Drymonia katzensteiniae J. L. Clark 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Clark, John L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lamiales
Gesneriaceae
Drymonia
Drymonia katzensteiniae

description: Drymonia katzensteiniae J. L. Clark sp. nov.
Figs 3, 4
Diagnosis.
Differs from Drymonia coccinea by corollas that are less than 2.5 cm long (vs. corollas> 3.5 cm in D. coccinea), orange corolla tubes (vs. yellow corolla tubes in D. coccinea), and relatively large leaves that often exceed 30 cm in length.
Type.
Ecuador • Napo: parroquia Catundo, buffer zone of Parque Nacional Sumaco Napo Galeras, trail from the Comunidad Mushullakta towards crest of Galeras, 1100–1200 m, 0°49'40"S, 77°33'49"W, 25 Feb 2003, J. L. Clark & N. Harris 7247 (holotype: SEL! [barcode SEL 065816]; isotypes: MO, QCNE, US! [barcode US 00818455]).
Description.
Elongate scandent subwoody nomadic lianas with leaves in the subcanopy (ca. 10 m above ground) and flowers produced near the forest floor along a leafless portion of the stem. Stems elongate and subwoody, terete in cross section, 3–6 mm in diameter. Leaves opposite, equal in a pair; petiole 2–8 cm long, green, terete in cross-section; blade broadly ovate to ovate, 13–27 × 5–10 cm, coriaceous, adaxially light green, abaxially green when alive and turning dark red when dry, apex acute to acuminate, base acute, sometimes slightly decurrent along the petiole, margin entire, 5–7 pairs of secondary veins, sparsely pubescent with single-celled trichomes abaxially, adaxially glabrous. Inflorescences of pair-flowered cymes that elongate from displaced bracteoles, produced along a leafless region of stem near ground, each often reaching 7 cm in length, with each inflorescence branch subtended by a pair of persistent bracts; bracts sparsely puberulent, oval and uniformly red, ca. 3.0 × 2.2 cm; each inflorescence with one open mature flower at a time. Flowers tubular and laterally compressed; pedicels 4–7 mm long. Calyx orange to orange suffused with red, glabrous, base of calyx with enations, lobes 5, nearly free, fused at the base for 2–4 mm, lobes overlapping, imbricate, and clasping corolla tube, broadly ovate, apex rounded, base broadly ovate, margins entire, ventral and lower lobes ca. 2.3 × 1.2 cm, the dorsal lobe slightly smaller, ca. 2.1 × 1.0 cm. Corolla tube zygomorphic, protandrous, oblique to perpendicular relative to calyx, ca. 3.2 cm long, gibbous at base, constricted laterally throughout, 7–10 mm wide, outside mostly glabrous at base and puberulent near apex, inside glabrous with minute glandular trichomes near apex, throat elliptic in cross section and constricted laterally, lobes 5, subequal, margins entire to erose, lobes reflexed, 5–6 × 7–8 mm, uniformly orange to orange suffused with red. Androecium of 4 didynamous stamens, included, filaments broad and flat, ca. 2.7 cm long, adnate to the corolla tube for 3 mm, white, glabrous; anthers oblong, sagittate, coherent by the lateral walls, initially dehiscent by basal pores that develop into longitudinal slits, 4–7 × 0.7–2.0 mm. Gynoecium with a single bilobed dorsal gland; ovary superior, 4.0–5.0 × 4.0–5.0 mm, cone-shaped, puberulent; style stout, included, 2.0 cm long; stigma stomatomorphic. Fruit a bivalved fleshy capsule, valves orange and reflexed when mature, each valve 1 × 1 cm. Seeds numerous, 0.8–10.0 × 0.4–0.5 mm, light brown, fusiform, ridged.
Additional specimens examined.
Ecuador • Morona-Zantiago: Río Namangoza, near Logrono, 550 m, 30 Dec 1976, M. T. Madison & F. R. Coleman 2510 (SEL); • Cordillera de Cutucu, 25 km SE of Logrono, 1000 m, 30 Dec 1975, M. T. Madison & F. R. Coleman 2525 (SEL); • Cordillera de Cutucu, 25 km SE of Logrono, 900 m, 17 Jan 1976, M. T. Madison & F. R. Coleman 2617 (SEL-2 sheets); • Macas, along new road, west into the Andes, first 17 km westward, then ca. 12 km south on side road, 15 Apr 1988, H. Wiehler et al. 8807 (SEL); • from Macas across Río Upano for about 15 km and then a 5 km hike by foot into the Cordillera de Cutucú, after 2.5 km across a river via steel basket on a cable, 16 Apr 1988, H. Wiehler et al. 8836 (SEL); • above Patuca in the Cordillera de Cutucú, ca. 15 km from Patuca, in the area of the two waterfalls visible from the bridge, 19 Apr 1988, H. Wiehler et al. 8898 (SEL). • Napo: cantón Tena, Jatun Sacha Biological Station (Fundacion Jatun Sacha), forest between main cabin and Río Napo, 23 km east of Puerto Napo, 8 km east of Misahuallí, 485 m, 1°4'12.24"S, 77°37'46.46"W, 10 Apr 2023, J. L. Clark & J. Griefa 17596 (ECUAMZ, SEL, US); • Tena to Río Pano, 26 Apr 1993, H. Wiehler et al. 93213 (SEL); Jatun Sacha, 28 Apr 1995, H. Wiehler et al. 95133 (SEL). • Pastaza: cantón Mera, parroquia Shell, road to Río Anzu and beyond (south of the town Mera), trail heading north from road, 1350–1450 m, 1°23'15"S, 78°3'12"W, 6 May 2003, J. L. Clark et al. 7795 (QCNE, SEL, UNA, US); • cantón Mera, town of Shell, small patch of forest on northern edge of Shell, 1100–1200 m, 1°29'14"S, 78°3'39"W, 7 May 2003, J. L. Clark & M. Mailoux 7836 (MO, QCNE, SEL, US); • parroquia Veracruz, La Esperanza (Siguin), Finca Salina (de Hilda Perez), km 14 on the Puyo-Macas road, 800–1000 m, 1°32'40"S, 77°53'53"W, 24 Jun 2003, J. L. Clark & J. Katzenstein 8307 (MO, QCNE, SEL, UNA, US); • parroquia Simon Bolivar, Bosque Protector Arutam (Fundación Arutam), km 47 on Puyo-Macas highway, 800–950 m, 1°46'53"S, 77°49'57"W, 10 Aug 2005 (QCNE, US); • parroquia Simon Bolivar, Bosque Protector Arutam (Fundación Arutam), km 47 on Puyo-Macas highway, 800-950 m, 1°46'53"S, 77°49'57"W, 10 Aug 2005, J. L. Clark, D. Munez, S. Quinn & M. Katan 9160 (QCNE, SEL, US); • cantón Mera, Río Anzu Reserve (Fundacion EcoMinga), 10 + km along dirt road from Río Alpayacu, 1197 m, 1°24'9"S, 78°2'48"W, 2 Aug 2013, J. L. Clark, J. Grammer, J. Martin & P. Taber 13653 (ECUAMZ, SEL, US); • cantón Pastaza, parroquia Veracruz, finca de Ursula Gelchsheimer, between Puyo and Macas, via a Taculín, entrada al Calvario, Río Bobonaza watershed, 609 m, 1°31'4.4"S, 77°50'21.03"W, 12 Jan 2024, J. L. Clark & H. X. Garzón-Suárez 17868 (ECUAMZ, QCA, SEL, US); • 8 km from Puyo along road to Macas and Canelos, east along stream near distillery, 21 Apr 1986, H. Wiehler et al. 86104 (SEL, US); • environs of Mera, hills east of town, 1188 m, 22 Nov 1974, T. Plowman & E. W. Davis 4481 (SEL).
Phenology.
Collected with flowers in January, February, April, May, June, August, November, and December. Collected with fruits in June.
Etymology.
The specific epithet honors Jeanne Katzenstein, a horticulturist and life-long promoter for the taxonomic study of Gesneriaceae. Katzenstein has held several leadership roles in the Gesneriad Society, most notably serving as editor of the society’s journal for two decades (1992–2012). She was the Conference Organizer for the 2010 World Gesneriad Research Conference (WGRC 2010) held at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. A tireless supporter of multiple generations of Gesneriaceae systematists, Katzenstein participated in 18 expeditions across Latin America with the late Hans Wiehler (1930–2003), who honored her contributions with an eponym, Columnea katzensteiniae (Wiehler) L. E. Skog & L. P. Kvist. Katzenstein co-directed four study-abroad programs focused on Gesneriaceae with John L. Clark and collaborated closely with Laurence E. Skog (Smithsonian Institution) to curate the Wiehler collections at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. The species described here was collected by the author and Katzenstein during a collaborative 2003 field research expedition in Ecuador (J. L. Clark & J. Katzenstein 8307).
Distribution.
Drymonia katzensteiniae is distributed in premontane wet forests along the eastern Andean slopes of Ecuador, particularly in the provinces of Morona-Santiago, Pastaza, and Napo (Table 1). Notably, it has not been recorded in the northern province of Orellana or the southern province of Zamora-Chinchipe. The species is typically found at elevations between 800 and 1200 meters, though some populations have been documented as low as 500 meters in Napo (e. g., J. L. Clark et al. 17496).
Comments.
Among the four species described here, Drymonia katzensteiniae has the largest leaf blades (> 30 cm long) and the smallest flowers (corollas <2.5 cm long). The bracts are reddish-orange, while the corolla tubes are orange, with the corolla itself ranging from orange to orangish-red (Fig. 3 D). The corolla lobes vary from orange to red or red suffused with yellow (Fig. 3). Unlike D. clavijoiae (Fig. 1), the bracts of D. katzensteiniae are often moist but never gelatinous.
It is noteworthy that Drymonia katzensteiniae is endemic to Ecuador and typically grows sympatrically with D. clavijoiae. Although D. clavijoiae is more widespread and abundant, occurrences of D. katzensteiniae often coincide with those of D. clavijoiae in the same localities. The overlapping distribution of these two species was a significant factor in the discovery and recognition of D. katzensteiniae as a distinct species.
Phylogenetic studies based on DNA sequence data have included samples of both D. katzensteiniae and D. clavijoiae, although these samples were initially determined as D. coccinea. There are no known samples of the currently recognized D. coccinea included in published phylogenetic studies or represented in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank database. Tissue samples from D. clavijoiae (J. L. Clark et al. 6492) and from the type specimen of D. katzensteiniae (J. L. Clark & N. Harris 7247) were both recognized as members of D. coccinea in Clark et al. (2015). These two samples were resolved as sister-taxa in a phylogenetic analysis and strongly supported in a clade of Drymonia species that share laterally compressed corollas (see fig. 3 in Clark et al. 2015).
description: Published as part of Clark, John L., 2025, Four new species of Drymonia (Gesneriaceae) from South America: Tributes to inspirational leaders, pp. 37-59 in PhytoKeys 256 on pages 37-59, DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.256.148263