Melastomataceae, Miconieae), PhytoKeys 67, pp. 1-326 : 185-186

Conostegia hammelii (Almeda) Kriebel comb. nov. Fig. 165

Conostegia hammelii (Almeda) Kriebel. Basionym: Clidemia hammelii , Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci, ser. 4, 46(5): 140. 1989. Type: Costa Rica. Heredia: Finca La Selva. OTS (Organization for Tropical Studies) Field Station on Río Puerto Viejo just E of its junction with Río Sarapiquí, slopes along Q. El Salto, 2900 m, elev. about 100 m, 2 September 1980, B. Hammel 9682 (holotype: CAS!, isotype: DUKE, MICH!, MO!).

Description.

Shrub 1.5-3.25 m tall with slightly tetragonal branches at the apex that have a sparse to dense covering of smooth spreading hairs (2-3.5 mm) intermixed with inconspicuous, early deciduous, asperous headed hairs that are underlain by a moderate to dense understory of stellulate-furfuraceous or short asperous headed hairs but becoming glabrate at maturity; the nodal line absent. Leaves at each node equal to somewhat unequal in size. Petiole 0.5-4 cm. Leaf blade 7.4-29 × 3.7-14.5 cm, 5-7 nerved or if 5-7 plinerved, with the innermost pair of primary veins diverging from the midvein up to 2 cm above the base in opposite or alternate fashion, elliptic, the apex long acuminate, the margin entire to crenulate, adaxially moderately strigose to subhirsute with hairs mostly 1-2 mm long, abaxially moderately hirsute with a mixture of smooth hairs (1-2.5 mm long) and minute glandular hairs essentially restricted to the primary and higher order veins and with pocket mite domatia at the base. Inflorescence a pseudolateral modified dichasium 2.1-6 cm long divaricately branched at the base and appearing axillary on older nodes, accessory branches absent, bracteoles 1.5-3.5 × 0.5 mm, paired at a node and persistent, sometimes fused forming a nodal collar, lanceolate to subulate. Pedicels 1-2.5 mm long. Flower buds 2-2.5 × 1.9-2.4 mm. Flowers 5 merous, calyx not calyptrate but closed in bud and crowned by an apiculum 0.5 mm long and rupturing irregularly at anthesis into 3-5 hyaline, persistent lobes 0.5 mm long, 2-2.5 × 1.9-2.4 mm, ca. 0.25 mm, external calyx teeth triangular-subulate, 0.5-1 mm long, the hypanthium campanulate, 0.5-2 mm long, moderately to sparsely covered with spreading smooth hairs 0.5-2 mm long and a sparse understory of sessile stellulate furfuraceous hairs, the torus not evidently glandular puberulent but the inner hypanthium wall sparsely so. Petals 3.5-4 × 1.5-2 mm, white or translucent white, oblong, rounded apically, spreading at anthesis. Stamens 10, 2.5-4 mm long, radially arranged around the style, the filament 1.5-2.5 mm with a geniculation near the apex, translucent white, anthers 1-1.75 × 0.35-0.85 mm, oblong and laterally compressed, yellow, the pore 0.15 mm wide, somewhat dorsally inclined. Ovary 5 locular, totally inferior, apex fluted and elevated into a glandular-puberulent lobulate collar. Style 5-6 mm long, straight to slightly bending, vertical distance from the anther to the stigma 1.25-1.75 mm, horizontal distance absent; stigma truncate, 0.3-0.5 mm wide. Berry 6-7 × 5-6 mm, purple-black. Seeds 0.5-0.7, galeiform to deltoid, irregularly angulate with a densely papillate testa and a lateral flattened or somewhat convex raphe.

Distribution

(Fig. 166 ). Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and reaching Colombia, 0-950 m in elevation.

Conostegia hammelii is easy to distinguish by the presence of pocket domatia on the base of the abaxial leaf surface, its pseudolateral inflorescences branched at the base, sepals that are fused in bud into an apiculum, ovary apex with a glandular-puberulent lobulate collar and papillose seed testa. Almeda (1989a) noted that some specimens have stamens that are somewhat unequal in length. This phenomenon is only present in Conostegia dissitiflora within Conostegia . I have not noted this staminal length difference in my collections in spirit from Costa Rica and Panama of this species. In the molecular phylogeny, Clidemia hammelii forms a relatively well supported clade with Conostegia allenii , Conostegia ecuadorensis , and Conostegia ombrophila . This clade shares the pseudolateral inflorescences as well as the papillose seed testa. It is also noteworthy that three species of this clade, namely Conostegia ecuadorensis , Clidemia hammelii , and Conostegia ombrophila are the only ones in section Geniculatae to have domatia. Almeda (1989a) reported on the presence of mites of the genus Ololaelaps found in the domatia of this species.

Specimens examined.

COSTARICA. Alajuela: Boca Tapada, Laguna del Lagarto Lodge, Solano and Santamaría 1709 (INB, NY). Limón: P.N. Braulio Carrillo, Sector Quebrada Gonzalez, sendero Las Palmas, Kriebel 1420, 5317 (INB, NY); R.B. Barbilla, Sendero Valle Escondido, Mora 440 (INB, NY). Puntarenas: Golfito, Esquinas, Estacion Biológica La Gamba, Kriebel 1018 (INB).

PANAMA. Bocas del Toro: above Chiriquí Grande on a side road about 10 road miles below the Continental Divide about 2.5 miles east on that road, Almeda et al. 6332 (CAS, NY); 15 km mas alla de la division continental en la calle hacia Chiriqui Grande, despues del poblado de Mali 4 km hacia el este, Kriebel and Burke 5737 (NY, PMA) . Coclé: area between La Junta and Limón, 5 hours walk north of Alto Calvario , Folsom 5864 (MO, NY) . Colón: 9 miles south of Portobello , Croat 11372 (NY). San Blás: El Llano Carti Road, 17.5 km from Interamerican Highway, de Nevers and Herrera 4009 (MO, NY) .

Figures

Figure 165. Conostegia hammelii. A Leaf adaxial surface B Leaf base abaxial surface. Note pocket domatia C Inflorescence D Infructescence E Flower bud showing fused calyx with apiculum F Pickled flower G Longitudinal section of a flower with the style removed H Ovary apex I Petal J Stamen K Style L Stigma M Immature berry. Photos A-C of specimen vouchered R. Kriebel 5539 D of specimen vouchered R. Kriebel 5317 E-M vouchered R. Kriebel 5737.

Figure 166. Distribution of Conostegia hammelii.