Symplocos vatteri Standley & Steyermark (1947: 222)

Kelly, Lawrence M., Almeda, Frank & Fritsch, Peter W., 2016, A taxonomic revision of Mexican and Central American Symplocos (Symplocaceae), Phytotaxa 264 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

32. Symplocos vatteri Standley & Steyermark (1947: 222) . Type:— GUATEMALA. Huehuetenango: moist cool mixed cloud forest with Pinus ayacahuite and Abies guatemalensis , around Rancho de Teja, 3 mi W of San Mateo Ixtatán, Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, 3330 m, [15°49′30″N, 91°30′04″W], 9 July 1942, J. A. Steyermark 48463 (holotype F-2!, isotype US!)

Trees 5–20 m tall; juvenile branchlets and vegetative buds densely sericeous to pilose, trichomes 1.5–2 mm long, appressed to spreading, creamy white to brownish. Petioles 0.7–1.5 cm long; leaf blades bicolorous, elliptic-oblong, 7–17 × 3.5–7.2 cm, membranaceous, abaxially densely sericeous to appressed-pilose, adaxially glabrous to sparsely appressed-pilose, secondary veins not adaxially impressed, base obtuse to rounded, margins entire, apex acuminate to rarely obtuse. Inflorescences 1-flowered, peduncles 2–3.8 cm long, densely sericeous to pilose, trichomes 1.5–2 mm long, appressed to spreading; bracts absent; bracteoles caducous (not seen), 3–5 (evident from scars). Hypanthium densely sericeous laterally. Calyx lobes 5, broadly rotund, 4–5 × 5–6 mm, densely cottony-sericeous, margins densely sericeous. Corolla pink, 5-lobed, 1.5–2 cm long; tube 7–8 mm long; lobes adnate to filament tube for 9–10 mm, oblong, densely cottony-sericeous. Stamens ± 4-seriate; filament tube ca. 11 mm long; distinct portions of filaments 4–5 × 0.75–1 mm. Disk densely pilose; style 13–15 mm long, glabrous; stigma conspicuously and irregularly lobed. Fruits green maturing to dark bluish purple, broadly ellipsoid, 2–2.5 × 1.2–1.5 cm, strigillose, apex truncate to base of incurved-appressed calyx lobes; disk convex, enclosed within calyx lobes; endocarp 5-locular, perimeter rounded to slightly undulate.

Vernacular name —None.

Illustration — Figure 38.

Phenology —Flowering June, August, and November; fruiting January and February.

Distribution and habitat — Guatemala, in cloud forests at 2400–3500 m elev. Figure 36.

Conservation status — Symplocos vatteri is restricted to the mountains of western Guatemala where it is known from six populations, none of which occur in a protected area. The EOO is 1080 km ² and the AOO is 24 km ². Deforestation threats indicate a projected decline in area, extent, and quality of habitat. Based on these data, we assign a classification of Endangered (EN): B1ab(iii) to this species.

Discussion — Symplocos vatteri is distinguished by its combination of large, solitary flowers with densely cottony-sericeous sepals and petals.

The holotype consists of two sheets, which are labeled in Steyermark’s handwriting as “1 st sht” and “2 nd sht.”

Additional specimens examined — GUATEMALA. Huehuetenango: San Mateo Ixtatán, 3 mi SW of San Mateo Ixtatán along rd to San Pedro Soloma, 9600 ft, [15°49′30″N, 91°30′04″W], 6 February 1965, Breedlove 8628 (DS!, F!, US!); San Juan Ixcoy , 5 mi S of San Juan Ixcoy along rd to Huehuetenango, 9200 ft, [15°33′21″N, 91°30′09″W], 4 February 1965, Breedlove 8517 (DS!, F!); San Juan Ixcoy , 5 m S of San Juan Ixcoy along rd to Huehuetenango, 9200 ft, 5 August 1965, Breedlove 11503 (DS!, F!, US!); Sierra Cuchumatanes to San Juan Ixcoy ,

A TAXONOMIC REVISION OF SYMPLOCOS

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3500 m, [15°36′N, 91°27′W], 12–23 January 1966, Molina R. et al. 16580 (F!, NY!, US!); Sierra Cuchumantes Rd to San Juan Ixcoy , 3000 m, 18 November 1969, Molina R. 21301 (F!, GH!, NY!); Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, between Paquix and San Juan Ixcoy , 3000–3350 m, [15°30′36″N, 91°29′41″W], 8 January 1974, Molina R. et al. 30019 (F!, MO!); Mpio. Barillas , Aldea Nucá , 2500 m, [15°48′14″N, 91°18′54″W], 16 February 2005, Véliz 15748 ( MO!). Quiché: ca. 8 km W of Nebaj , 7800 ft, [15°24′30″N, 91°08′50″W], 19 June 1964, Contreras 5054 (DS!, MO!, NY!, S!); ca. 9 km SW of Nebaj , 7800 ft, [15°24′30″N, 91°08′50″W], 20 June 1964, Contreras 5074 (DS!, S!) .