Acanthosyris annonagustata (Santalaceae), a New Species from Eastern Ecuador

Abstract

A new species, Acanthosyris annonagustata C. Ulloa & P. Jorgensen, from Napo, Ecuador, is described and illustrated. This species is characterized by its golden brown puberulent inflorescence and fruit. The plant is used in local medicine, and the fruits taste like Annona and are eaten by monkeys. In Ecuador, Acanthosyris is also represented by A. glabrata (Stapf) Stauffer from the dry western forests, a tree that we are also reporting for the first time from Peru. RESUMEN. Se describe e ilustra la nueva especie Acanthosyris annonagustata C. Ulloa & P. Jorgensen (Santalaceae) de la provincia de Napo, Ecuador, que se caracteriza por tener las inflorescencias y frutos pardo-dorado puberulentos. La planta es medicinal, los frutos tienen sabor a Annona y son comidos por monos. En el Ecuador Acanthosyris tambidn esti representado por A. glabrata (Stapf) Stauffer, un irbol de los bosques secos occidentales que ademis se cita por primera vez para Peri. The genus Acanthosyris (Martius & Eichler) Grisebach in Ecuador was known only from the type collection of Acanthosyris glabrata (Stapf) Stauffer made by Baron von Eggers at Hacienda El Recreo, province of Manabf in 1893. The Hacienda El Recreo is the type locality of several species, located north of the town of Bahia de Car~iquez, between San Vicente and Canoas, and in 1977 only an abandoned house was left by the beach (H. H. Iltis, pers. comm.). A century after the publication of this species in the genus Cervantesia Ruiz & Pav6n, we saw the isotype at the U.S. National Herbarium and could therefore identify several recent collections from Ecuador and northern Peru, most of this material being misidentified as Ximenia (Olacaceae). Acanthosyris glabrata is also known from two Peruvian collections, Lao 5153 (MO) and Vargas 9 (F, MO) from the department of Tumbes. During preparation of the Santalaceae for the Flora of Ecuador, we have studied specimens from Guayas, Manabi, and Loja provinces. Acanthosyris glabrata is also known from the department of Atlintico in northern Colombia. This species grows in dry forests from near sea level to 500 m elevation. Nee (1996) published a key of the woody Santalaceae for South America and described A. asipapote M. Nee from Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Recent collections of an edible tree from the Amazonian province of Napo, Ecuador, have revealed a new species of Acanthosyris, making six the total number of species presently known in the enus. Acanthosyris is a South American genus of more or less spiny shrubs and trees, with edible, drupaceous fruits, distributed from Colombia to northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil. In Ecuador it is represented by two species, which can be separated by the following key: la. Fruit ca. 2 cm long. glabrous. smooth: flowers whitish gra. velutinous. rachis whitish gray villous: leaves ovate: .oung leases sparsely villose on the nlidrib and peti le below: old twigs with exfoliating bark: Pacific dry forest ..... A. glabrata lb. Fruit 2.9-4 (1m long. (lenselx puberulent. rugulose: flowers and rachis golden brown pulerulent: leaves elliptic: young lea\es glabrous or rarely with a few minute hairs on the midril) and petiole below: old twigs with striate bark: Amazonian rainforest .. annonagustata Acanthosyris annonagustata C. Ulloa & P. Jorgensen, sp. nov. TYPE: Ecuador. Napo: Parque Nacional Yasuni, carretera y oleoducto de Maxus en construcci6n, km 20, 250 m, 2830 July 1993 (fr), M. Aulestia & G. Grefa 232 (holotype, QCNE; isotypes, AAU, GB, MO, US). Figure 1. Arbores 30 mn altae. spinosae. Folia elliptica. 5-15 cm longa. 2.1-6.8 cm lata. glabra. petiolis 4-9 mm longis. Inflorescentia spicata 2.1-6.8 cm longa. Flores extus trichomatibus fuilvis dense puberuli. tepalis 5(6). 2.(0-2.5 mm longis. staminibus 5(6). nec'tario 5(6)-lobato. lobis 1.5-1.8 mm longis. Fructus drupaceus. 2.9-4 (m longus. trichomatilus fulvis (lense pul)erulus. Tree to 30 m tall, 30--45 cm diam.; old branches with light brown or whitish gray, thinly striate bark, spiny; twigs drying dark brown, finely striate, and angulate, spiny; spines one or two per leafy twig, 4-10.1 mm long, axillary to a leaf and subtending an axillary bud. Leaf blades elliptic, 5-15 x 2.16.8 cm, acute to acuminate at apex, acute to attenNovoN 8: 84-86. 1998. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.35 on Fri, 02 Sep 2016 05:12:16 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Volume 8, Number 1 1998 Ulloa Ulloa & Jorgensen Acanthosyris annonagustata from Ecuador 85