Sparattanthelium wonotoboense
Description
Liana. Branches terete, smooth, striate; short-shoots thick, terete, 4-16(-20) cm long, recurved, hooked or arcuate at top, strongly compressed at base, glabrous or densely pubescent when young, darkening, striate. Leaves: petiole thin, 0.8-2.5(-4) cm long, densely minutely pubescent to more or less glabrous; blade papery to slightly coriaceous, ovate-, obovate- or oblong-elliptic, 4-11(-14) x 2-5(-7) cm, margin somewhat revolute, apex 0.3-1 cm acuminate, base rounded or obtuse, sometimes shortly acute, above brownish green to (dark) olive, glabrous or laxly pubescent, sometimes a bit shining, below paler or greyish green to ash-grey, densely puberulent, trichomes 0.1-0.7 mm long; sub-3-pliveined, secondary veins 1-4 pairs, all veins above glabrous to pubescent, below glabrous to densely pubescent. Inflorescences axillary, 8-12(-13) times branched, up to 10-14 cm long; peduncle 3-8 cm long, grey pubescent or glabrous, branchlets terete, greyish white pubescent; pedicels slender, grey pubescent. Flowers: perianth lobes 4, elliptic or oblong, 1.5-2 x 0.5-1 mm, smudgy red; stamens 4, filaments 0.5 mm long, anthers 1 mm long; style thick, 1.2-1.8 mm long. Infructescence 12-24 cm long, nodose to strongly nodose, silver-white when mature, pubescent or glabrous; branchlets slender; fruit pedicel slender, 2.5-6(-6.5) cm long. Drupe silver-white, ellipsoid, 1.3-1.6 x 0.6-0.7 cm, longitudinally compressed, acute, inconspicuously 6(-8)-ribbed, somewhat wrinkled.
Distribution
Guianas present, Southern America: Venezuela (Venezuela present)
Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil; 30 collections studied (GU: 7; SU: 7; FG: 12).
Notes
In 1969 Kubitzki raised S. botocudorum var. uncigerum to the rank of species. The differences he mentioned between S. uncigerum and S. wonotoboense are that the former has glabrous young branches and petioles, slightly coriaceous leaves, 0.3-0.4 mm long hairs on the lower surface of the leaf, buds 0.6-1.0 mm in diameter, strongly nodose infructescence and drupes 1.5-1.6 x 0.6-0.7 cm. The latter has densely villose young branches and petioles, papery leaves, 0.5-0.8 mm long hairs on the lower surface of the leaf, buds 1.2 mm in diameter, slender and nodose infructescence and drupes 1.2-1.5 x 0.4 cm.
Studying the collections I noticed the great similarity between the two species. Most characters such as leaf texture, shape and size, indument of branches, petioles and inflorescences, characters of the flowers and fruits showed to vary in such a way that the ranges in which these characters occur in one species, do overlap those of the other species. Therefore, no character or combination of characters can be found that clearly distinguishes the 2 species.
Typical specimens ofS. wonotoboense were collected in Suriname and Guyana, but not in French Guiana. Typical S. uncigerum specimens were found in French Guiana and Suriname, but not in Guyana. Intermediary forms were collected in all of the three countries.
Conclusion:S. uncigerum and S. wonotoboense as well as all the intermediate forms belong to one single variable species: S. wonotoboense .
Studying the collections I noticed the great similarity between the two species. Most characters such as leaf texture, shape and size, indument of branches, petioles and inflorescences, characters of the flowers and fruits showed to vary in such a way that the ranges in which these characters occur in one species, do overlap those of the other species. Therefore, no character or combination of characters can be found that clearly distinguishes the 2 species.
Typical specimens of
Conclusion: