Capsicum regale Barboza & Bohs, PhytoKeys 167: 16. 2020.

Barboza, Gloria E., Garcia, Carolina Carrizo, Bianchetti, Luciano de Bem, Romero, Maria V. & Scaldaferro, Marisel, 2022, Monograph of wild and cultivated chili peppers (Capsicum L., Solanaceae), PhytoKeys 200, pp. 1-423 : 1

39. Capsicum regale Barboza & Bohs, PhytoKeys 167: 16. 2020.

Figs 110 , 111

Type.

Colombia. Caquetá: Mun. Florencia, Corregimiento El Caraño, Finca de don Isauro , camino al río, en interior de bosque fuertemente inclinado, 01°44'10.6"N, 75°40'78.3"W, 1004 m elev., 22 Aug 2019, A. Orejuela, L. Bohs, G.E. Barboza, P. González, R. Deanna, J. Urdampilleta, J. Valencia & G. Sierra 3034 (holotype: COL; isotypes: COAH, CORD, HUAZ [to be distributed]) .

Description.

Erect slender shrubs (1-) 1.8-2.5 (-3) m tall, with the main stem somewhat thick, ca. 0.8 cm in diameter at base, sparsely branched towards apex, the branches dichotomous, weak, spreading horizontally. Young stems angled, fragile, glossy, pale green; nodes green; bark of older stems dark brown, glabrous; lenticels present. Sympodial units difoliate, the leaves geminate; leaf pair unequal in size and shape. Leaves membranous, slightly discolorous, green adaxially, pale green with the mid-vein prominent and purple and the secondary veins lilac or green abaxially, glabrous on both surfaces; blades of major leaves 17-20 (-24) cm long, 4.7-8 (-9.2) cm wide, elliptic, the major veins 6-8 on each side of mid-vein, the base unequal and attenuate, the margins entire, the apex acuminate to long-acuminate; petioles (0.8-) 1.5-2.3 cm long, green adaxially and purple abaxially, glabrous; blades of minor leaves 2-5 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, ovate, the major veins 3-5 on each side of mid-vein, the base unequal, the margins entire, the apex obtuse; petioles 0-0.4 cm long, green, glabrous. Inflorescences axillary, ca. 10 mm long, unbranched or rarely forked, with 5-13 flowers; rachis elongate, 4.5-6 mm long; peduncle 0-5.5 mm; flowering pedicels 12-14 mm long, thin, angled, erect to spreading, non-geniculate at anthesis, purple to green, glabrous; pedicels scars conspicuous, corky. Buds ellipsoid, green. Flowers 5-merous. Calyx 2-3 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide, cup-shaped, circular in outline, fleshy, green or greenish-purple, glabrous, the calyx appendages absent or 4-5, 1-1.8 mm long, 0.8-1.1 mm wide, subequal, thick, purple, triangular-compressed, wings-like, reflexed, inserted very close to the margin. Corolla 7-8 mm long, ca. 10 mm in diameter, thick, pure yellow or yellow with maroon pigmentation outside and greenish-yellow with lobes marginally maroon inside, deeply stellate with narrow interpetalar tissue, lobed 2/3 of the way to the base, glabrous adaxially and abaxially, the tube 2-2.5 mm long, the lobes 5-5.5 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide, triangular, the margins with short eglandular trichomes, the tips papillate. Stamens five, subequal; one filament longer than the others, long filament 3.5-4.3 mm long, shorter filaments (2-) 3-3.2 mm long, white, inserted on the corolla ca. 1 mm from the base, with auricles fused to the corolla at the point of insertion; anthers ca. 2 mm long, ellipsoid, lilac or pale bluish, not connivent at anthesis. Gynoecium with ovary ca. 1.3 mm long, ca. 1 mm in diameter, light green, ovoid; ovules more than two per locule; nectary ca. 0.4 mm tall; styles homomorphic, 4.3-4.5 mm long, barely exserted beyond the anthers, white, clavate; stigma ca. 0.1 mm long, ca. 0.8 mm wide, globose or somewhat discoid, light green. Berry 6-9 mm in diameter, globose, green when immature, becoming nearly white and translucent and then dark blue to purple at maturity, non-pungent, the pericarp thick, opaque, without giant cells (endocarp smooth); stone cells absent; fruiting pedicels ca. 18 mm long, 1.8-2 mm in diameter proximally, 2.5-2.6 mm in diameter distally, erect, fleshy, slightly angled and strongly thickened distally, brilliant dark purple; fruiting calyx 3.75-4.25 mm in diameter, persistent, not accrescent, discoid, brilliant purple, with a conspicuous annular constriction at the junction with the swollen pedicel, the appendages reflexed, brilliant purple, fleshy and laterally compressed. Seeds 7-17 per fruit, 2.75-3.40 mm long, 2.25-2.70 mm wide, C-shaped, black, the seed coat smooth, tuberculate at margins (SM), cerebelloid with pillar-like outgrowths (SEM), the cells irregular in shape to polygonal at seed margins, the lateral walls sinuate to straight; embryo annular.

Distribution.

Capsicum regale is endemic to southern Colombia ( Caquetá Department), eastern Ecuador (Morona-Santiago, Napo and Sucumbío Provinces) and northern Peru (Loreto Department), known mainly on the eastern slopes of the Andes (the Andean-Amazonian Piedmont) (Fig. 109 ).

Ecology.

Capsicum regale occurs in small populations in the understorey of the premontane or montane humid tropical forests of the Amazonian slopes of the Andes, between 700 and 1,900 m elevation.

Phenology.

Flowering and fruiting in April and from August to December.

Chromosome number.

2 n = 2x = 26 ( Barboza et al. 2020b).

Common names.

None recorded.

Uses.

None recorded.

Preliminary conservation assessment.

EOO (47,806.378 km2); AOO (32 km2). Based on the EOO and AOO, C. regale is considered Endangered (EN B2a,b iii). Although this species has been collected in some protected areas, the habitat quality outside of these reserves is susceptible to human disturbance, such as crop planting and high levels of deforestation ( Barboza et al. 2020b).

Discussion.

Capsicum regale belongs to the Andean clade ( Barboza et al. 2020b). It is the most striking species of the genus with a set of unique traits, such as its unbranched (Figs 110B , 111E, J ) or forked inflorescence (Fig. 111D ) with 5-13 deciduous flowers on an elongate rachis, fleshy and laterally compressed calyx appendages (Fig. 111D, E ), strongly thickened and brilliant purple fruiting pedicels (Fig. 111H-K ), dark blue to purple fruits (Fig. 111J, K ) and black seeds. This species is morphologically most similar to C. longifolium ( Barboza et al. 2019) with which it shares lack of pubescence, multi-flowered inflorescences, yellow corollas, laterally compressed calyx appendages and black seeds. It differs from C. longifolium in its occasionally forked inflorescence (vs. unbranched in C. longifolium ), elliptic (vs. narrowly elliptic) leaves, dark purple pedicels in fruit (vs. green) and purple (vs. orange) berries. Capsicum regale can be distinguished from C. dimorphum , which also has pure yellow corollas or with maroon pigmentation, calyx lacking appendages or with short appendages and black seeds, in its glabrescence, its larger major leaves and ovate minor leaves, its unbranched or forked 5-13-flowered inflorescence and its blue or purple fruits. Capsicum dimorphum is usually a pubescent plant, with smaller major leaves and orbicular or ovate (rarely elliptic) minor leaves, unbranched inflorescence of 1-5 flowers and orange to red fruits.

Specimens examined.

See Suppl. material 4: Appendix 4.

Figures

Figure 109. Distribution of C. recurvatum and C. regale.

Figure 110. Capsicum regale A fruiting apical branch B unbranched inflorescence C flower D opened corolla E gynoecium F fruit. From Orejuela R. et al. 3034. Drawn by S. Montecchiesi. Published in Barboza et al. (2020 b), reproduced with permission.

Figure 111. Capsicum regale. A habitat B apical branch, showing leaf pairs dissimilar in shape and size C abaxial surface of leaf with purple main vein D forked inflorescence; note the scars of the deciduous flowers E flower, in lateral view, on an unbranched elongate inflorescence F, G flowers with and without pigmentation, respectively H-K various stages of fruit maturity K mature fruit showing the constriction between the pedicel and the berry (arrow) A-F, H-K from Orejuela R. et al. 3034, photos by A. Orejuela, P. Gonzales and G. E Barboza G from Hoyos et al. 127, photo by L. Coca. Published in Barboza et al. (2020 b), reproduced with permission.