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[*] Aristolochia adiastola G.A. Romero & E. Fernández; [+] A. bilobata L.;
[•] A. bonettiana E. Fernández & G.A.Romero; [๏] Aristolochia marioniana E. Fernández & G.A. Romero.
in Fernández, Ferreras, Farrell, Medeiros & Romero-González, 2019.
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Abstract
A review of the literature at large and the field photographic record of the senior author of this study indicate that there are several undescribed species of Aristolochia in Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), related to A. bilobata. Here we show that A. mirandae is a synonym of A. bilobata and that what appears as A. bilobata in Marión H. (2011: 76–77) is a new species here described as Aristolochia adiastola. In addition, two new species, A. bonettiana and A. marioniana, also related to A. bilobata, are described and illustrated herein.
Key words: Aristolochia, Aristolochiaceae, hexandrous, West Indies
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FIGURE 5. Distribution map of four species of Aristolochia in Hispaniola.
[*] Aristolochia adiastola G.A. Romero & E. Fernández; [+] A. bilobata L.; [•] A. bonettiana E. Fernández & G.A.Romero; [๏] Aristolochia marioniana E. Fernández & G.A. Romero.
Map prepared by W. Cetzal Ix based on geographical data provided by the authors.
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FIGURE 4. Aristolochia adiastola G.A. Romero & E. Fernández.
A. Bani, Peravia province, Dominican Republic. B. Jardín Botánico Nacional, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. C. Jardín Botánico Nacional, Santo Domingo. D. Balnerario Mucha Agua. Photographs by E. Fernández. No vouchers were prepared. |
Aristolochia adiastola G.A. Romero & E. Fernández, sp. nov.
Aristolochia adiastola differs from A. bilobata by the absence of a constriction between the limb and the tube, the color of the limb (purple to brown with white spots in the new species versus greenish to yellowish with purple veins in A. bilobata), the orientation of the flowers, and their allopatric distribution.
Etymology:— From the Greek ἁδιαστολή, adiastolos, “not separated, confused” (Brown 1954: 228). An examination of herbarium specimens from A, GH, JBSD, NY, US, and USD (herbarium acronyms cited according to Thiers, continuously updated), filed under Aristolochia bilobata, as well as a search of images on the Internet under “Aristolochia bilobata”, revealed a mixture of A. adiastola, A. bilobata, and several undescribed species. This confusion can be traced back to the fact that A. bilobata was thought not to have any close relatives (Rankin and Greuter 1999) and that “while this species was frequently collected without flowers or fruits, it could be readily identified by the curious bilobate leaves” (Pfeifer 1966). Following these criteria, all plants from Hispaniola bearing bilobate leaves were at first identified, albeit often incorrectly, as A. bilobata.
As pointed out above, in vivo, Aristolochia adiastola can be easily distinguished from A. bilobata based on the color and orientation of the flowers (Fig. 4). Regarding orientation, the utricle is always pendant and the tube horizontal to pendant in A. adiastola; the former is always horizontal, and the latter erect in A. bilobata. Flower buds of A. adiastola start with the largest medial lobe abaxial (“1” in Pfeifer 1966: figure 2 therein; “a” in González 1999: 54, figure 12 therein); a flexure downward and a twist in the peduncle make the ovary and utricle pendant, and a slight bending upward of the tube relative to the utricle makes the tube horizontal to pendant and the medial lobe of the calyx adaxial and vertical (Figs. 3, 4). It is not clear whether the “twist” mentioned above always occurs in the peduncle: it is sometimes evident in the ovary (Fig. 4B, C).
Flowers of his species change shape in function of their development. At anthesis, early in the day, the edges of the limb are not revolute (Fig. 4B); by noon the edges are conspicuously revolute (Fig. 4A, B, C; in the afternoon, the edges of the limb bent forward, as the flower becomes senescent.
The white spots on the limb of flowers of the new species vary from inconspicuous, small, to conspicuous, horizontal to transversal, white spots. Likewise, the density and length of the multicellular trichomes along the basal margin of the limb also vary considerably (Fig. 3). A collaborator of the senior author recently found a population of A. adiastola the plants of which bore totally green flowers, with subtle lighter green spots at the base of the limb (Fig. 4D).
The specimen collected by O. P. Swartz at SBT (11433, Ex Ind. Occident., as “Aristolochia bilobata Linn.” [image seen]) has two deteriorated flowers that yet show somewhat the limb shape of A. adiastola but, according to the senior author of this contribution, it may be referable to an undescribed species from Haiti. Two other specimens attributed to Swartz and identified as A. bilobata, one at B (B-W 17050-01 0 [image seen]), with one deteriorated, undeterminable flower and a fragment of another one in the convolute, based on its size possibly belonging to another species, and one at S (08-1029 [image seen]) bears leaves only; another one at S [08-1032 [image seen]) bears only leaves and a fruit (with seeds in the packet).
Field and herbarium diagnostic characters:— In vivo, at anthesis, utricle pendant, tube horizontal to pendant, limb erect, purple to brownish red with white spots of variable size, without a constriction, the margins revolute at late anthesis. Flowers in herbarium specimens may conserve the original color, or the flower color may be cited in the label and, if mature flowers are present, the limb without constriction is easily discernable. Ultimately, herbarium specimens of the new species with accurate locality can be easily distinguished from A. bilobata because of the strictly allopatric distribution of these two species (Fig. 5).
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| FIGURE 10. Aristolochia bonettiana E. Fernández & G.A. Romero. Flowers (A, B, C) and capsule (D). Photographed along the road between Postrer Rio and Los Bolos (southern slope of Sierra de Neiba), Dominican Republic. Photographs by E. Fernández. No vouchers were prepared. |
Aristolochia bonettiana E. Fernández & G.A. Romero, sp. nov.
Aristolochia bonettiana differs from A. bilobata by the absence of a constriction between the limb and the tube, the color of the limb (brown at the terminal end and greenish yellow at the base with central whitish patch at base versus greenish to yellowish with purple veins in A. bilobata), and their allopatric distribution.
Etymology:— In honor of Rosa Margarita Bonetti, president of Fundación Propa-gas and a sponsor of Aristolochia research in the Dominican Republic.
Field and herbarium diagnostic characters:— In vivo, at anthesis, utricle pendant, tube horizontal to pendant, limb erect, brown at the terminal end and greenish yellow at the base with a whitish central patch, without a constriction, the margins revolute at late anthesis. Some individuals manifest an absence of brown at the terminal end of the limb (Fig. 10B). At anthesis, the flowers present a strong scent of lemongrass. Flowers in herbarium specimens may not conserve the original color, but the flower color may be cited in the label and, if mature flowers are present, the limb without constriction is easily discernable. Ultimately, herbarium specimens of the new species with accurate locality can be easily distinguished from A. bilobata because of the strictly allopatric distribution of these two species (Fig. 5).
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| FIGURE 12. Aristolochia marioniana E. Fernández & G.A. Romero. Flowers (A, B, C, D) from a population in Villa Gran Bahía, Samaná (Dominican Republic). Photographs by E. Fernández. No vouchers were prepared. |
Aristolochia marioniana E. Fernández & G.A. Romero, sp. nov.
Aristolochia marioniana differs from A. bilobata by the absence of a constriction between the limb and the tube, the color of the limb (thick red-violet veins on white and greenish to brown sagittate patch at the terminal portion of the limb versus greenish to yellowish with slender red-violet veins in A. bilobata), the barbate trichomes around the edge of the tube and limb (the “fauce” or “throat”; F. González, personal communication, 2019; absent in A. bilobata), and their allopatric distribution.
Etymology:— In honor of Dr. Luis Marión Heredia, psychiatrist, naturalist, former director of the Museo de Historia Natural “Dr. Eugenio de Jesús Marcano”, co-founder of the Sociedad de Orquídeas de República Dominicana, founding member of the Academia de Ciencias de la República Dominicana and author of Las Aristolochias de la Isla La Española.
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FIGURE 2. Possible natural hybrids between Aristolochia adiastola G.A. Romero & E. Fernández and A. marioniana E. Fernández & G.A. Romero.
Two flowers (Figs. A, B) were found in the eastern-most range of the hybrid population; they present an orientation similar to A. marioniana, as well as the typical radiated dark pattern on white, whereas the apex of the limb is erect and apiculate as in A. adiastola. In one case, medium-length trichomes are also present at the central limb margins (fig. 2A), whereas in the other (Fig. 2B) there are fewer withered trichomes typical of second to third day flowers that are in the process of senescence. They retain the shape and posture of A. adiastola, while exhibiting the radiated dark pattern on white of A. marioniana. The flowers shown in 2C and 2D also exhibit medium length conical trichomes along the side central margins of the limb, as in A. marioniana, which has long feather-like trichomes along its central limb margins. |
Eladio Fernández, Irina Ferreras, Brian D. Farrell, Bruno A. S. de Medeiros and Gustavo Adolfo Romero-González. 2019. Studies in
Aristolochia (Aristolochiaceae) of Hispaniola.
Phytotaxa. 420(1); 1-20. DOI:
10.11646/phytotaxa.420.1.1
instagram.com/EladioFoto eladiofoto
And so... after sleepless nights, extreme obsessive-compulsive behavior, tons of sweat, tears, patience, research, a gazillion hours on the road, and a lot of help from the best team of colleagues, teachers and friends... we finally have 3 new described species of Aristolochia (pipe vines) on Hispaniola!!! This first article in Phytotaxa is the first of a series of publications on this subject. This project has taken a lot of time over the past few years—I’m frankly obsessed with them. Photography played a key roll in this publication. Photos of live fresh flowers provide a lot of informacion that herbarium specimens can’t.
I want to thank Gustavo Romero, Irina Ferreras, Brian Farrell, and Bruno De Medeiros for their support, teachings and patience. Also Joel Timyan and Ruth Bastardo for all their help. I’m very grateful to the folks of the Santo Domingo Botanic Garden for providing access to their herbarium collection. #aristolochia #newspecies #pipevine #endangered #caribbeanflora #dutchmanspipe #flowerporn @ilcp_photographers
Resumen: Una revisión extensa de la literatura existente y de los registros fotográficos en campo del primer autor indican que hay varias especies no descritas de Aristolochia en Hispaniola (la República Dominicana y Haití). Aquí demostramos que A. mirandae es un sinónimo de A. bilobata y lo que aparece como A. bilobata en Marión H. (2011:76—77) es una especie nueva aquí descrita como Aristolochia adiastola. Otras dos especies nuevas de Hispaniola, A. bonettiana y A. marioniana, también relacionadas con A. bilobata, son aquí descritas e ilustradas.
Palabras clave: Antillas, Aristolochia, Aristolochiaceae, hexandrous, La Española
