Ayers, Johnson & Ayers, 2022

1. Diastatea aptera E.P.Johnson & T.J. Ayers , sp. nov. TYPE: MÉXICO. Mexico: Amatepec; just N of Amatepec, 14.2 mi S of MEX 134 at Tejupilco, 4.5 mi S of Rıo Bejucos bridge on highway; 18 45.648' N, 100 09.972' W, 6 Nov 2006, T. J. Ayers , R. Scott & A. Scott 1767 (holotype: MEXU!; isotypes: ASC!, NY!).

Stems 8.7–45 cm tall, simple or with few to many ascending branches, 0.3–1.9 mm wide at base, minutely pubescent below decreasing distally, round, wingless. Leaves sessile or subsessile below, not decurrent; blades purple to green, base rounded, apex acute; lowermost blades ovate, 4–7.1 mm long, 2.5–3.8 mm wide, margins regularly serrate, glabrous or minutely scabrous; middle to upper blades narrowly elliptic to linear, 7–71 mm long, 0.4–2.4 mm wide, marginal teeth reduced to callosities, glabrous. Inflorescence strongly secund, with few to 20 flowers per stem; bracts narrowly linear, 4–40 mm long, 0.2–1.2 mm wide, ascending to appressed, glabrous. Flowers with pedicels 2.5–37 mm long in flower, ascending and bent distally in fruit; hypanthium obconic in flower, 0.5–1.2 mm in diameter, 0.7–2 mm in length from the calyx sinus to attachment point with pedicel, expanded in fruit enveloping from one-third to one-half of the mature capsule, glabrous; calyx lobes equal to subequal, three-quarters or nearly equal the length of the fruit, narrowly triangular to linear-elliptic, 1–3.8 mm long in flower, green to purple, margins entire or with 1–2 pair of teeth near base, glabrous; corolla purple, the nectar guides of yellow or yellowish green spots surrounded by a dark purple band on white area at

throat; tube cylindrical, sometimes minutely gibbous at base, (4–) 6–11 mm long from calyx sinus to lateral corolla sinus, 0.3–1.2 mm wide at middle; dorsal lobes oblanceolate to obovate with a narrowed claw attaching distal portion to deltoid base, (2–) 4–6.7 mm long, 0.5–2.5 mm wide; ventral lobes oblong, (2–) 5.2–8.5 mm long, (0.6–) 1.4–2.5 mm wide; filaments (4.5–) 8.5–10.6 mm long; anthers (1–) 1.5–2 mm long, purple with downy white covering on dorsal anthers, plus two large, narrow trichomes and several slightly smaller secondary trichomes at apex of ventral anther pair. Fruits narrowly ellipsoid with an unequal base mirroring gibbous corolla, 3.7–6.6 mm long, 1–3 mm wide, light brown; seeds ellipsoid, 0.5 mm long, medium to dark orange-brown. Figures 2 View FIG , 3A, B View FIG , 4A, S4A View FIG .

Chromosome Number —2 n 5 14 ( Fig. S5A View FIG ).

Distribution —Mexican states of Guerrero and Mexico ( Fig. 7 View FIG ).

Etymology —We chose the specific epithet aptera meaning “without wing” because this taxon lacks the minutely winged stems created by the decurrent leaf bases that are present in all other species of Diastatea .

Notes —This new species of Diastatea is most often incorrectly identified as D. tenera , but can be easily distinguished from D. tenera by a wingless, minutely pubescent stem, vs. a winged mostly glabrous stem in D. tenera ; long, linear leaves vs. more or less narrowly elliptic leaves in D. tenera ; a one-third to one-half inferior fruit capsule vs. a mostly superior or only one-third inferior capsule in D. tenera ; calyx lobe teeth at the base vs. just below the middle in D. tenera ; and a non-gibbous corolla base vs. a gibbous corolla base in D. tenera . Our molecular work supports the recognition of D. aptera as a new species in a clade separate and sister to the one containing both D. tenera and D. expansa .

Additional Specimens Examined — Mexico. — GUERRERO: Campo Morado. District of Mina , 2 Jan 1938, Hinton 11162 ( GH) ; Villa Xochitl , 10.3 km al O ; [17.69, -100.09], 17 Jan 1999, Soto 13195 ( MEXU) ; Local.: Toro Muerto; Distr.: Mina , 15 Nov 1939, Hinton et al. 14860 ( MO, TEX) ; Petlacala; Distrito Mina ; Sierra Madre del Sur , 15 Dec 1937, Mexia 8959 ( MO, NY, LL) ; Tlacotepec , 10.7 km al SO ; [17.67, -100.11], 31 Oct 1998, Soto 11807 ( MEXU) . — JALISCO: Llano verde, cerca de Los Corales, municipio de Tecalitlan, Sierra de Los Corales , 24 Oct 1963, Rzedowski 17406 ( MEXU) . — MÉXICO: San Diego , 15 km al NNE de Tejupilco, sobre el camino a Temascaltepec, 19 Nov 1967, Rzedowski 25197 ( WIS) ; Temascaltepec, 1.8 mi S of Temascaltepec on road to Tejupilco ; [18.9893, -100.0628], 6 Nov 2006, Ayers et al. 1763 ( ASC) GoogleMaps ; Temascaltepec ; 7.5 mi S of Temascaltepec on MEX 134 About MEX , road to Tejupilco ; [18.98623, -100.06817], 6 Nov 2006, Ayers et al. 1764 ( ASC) GoogleMaps ; Temascaltepec ; 2 mi W of Temascaltepec on road to Valle de Bravo ; [19.05353, -100.05653], 7 Nov 2006, Ayers et al. 1768 ( ASC) GoogleMaps ; Amatepec ; just N of Amatepec, 14.2 mi S of MEX 134 About MEX at Tejupilco, 4.5 mi S of Rıo Bejucos bridge on highway ; [18.7608, -100.1662], 6 Nov 2006, Ayers et al. 1767 ( ASC, MEXU, NY) GoogleMaps ; Mpio. Temascaltepec ; 6.5 km northeast of Temascaltepec on hwy 130 ; [19.1, -100.0], 10 Nov 1985, Reisfield 1250 ( MO, TEX) ; Valle de Bravo, 23 Nov 1952, Matuda et al. 27317 ( MEXU) ; Loc.: La Labor; Distr.: Temascaltepec, 7 Nov 1935, Hinton et al. 8625 ( TEX) ; Cajones, Temascaltepec, 17 Nov 1935, Hinton et al. 8661 ( MEXU, MO, TEX) ; Amatepec y cercanıas, 27 Dec 1953, Matuda et al. 29847 ( MEXU) ; Tejupilco de Hidalgo ; 15 km (9.4 mi) NE de Tejupilco de Hidalgo o 18.9 km (11.8 mi) al SE de Temascaltepec sobre ruta 130 (134?), 14 Dec 1984, Cowan 4816 ( MEXU, TEX) ; 5 km al Suroeste de Nanchititla ; Mun. Tejupilco, 27 Dec 1972, Medrano et al. 5022 ( MEXU) ; Pelon de Tres Reyes, Tezoloapan ( Otzoloapan ?), 22 Nov 1970, Matuda et al. 38220 ( LL) ; 3 km al S de Colorines, municipio de Valle de Bravo, 29 Dec 1966, Rzedowski 23743 ( TEX, WIS) . — MICHOACÁN: Cerro Blanco de Coro, municipio de Zinapecuaro, 29 Oct 1991, Escobedo 2257 ( MEXU) .