Brachyotum confertum (Bonpl.) Triana

Authority

Wurdack, John J. 1953. A revision of the genus Brachyotum (Tibouchineae-Melastomataceae). Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 8 (4): 343-407.

Family

Melastomataceae

Scientific Name

Brachyotum confertum (Bonpl.) Triana

Description

Species Description - Trichomes smooth. Branchlets obscurely quadrangular, densely tawny- or yellowish-strigulose. Petiole 1-3 mm. Blade 4-12(-l6) x 2.5-6 mm., ovate (sometimes with the margins so strongly recurved as to appear oblong) with the apex rounded-acute and the base broadly acute to obtuse, the 3 primaries impressed above and elevated below, the secondaries obscure or obsolete; above moderately strigulose, the slender hairs 10-15/mm.2 and with their basal 1/3-1/2 adherent; below densely loose-long-strigulose on the primaries, the surface moderately hirsutulous with the hairs 15-25/mm.2 and less than 1 mm. long, the solitary glands 15-40/mm.2 Flowers predominantly 5-merous, predominantly solitary on short leafy lateral branchlets, closely invested by usually 4 (occasionally 6, rarely 2) persistent bracts, the last branchlet leaves modified toward bracts to varying degrees; pedicel 0-10 mm. above the last branchlet leaves. Outer bracts of 6-bracteate flowers 4.5-9 x 5-7 mm., broadly ovate to orbicular with the apices broadly acute to rounded; innermost 2 pairs of bracts 6-11 x 6-12 mm., orbicular to ovate-orbicular with the apices rounded, outside densely sericeous-strigose with the tawny to yellowish hairs 15-20/mm.2 and to 3 mm. long. Hypanthium 5-8 x 5-8 mm., 0.2-0.3 mm. thick medianly, very densely sericeous-strigose with the tawny hairs 6-8/mm.2 and to 7 mm. long. Sepals 3.5-7 x 3-5-6.5 mm., ovate to oblongovate with the apices obtuse to rounded, not or scarcely united at bases, often imbricate 0.5-1 mm. Petals deep purple, 9-13 x 8-13 mm., obovate and symmetrical to slightly asymmetrical with the apices rounded or even slightly retuse, the gland-tipped cilia 0.1-0.4 mm. (the terminal few 0.7-1.2 mm.). Filaments 4-6 mm.; anthers 4-7 mm.; connective at anther base 0.7-1 mm., free of the anther 0.2-0.5 mm., the ventral lobes 0.1-0.4 mm. Style 13-25 x 0.4-0.6 mm., exserted 4-11 mm. Ovary 6-7 x 3.5-4 mm., moderately to densely strigulose with gland-tipped hairs on the apical 2.5-3.5 mm., the apical lobes 0.7-1.4 mm. above the locules.

Distribution and Ecology - Distribution: central to southern Ecuador, alt. 2000-3500 m.

Discussion

Rhexia conferta Bonpl. Rhexies 53. 1808.

Chaetogastra conferta (Bonpl.) DC. Prodr. 3: 135. 1828.

Bolina conferta (Bonpl.) Raf. Syl. Tell. 101. 1838.

Brachyotum campylanthum Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. 28: 49. 1871.

Type Collection and Locality: Bonpland s.n. (HOLOTYPE presumably in Herb. Humboldt & Bonpland at P; isotype P); Ecuador, Prov. Loja, "entre Loxa et Malacatos, a une elevation de 2000 metres."

Type Photographs and Illustrations: Gleason 87-3 (holotype of B. campylanthum at K); Rhexies pi. 20 (1808) (as Rhexia conferta); Trans. Linn. Soc. 28: pl. 3, f. 33f (1871) (as Brachyotum confertum); 3ot. Mag. pi. 6018 (1873), and idem, Fl. Serres 20: pi. 2099 (1874) (as Brachyotum confertum).

The Jameson specimens, apart from the holotype of B. campylanthum, were numbered 16, 17, and 18 by Gray, but all seem to be sheets of a single collection. There are no differences between B. campylanthum and B. confertum, and, in various herbaria, both Triana and Cogniaux had labeled different sheets of the same collection with either one or the other of the epithets. Of the 306 examinable flowers among the various collections, 240 were 5-merous; typical of this plurality of 5-mery were such large Camp collections as E-4203 with 100 of 128 flowers 5-merous, E-2098 with 24 of 39, E-433 with 14 of 15, and E-1994 with 16 of 17. Only one sheet examined of all the collections had a majority of the flowers 4-merous; in Harling 852, 9 of the 11 examinable flowers were 4-merous. The ovary trichomes of B. confertum are conic, but the brown glandular tips are obvious on some or all of these hairs.