Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Three Previously Undescribed Central American Species of Sloanea (Elaeocarpaceae)

1996; Missouri Botanical Garden Press; Volume: 6; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/3392224

1945-6174

Damon A. Smith,

Plant and animal studies

Sloanea geniculata Damon A. Smith, S. laevigata Damon A. Smith, and S. rugosa Damon A. Smith are described from Nicaragua and Costa Rica based primarily on stamen, foliage, and stip- ule characters. They are differentiated from the most closely related S. faginea Standley, S. schom- burgkii Bentham, and S. meianthera Donnell Smith, respectively, and Latin diagnoses, specimen lists, and summaries of distinguishing features are pro- vided. Illustrations are also provided for S. geni- culata and S. rugosa. Although Costa Rica has the highest collection density of any Central American country (Gentry, 1978), new species are continually being discov- ered there, particularly among hard to collect ar- borescent groups. Sloanea is a case in point, with eleven species new to science and eight range ex- tensions recorded in Costa Rica in the forty years since C. E. Smith's (1954) monograph of the New World species (D. A. Smith, in prep.). Three of the new species occur along the eastern edge of the Caribbean piedmont. Although they are at present known only from small areas in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the true range of each may well be larg- er. They are presented here to accommodate pub- lication of the Flora of Nicaragua. The information presented here is in large part a product of research conducted at Duke University, Durham, North Car- olina (D. A. Smith, 1985). In the following descriptions, growth incre- ment indicates that portion of a twig produced during a flush of growth.