Amyris karlitae W. Palacios 2015, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Palacios, Walter A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Sapindales
Rutaceae
Amyris
Amyris karlitae

description: Amyris karlitae W.Palacios, sp. nov.
Diagnosis: — Amyris karlitae is distinct from other species of the genus by a combination of characters: unifoliolate leaves, 6–11 × 4–6 cm, pinnate venation, and emarginate or acuminate apex and stamens 8(or 10), alternating short and long. (Figure 1)
Type:— ECUADOR. Loja: Cantón Macará, Sabiango, Achima-Cerro Jatumpamba, sitio El Fondo, aprox. 1700 m, agosto 2010 W. Palacios 17324 (holotype QCNE!, isotype to be distributed to QCA, MO, AAU, NY).
Tree to 18 m tall; dbh to 50 cm. Inner bark creamy-yellow and very aromatic. Terminal twigs clustered, cylindrical, browns. Leaves unifoliolate, alternate, spiral, 6–11 × 4–6 cm, elliptic, ovate-lanceolate or oblong-elliptic, glabrous, shiny above; apex acuminate or emarginate and in this case slightly recurved; base obtuse; secondary veins 10–13 pairs, more or less convergent, inconspicuous, forked towards the margin; intersecondary and secondary nerves very similar; tertiary nerves inconspicuous; margin entire; glandular dots translucent on leaves; petioles 1–3(–4) cm long, up to half as long as the lamina, thickened and curved at the apex. Inflorescence an axillary or terminal panicle, up to 8 cm long, with lateral branches up to 2.5 cm long; bracteoles ovate, 0.7–1 mm long. Flowers hermaphrodite, glanddotted; calyx patelliform, 4-lobed, approx. 1 mm long, lobes broadly ovate, shortly fused at the base; petals 4, free, elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 2–2.5 mm long, white; stamens 8(or 10), alternating short and long; disc glandular, orange, prominent between the stamens and pistil; pedicels 1.5–3 mm long, articulate at base.
Etymology: —Specific epithet is dedicated to my daughter Karlita.
Distribution and habitat: — Amyris karlitae grows between 1400 and 1700 m, where trees are laden with mosses in semideciduous forest. Typical trees include Juglans neotropica Diels (1906: 398), Pouteria lucuma Ruiz & Pavon (1802: 17) Kuntze (1898: 195) and Monactis holwayae Blake (1922: 419) Robinson (1976: 37). This type of forest that is part of the Huancabamba bioregion, located between Ecuador and Perú, is very scarce and ecologically important because of the presence of several endemic species (Lozano 2002). The area receives rainfall between January and April, and corresponds to the ecosistema bosque montano bajo semideciduo de Catamayo-Alamor (Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador 2013).
Etnobotany & vernacular names: —The common name of A. karlitae is “guallache serrano” and local people appreciate the high quality and rot-resistant wood. The inner bark and wood are aromatic and expel a delicious citrus scent; wood retains the smell even after several years after having been cut.
Phenology: —The flowering period occurs between August and September. Fruits have not been observed.
Specimens examined (Paratypes): — ECUADOR. Loja: Macará, Sabiango, Achima, Cerro Jatumpamba, aprox. 1700 m, 29 August 2009, W. Palacios 16872 (QCNE!); August 2014, W. Palacios 17609 (QCNE!), W. Palacios 17610 (QCNE!), W. Palacios 17612 (QCNE!), W. Palacios 17616 (QCNE!). Duplicates of these specimens to be distributed to AAU, MO and QCA.
description: Published as part of Palacios, Walter A., 2015, A new species of Amyris (Rutaceae) from southern Ecuador, pp. 98-100 in Phytotaxa 220 (1) on pages 98-99, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.220.1.11, http://zenodo.org/record/13634850