Jacquemontia chuquisacensis J.R.I.Wood

Wood, J.R.I., Clegg, R. Jacquemontia (Convolvulaceae) in Bolivia and Peru. Kew Bull 76, 375–420 (2021). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-021-09936-5

Type

Bolivia, Chuquisaca, Boeto, near Puente Santa Rosa, 18°44.25'S 64°18.374'W, 939 m, 23 March 2016, J. R. I. Wood 28129 (holotype USZ, isotypes FHO, K, LPB).

Morphology General Habit

Erect subshrub, mostly 30 – 50 cm high; stems woody below, sericeous, wine-coloured on side facing the sun, the indumentum persistent on older parts, the hairs simple and branched

Morphology Leaves

Leaves petiolate; petioles 3 – 10 mm; lamina 2 – 4.2 × 1.6 × 2.8 cm, ovate, base subcordate to truncate with rounded auricles, apex acute, shortly mucronate, both surfaces minutely tomentellous, abaxially paler

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers in solitary, axillary cymes arising from the upper leaf axils, forming a subcorymbose inflorescence, the cymes somewhat dense and many-flowered; peduncles 3 – 5.6 cm, sericeous, erect; secondary and tertiary peduncles 5 – 13 mm, sericeous; bracteoles linear, 1.5 – 4 mm, persistent after the flowers have fallen; pedicels 1.5 – 2.5 mm, sericeous; sepals unequal, outer 7 – 8 × 2.5 – 3 mm, ovate–subrhomboid¸ shortly acuminate, tomentellous, inner 6 – 7 × 2 mm, lanceolate, acuminate, tomentellous but with glabrous scarious margins; corolla 1.4 – 1.6 cm long, campanulate, blue with white midpetaline bands or (rarely) white, glabrous; stamens included; filaments c. 4 mm long, anthers 0.75 mm; style included, c. 5 mm long; stigmas elliptic, c. 1 mm long; ovary conical-Capsule ellipsoid, 4 × 2 mm, glabrous, enclosed by erect sepals, 1-seeded; seeds ellipsoid, pale brown 2.5 × 2 mm.

Distribution

A narrowly endemic species characteristic of steep loose shale and gravelly slopes around 900 – 1100 m in the Rio Grande Valley between Puente Santa Rosa and Nuevo Mundo. Although very locally frequent on the Chuquisaca side of the valley, its occurrence on the Santa Cruz side requiries confirmation as the coordinates of the Santa Cruz records suggest these records were, in fact, made in Chuquisaca.

Conservation

This species is very restricted in its distribution being recorded from a very specific habitat from five nearby locations. Unlike most other endemics from this area, it has not been found in similar habitats elsewhere in the deep valleys of the Río Grande and Río Mizque valley system. On the positive side, there is little obvious risk to the habitat and the plant is not eaten by goats. Nevertheless, it should be provisionally categorised as Vulnerable (VU) D2 based on its very limited area of occupancy of < 20 km2 and the possibility that populations might be at risk from works involved in the proposed construction of a dam in the vicinity, although no current threat exists.

Etymology

This species is named after the Bolivian department of Chuquisaca, to which it is nearly restricted (see above).