Commelina almandina M.Pell. & Cornejo, 2025

Commelina almandina M.Pell. & Cornejo sp. nov.

urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77347326-1

Figs 1–2 View Fig View Fig ; Table 1 View Table 1

Diagnosis

Similar to C. efoveolata , C. leiocarpa , C. pallida , and C. texcocana due to their leaf-sheaths with hyaline to white hairs along the margin, inflorescences predominantly axillary and leaf-opposed, with a long peduncle, spathe base free, pedicels pilose, sepals opaque, green, lower sepals sessile and free, paired petals limb apex obtuse, and medial petal conspicuous and shortly-clawed. However, C. almandina sp. nov. can be easily differentiated from all species in the genus due to a combination of evenly pilose pedicels and sepals, white to cream-coloured anthers, aborted medial staminode, stigma truncate and white, fruits widely ellipsoid, thick-walled, dehiscent, 3-valved, valves splitting only up to mid-length, opaque reddish-brown to dark maroon when mature, and seeds densely farinose. The fruits of C. almandina are unique in the genus.

Etymology

The epithet derives from the French word ʻalmandineʼ, a corruption of the Medieval Latin words ʻ alamandīna ʼ and ʻ alabandīna ʼ, which were the names given to the deep to dark red types of garnets. This name is chosen in reference to the new species’ reddish-brown to dark maroon and gem-like fruits. The epithet also refers to the character Garnet from the Cartoon Network series ʻSteven Universeʼ, created by Rebecca Sugar. Garnet is a member of a gem-based alien species and the current leader of the Crystal Gems. In the cartoon, Garnet fights for the right to be who they are. The existence of Garnet is deemed an abomination by some members of their species since they are formed by the fusion of two independent Gems of different types, Ruby and Sapphire. Thus, Garnet is the personification of the love shared between Ruby and Sapphire, representing a metaphor for a BIPOC LGBTQIA+ relationship. Academia has been historically dominated by white, cisgender, straight male scientists from the Global North. The past decades have given rise to countless movements to diversify and decolonise science. Honouring this fictional character is fitting not only due to the species’ unique and gorgeous gem-like fruits but also because it brings much-needed attention to BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ researchers in STEM.

Type material

Type

ECUADOR – Guayas • Guayaquil, Cerro Azul ; 18 Jul. 2020; fl; X. Cornejo & J. Josse 9333; holotype: GUAY [GUAY no. 13583 ] !.

Paratypes

ECUADOR – Guayas • vicinity of Guayaquil , Cerro Azul ; 13 Jun. 1955; fl., fr.; E. Asplund 16628; S ! • vicinity of Guayaquil , Cerro Azul ; 14 Jun. 1955; fl., fr.; E. Asplund 16645; S ! • Hacienda Barcelona, 12 km W of Guayaquil, on the road to Playas-Salinas ; 24 Jul. 1962; fl., fr.; A.J. Gilmartin 762; US! GoogleMaps • vicinity of Guayaquil , Cerro Azul ; 2°08′ S, 79°59′ W; 450 m a.s.l.; 26 Jun. 1994; fl.; X. Cornejo & C. Bonifaz 2931; GUAY GoogleMaps !.

Description

Herbs 40–300 cm tall, vining, perennial, robust, terrestrial. Roots tuberous, cylindric, with apical fusiform tubers. Rhizome short. Stems dimorphic, fibrous, branched in the upper third, primary branches ascending, rooting only at the base, secondary branches shorter than the primary branches, twining, apex decumbent or suberect to ascending; internodes 2.2–11.1 cm long, distally shorter, green, glabrous, with a sparse line of acicular hairs opposite to the leaves, hairs hyaline. Leaves distichously-alternate, evenly distributed along the upper part of the stem, pseudopetiolate; sheaths 1.1–2.3 cm long, light green, glabrous, with a sparse line of acicular hairs opposite to the blade, hairs hyaline, margin upright, sparsely ciliate to ciliate, hairs acicular, hyaline; pseudopetiole 2.2–4.6 mm long; blades 2.9–9.7 × (1–) 1.5–2.7 cm, lanceolate to ovate, straight, membranous to thinly chartaceous, adaxially dark green, abaxially light green, drying adaxially dark green or olive-green, abaxially light green or olive-green, glabrous on both sides, base asymmetric, obtuse to round, margin flat, scabrid with prickle-hairs, apex acuminate to long-acuminate; midvein conspicuous, adaxially impressed, abaxially prominently obtuse, secondary veins 2–3 pairs, adaxially conspicuous, abaxially inconspicuous, becoming conspicuous on both sides when dry. Synflorescence composed of a solitary main florescence or a main florescence and 1–2 co-florescences, restricted to the apex of the stems and forming a dense second-degree synflorescence. Inflorescences leaf-opposed, peduncle 2.3–4.1 cm long, straight, glabrous, except for a line of minute hook-hairs opposed to the spathe, sometimes with some odd eglandular hairs, hairs hyaline; spathe 1.2–2.5 × 1–2.2 cm, cordate, patent to the peduncle, concolourous with the leaves, internally inconspicuously mucilaginous, base free, subcordate to round, glabrous on both sides, margin flat, minutely scabrid with prickle-hairs, hairs hyaline, apex acute, straight, veins 4–5 pairs, inconspicuous, becoming conspicuous when dry; upper cincinnus vestigial, flowerless, rarely producing a single abortive, staminate flower, peduncle 0.8–1.1 mm long, included, gently recurved at pre-anthesis and anthesis, recurved and exserted at post-anthesis and fruit, glabrous with some odd hook-hairs towards the apex, hairs hyaline; lower cincinnus 2–4-flowered, flowers mainly bisexual, rarely staminate, peduncle 6.7–16 mm long, thickened in fruit, sparsely puberulous with minute hook-hairs towards the apex, hairs hyaline; bracteoles early deciduous, cup-shaped, inconspicuous, light green, opaque, margin entire, glabrous. Flowers chasmogamous, zygomorphic, enantiostylous (style dislocated to the opposite side to the medial stamen); floral buds 2.2–3.8 × 2–2.5 mm, obovoid, light green or pale lilac to light blue, pilose, hairs hyaline; pedicel 1.7–2.4 mm long, deflexed in bud and at anthesis, reflexed and elongating in fruit, light green, pilose, hairs acicular, hyaline; sepals light green, opaque, persistent and accrescent in fruit, dorsal sepal 2.9–3.4 × 1.9–2.3 mm, elliptic to narrowly triangular, concave, pilose, densely pilose at base, hairs hyaline, apex acute, lower sepals 3.2–3.6 × 2.1–2.4 mm, sessile, free, ovate to widely ovate, concave, sparsely pilose, pilose at base, generally glabrescent in fruit, hairs hyaline, apex obtuse; paired petals 3.2–4 × 3.1–3.6 mm, clawed, claw 0.6–0.8 mm long, white to pale lilac to light blue, limb 2.7–2.9 × 3.1–3.6 mm, widely reniform to widely rhombic-reniform, pale lilac to lilac to light blue, base asymmetric, subcordate, apex obtuse to slightly emarginate, medial petal 3.3–3.8 × 3.2–3.8 mm, shortly-clawed, claw 0.2–0.3 mm long, white, limb 3.1–3.5 × 3.2–3.8 mm, widely sagittate, entire, concave, concolourous with the paired petals, opaque, glabrous on both sides, apex obtuse; staminodes 2, medial staminode completely absent, filaments 1.7–2.5 mm long, straight to arcuate-decurved, white, base light green, apex pale lilac to light blue, antherodes 1–1.2 × 0.3–0.4 mm, X-shaped, white, minute pollen sacs between the upper and lower lobes present, non-polliniferous or producing very few grains, not apiculate between the upper lobes, upper lobes conspicuous, spathulate, smaller than the lower, lower lobes spathulate to obovate; lateral filaments 3.4–4.6 mm long, gently sigmoid, geniculate distal to the middle, white, base light green, apex pale lilac to light blue, anthers 1.5–1.8 × 0.6–0.8 mm, held near the antherodes and medial anther, sagittate, white to cream-coloured, drying cream-coloured to pale yellow, connective white, pollen white, drying pale yellow; medial filament 2.8–3.6 mm long, straight to arcuate-recurved, apex recurved, white, base light green, apex pale lilac to light blue, anther 1.9–2.2 × 0.6–0.8 mm, held near the antherodes and lateral anthers, hastate, curved, white to cream-coloured, drying cream-coloured to pale yellow, connective hastate, white, anther sacs appressed to each other, pollen white, drying pale yellow; ovary 0.7–1 × 0.4–0.6 mm, 3-carpellate, 5-ovulate, ellipsoid to widely ellipsoid, green, smooth, glabrous, style 2.7–3.4 mm long, exceeding the stamens, sigmoid, base tapering into the ovary, apex strongly recurved, white, base light green, apex pale lilac to light blue, deciduous in fruit, stigma truncate, white. Capsules 1–2 per spathe, 7.4–8.5 × 5–5.4 mm, widely ellipsoid, sessile, fruit wall thick, apex rostrate, not constricted between the seeds when immature, becoming constricted between the seeds when mature, light green when immature, reddish-brown to dark maroon when mature, sometimes irregularly speckled tan, opaque, glabrous, smooth, 3-locular, 3-valved, valves splitting only up to mid-length, dorsal locule 1-seeded, ventral locules 2-seeded. Seeds dimorphic, dark brown to black; dorsal locule seed 4.2–4.4 × 2.8–3 mm, free from the capsule wall, ellipsoid, dorsiventrally compressed, ventrally flattened, slightly cleft towards the embryotega, testa shallowly rugose, with some small furrows on the side opposed to the embryotega, completely covered by a thick, cream-coloured farinae, embryotega semilateral, inconspicuous, with a prominent apicule, hilum linear, longer than ½ the length of the seed; ventral locule seeds 2.5–2.8 × 2.5–2.6 mm, free from the capsule wall, widely ellipsoid, truncate at one end, ventrally flattened, not cleft towards the embryotega, testa irregularly rugose, densely farinose, farinae cream-coloured, embryotega semilateral to lateral, inconspicuous, with a prominent apicule, hilum linear, ca ½ the length of the seed.

Distribution

Commelina almandina sp. nov. is currently endemic to Guayaquil, province of Guayas, Ecuador ( Fig. 2 View Fig ).

Ecology

It grows in the understory of conserved patches of dry forests between 200–400 m a.s.l. It is persistent in the interior and at the edge of secondary forests, under a more or less closed canopy, but does not grow on fully open disturbed habitats. In the type locality, it is occasionally sympatric at the edge of forests but never in intermixed populations with the distantly related C. erecta L.

Phenology

It was found in bloom in June and July and with fruits from June to August. The flowers open during the morning, at 10:00 AM, and small native bees of the genus Plebeia Schwarz, 1938 ( Apidae , Meliponini ) have been observed visiting the flowers and transporting pollen grains to the stigma while feeding on pollen grains from other anthers (Cornejo, pers. obs.). Fruit and seed production seem consistent, and, despite the lack of breeding experiments, the species seems to match a seed set pattern consistent with self-compatibility with post-anthesis self-pollination. This is also consistent with field and cultivation observations for other (closely and distantly) related species of Commelina (Faden & Pellegrini, unpubl. data). We have not observed any animals interacting with the fruits despite their striking colouration and being clearly exposed by the pendulous spathes along the secondary branches.

Proposed vernacular names

Churuyuyo granate ( Ecuador), Guayaquilʼs Commelina (English) .

Conservation

The surviving patches of the Cerro Azul forests and the adjacent Cerro Blanco forests where C. almandina sp. nov. occurs encompass less than 200 km 2, with the species presenting a minuscule EOO of 0.928 km 2 and AOO of 0.143 km 2. The known extant subpopulations are highly fragmented and generally have fewer than five mature individuals. These subpopulations have been greatly affected by selective timber tree cutting during past decades and are under high pressure from the continuing urban development of the city of Guayaquil. Finally, neither the Cerro Azul forests nor the adjacent Cerro Blanco forests represent protected areas, making them even more susceptible to anthropogenic threats.

The most recent collection of this species (from 2020) was selected by us as the holotype to highlight that despite all ongoing threats, the species is still extant and could be a good potential candidate for both in-situ and ex-situ conservation efforts, especially due to the species being potentially self-compatible. Therefore, the preliminary status of Critically Endangered [CR, B1ab(iii, iv, v)+B2ab(iii, iv, v)+D2] is assigned to this species, following the IUCN (2012) criteria and the IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee (2024) recommendations.

Remarks

Commelina almandina sp. nov. is unique in the genus due to its partially dehiscent, opaque reddish-brown to dark maroon fruits. It is morphologically most closely related to C. pallida and C. texcocana (both endemic to Mexico) due to their straight peduncles, spathe straight with a subcordate to round base, pedicels pilose with acicular hairs, sepals green and variously pilose (glabrous only in C. texcocana ), petals pale-coloured and subequal, white to cream-coloured antherodes, medial staminode aborted, stigma white, capsules dehiscent, opaque, constricted between the seeds when mature, apex rostrate, the dorsal locule 1-seeded and the ventral locules 2-seeded, and seeds dimorphic, ellipsoid and ventrally flattened, and dark brown to black seeds ( Table 1 View Table 1 ). These characters are very peculiar in Commelina but certainly not restricted to these species. The opaque sepals are certainly plesiomorphic in the family but also very uncommon in the genus ( Pellegrini 2019). Thus, it is likely that these three species are closely related. However, C. pallida presents strigose stems, leaf-sheaths and leaf-blades, glabrous sepals, and capsules tan-coloured when mature ( Table 1 View Table 1 ). In C. texcocana , only the dorsal sepal is setose along the midvein, the petals range from white to light blue, and the capsules are tan-coloured when mature ( Table 1 View Table 1 ). However, C. almandina can be easily differentiated from these species due to its large-sized vining habit, synflorescence generally composed of a main florescence plus 1–2 co-florescences, spathe patent to the peduncle, evenly pilose sepals, paired petal limb base cordate, aborted medial staminode, staminodes with conspicuous upper lobes and spathulate to obovate lower lobes, anthers white to cream-coloured, lateral anthers held near the antherodes and medial anther, stigma truncate, and the aforementioned fruit morphology ( Table 1 View Table 1 ).

It is also similar to C. efoveolata and C. leiocarpa due to their robust vining habit, tuberous roots, pilose pedicels, and gem-like fruits ( Table 1 View Table 1 ). Nonetheless, C. almandina sp. nov. can be easily differentiated from C. efoveolata and C. leiocarpa due to its pilose sepals (vs dorsal sepal setose along the midvein and laterals glabrous in C. efoveolata and all glabrous in C. leiocarpa ), white to cream-coloured anthers (vs yellow), white stigma (vs tan-coloured and sky-blue?), fruits dehiscent, widely ellipsoid, opaque reddish-brown to dark maroon and apex rostrate (vs indehiscent, globose, glaucous and atro-vinaceous to bluish-black to black), and by its dimorphic seeds (vs monomorphic) ( Table 1 View Table 1 ). Another two gem-fruited species (viz., C. obliqua and C. rufipes ) are recorded for Ecuador and surrounding areas, all with indehiscent and pearly-white to silvery crustaceous fruits (see Remarks below on each species). Nonetheless, these species present well-developed upper cincinnus, white petals, yellow antherodes and anthers, and monomorphic seeds adnate to the capsule wall. Finally, C. almandina is also easily differentiated from the sympatric C. erecta by its climbing habit (vs prostrate to ascending to erect in C. erecta ), spathe with free margin (vs connate), petals subequal and lilac to light blue (vs unequal and generally sky blue, rarely lilac or white), white anthers (vs greyish-purple to greyish-blue), capsules smooth (vs dorsal locule verrucose), seeds farinose and lacking a lateral appendage (vs very sparsely farinose and with a lateral, tan-coloured and fleshy appendage), with ornate testa (vs smooth), and by growing in a more preserved habitat with a more or less closed canopy, fresher, and shady understory (vs the adjacent highly disturbed, warmer, and open habitats).