Abstract
Ceratozamia dominguezii (Zamiaceae), a new species endemic to the lowland karstic tropical rainforests of southeastern Veracruz, Mexico, is described. The new species is part of the C. robusta species complex, a group of closely related species that share unique characteristics in the genus, such as robust trunks, large strobili, and long leaves. Compared with the other species in the complex (i.e., C. robusta, C. leptoceras, C. aurantiaca and C. subroseophylla), C. dominguezii has the longest rachides, and is characterized by having papyraceous leaflets, a unique caramel color in emerging leaves, and a dark-violet color in the central portion of distal faces of male and female sporophylls. Ceratozamia dominguezii occurs within the Uxpanapa floristic refuge, which is hypothesized to have sheltered a numerous group of tropical elements during the Neogene glaciations. The recognition of C. dominguezii contributes to clarifying the present diversity of cycads in the genus Ceratozamia, and adds discussion on the role of floristic refugia in the divergence of Neotropical plants in Mexico.
Highlights
Over a century and a half after the Neotropical genus Ceratozamia Brongn. was first established [1], only 12 species were recognized [2]
Identifying the entirety of the constituent species within Ceratozamia will contribute to a better understanding of its evolutionary history, and this in turn will allow for the identification of evolutionarily significant units [10] within the genus to aid in future conservation efforts
The Ceratozamia populations from Uxpanapa, Veracruz, have historically been considered as C. robusta, our results demonstrate that the set of morphological traits presented by these populations are not consistent with the concept of C. robusta, as defined by plants occurring at or near its type locality
Summary
Over a century and a half after the Neotropical genus Ceratozamia Brongn. was first established [1], only 12 species were recognized [2]. The pace of species discovery within the genus has accelerated considerably in recent years, with the number of accepted species nearly tripling to 34 since the year 2000 [3]. This notable burst of species discovery has been achieved through the efforts of researchers surveying previously unexplored areas for cycads as well as the critical examination of herbarium specimens (e.g., [4,5,6,7,8]). Most species (26 of 34) occur in the States of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Veracruz, in southeastern Mexico: An area that
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