A New Species of Freziera (Pentaphylacaceae) from the Venezuelan Andes
2015; Harvard University Press; Volume: 20; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.3100/hpib.v20iss2.2015.n4
ISSN1938-2944
AutoresNidia Cuello, Daniel Santamaría‐Aguilar,
Tópico(s)Fern and Epiphyte Biology
ResumoFreziera Willd. is a Neotropical genus of functionally dioecious trees or shrubs with alternate leaves and lenticellate, often pubescent twigs sometimes organized in a zig-zag fashion. The genus is distributed from Mexico to Bolivia, including the Guayana Highlands, and the West Indies (Weitzman, 1987). Species of Freziera mainly occur in cloud forest (1000–3200 m) and sometimes in paramos, although some species may have a wider altitudinal range, from near sea level to middle elevation forests at about 1,800 m (Weitzman, 1987). Nine species are known to date from Venezuela. Four species are present in montane forests in the Andes of Merida to the Cordillera de la Costa (F. candicans Tul., F. chrysophylla Bonpl., F. grisebachii Krug & Urb., and F. tomentosa (Ruiz & Pav.) Tul.); three species are found in montane forests of the Venezuelan Guayana (F. calophylla Triana & Planch., in Amazonas and F. carinata A. L. Weitzman and F. roraimensis Tul., in Bolivar and Amazonas); and two species are known only from the Andes (F. bonplandiana Tul. in Tachira and F. karsteniana (Szyszyl.) Kobuski in Merida) (Berry and Weitzman, 2005, 2008). Berry and Weitzman (2008) suggest there may be a third species of Freziera in forest areas on slopes of RoraimaTepui in the Venezuelan Guayana (F. roraimensis Tul.) which has been also cited by Berry & Weitzman (2007); however its presence there has still not been confirmed and the species is known only from the type collection, which does not mention a specific locality. There is an additional Venezuelan species of Freziera, which is apparently very common in forests and paramos of the Andes in Merida, Lara and Trujillo. Weitzman (1987) originally identified it as a new species, F. serrata A. L. Weitzman ined. It has since been cited by that name in different floristic and vegetation studies in Venezuela (Dorr
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