A new species of Melampodium (Asteraceae, Heliantheae) from Jalisco, México

4 Pages·1993·1.4 MB·

by  B L Turner

Phyiologia(August 1993)76(2):136-139.
ANEWSPECIES OF MELAMPODIUM{ASTEHACEAE, HELIANTHEAE)
FROMJALISCO, MEXICO
BillieL. Turner
DepartmentofBotany,UniversityofTexas, Austin,Texas 78713 U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
A new species, Melatnpodium mayfleldii B.L. Turner, is de-
scribed fromnear El Tuito, westernJalisco, Mexico. It is closely re-
latedtothewidespreadM. americanumbutisreadilydistinguishedby
its shrubby habit,merelypiloseleaves,involucralbracts withpurple-
mm
scariousmargins,andlargeshowyrayflorets(ligulesmostly8-12
mm
longvs.mostly3-7 long).
KEY WORDS: Asteraceae, Heliantheae, Melampodium, Mexico,
Jalisco
Routine identification of Mexican Asteraceae has revealed the following
novelty.
Melampodium mayfleldiiB.L. Turner, sp. nov. Figure 1. TYPE: MEX-
ICO. Jalisco: "ca. 10 kmup roadwhichoriginatesonthecoastal high-
way to Puerto Vallarta at a point 2.5 mi NW ofthe town of El Tuito
(ca. 20°23'N, 105°16'W), in forest ofpines and oaks with Podocarpua,
Dioon, Styrax, along stream, 850 m, 12 Jan 1993, Mark H. Mayfield
1641, with B.L. Westlund and J. Sanchez-Ken (HOLOTYPE: TEX!;
Isotypes: MEXU!,NY!).
MelampodioamericanoL.similisseddifferthabitu(fruticesex-
pansi vs. herbaesuffruticosae), foliorumpaginis inferistrichomat-
ibus brevibus (1.0-1.5 mm longis vs. 3-6 mm longis) pilosis non-
floccosisque,bracteoruminvolucraliummarginibuspurpurei-scario-
mm
sis (vs. herbaceis), et flosculis radii ligulis longioribus (8-12
longis vs. 3-7 mm).
NewMelampodiumfrom Mexico 137
Turner:
Figure 1, Photograph ofholotypeof Melampodium mayfieldii
PHYTOLOGIA
138 volume 75(2):136-139 August 1993
Small spreading shrubs to 50 cm high and ca. as wide. Stems woody,
persistent, new annual growth arising from well-defined woody shoots 10-30
cm above the ground-level, the young shoots densely pilose. Leaves simple
throughout, sessile or nearly so, the blade epetiolate or passing into an in-
distinct petiole, coAuate, oblanceolate, mostly 3-4 cm long, 0.8-1.2 cm wide,
mm
denselyandevenlywhite-pilosebeneath withincurvedhairs 1.0-1.5 long
(these nojt at all elongate, silky and entangled as in Melampodium ameri-
canum), the upper surfaces similMly pubescent but less so. Heads 2-3 cm
wide across theexpanded rays, single, terminal,on peduncles mostly 3-7 cm
long. Principal involucral bracts 5, broadly.obovate, somewhat cuspidate,
theapicalmarginsclearlypurple-scarious. Rayflorets 8-13, theligulesbright
yellow, 8-12 mm long, 3-5 mm wide. Receptacular bracts with broadly ex-
panded, 2-3 lobed yellow-scarious apices. Disk florets numerous, sterile, the
corollas yellow. Achenes ca. 3 mmlong, 1.5 mm wide, laterally ornate with
3-4wartyribs,theenclosingbract not producingahood.
Onfirst inspection I took the present material to be an unusually suffru-
ticosecollectionofthewidespreadhighlyvariable Melampodium americanum
L. CloserinspectionrevealedanumberoffeaturesthatreadilydistinguishM.
mayfieldiifromthelatter,includingthefollowing: 1) shrubbyhabit,anynew
growtharisingfrom woody stems wellabovethegroundlevel(vs. herbs with
newannualgrowthfromgroundlevel);2)relativelythick,broad,simpleleaves
whichareuniformly pilosebeneath with recurved,short hairs mostly 1.0-1.5
mm mm
long (vs. long, silky, silvery-whitehairs 3-6 long); 3) larger involu-
cral bracts with well-defined purple-scarious apical margins (vs. herbaceous
throughout);and4)ligulesofrayfloretsmostly8-12 mmlong(vs.mostly3-7
mm
long).
Neither Stuessy's (1972) revisionary treatment of Melampodiumnor Mc-
Vaugh's (1984) floristic portrayal of that genus for Jalisco will account for
thepresent taxon. In theformer, it will keyto M. linearilobumDC. (an an-
nual having involucral bracts with yellow-scarious margins); in the latter it
willnot keybecauseofits non flocculent pubescenceon theundersurfaces of
leaves, but ifthis character were denied, it would also key with difficulty to
M. linearilobum.
It is a pleasure to name this species for Mr. Mark H. Mayfield, terminal
year doctoral student at the UniversityofTexas, Austin, whois preparing a
monographic study of the genus Poinsettia (Euphorbiaceae). He called my
attentiontothematerialconcernedandparticipatedinitsdiscovery.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
IamgratefultoGuyNesomfortheLatindiagnosis,andtohimandJacque-
lineSouleforreviewingthemanuscript.
Turner; NewMelampodiumfrom Mexico 139
LITERATURE CITED
McVaugh,R, 1984. Melampodium,inFloraNovo-Gahciana12:585-600. Uni-
versityofMichiganPress, Ann Arbor,Michigaa.
Stuessy, T.F. 1972. Revisionofthe genus Melampodium(Compositae, He-
liantheae). Rhodora 74:1-70; 161-219.