Passiflora brachyantha Escobar (1992: 198)

Passiflora brachyantha Escobar (1992: 198) View in CoL

Type:— ECUADOR. Loja province: 8 km W of Loja on road to Catacocha , 7,400 ft., 30 Jan 1979 (fl, fr), R. M. King & F. Almeda 7887 ( holotype: US 02850561!; isotype: MO2984358 !) .

Description:—Medium sized climbing vine with stout tendrils, pubescent throughout except for the flower, trichomes straight to wavy, transparent. Stems sub-terete to striate, coloured with green to reddish. Stipules reniform, slightly concave to recurved, 1.0– 1.8 cm long, ca. 6–8 mm wide, attenuated at apex, slightly oblique at base, margins glandularserrulate becoming more obscure towards apex. Petioles 1.2–3.2 cm long, with 3–5 subspherical to stubby nectaries positioned in the apical half, nectaries 0.7–1.2 mm long, 0.8–1.0 mm wide, position scattered, some opposite but mostly subopposite. Leaf blades consistently 3-lobed, 3.5–8.5 cm long, 7.8–12.0 cm wide, parted ca. 36 their length into 3 elliptic segments, lobes acuminate at their apices, blade shallowly cordate at base, margins serrate to glandularserrate near the base, subcoriaceous to coriaceous in texture; lateral lobes 2.2–5.7 cm long, 1.6–4.0 cm wide, divergent from medial lobe by a near 90 degree angle; medial lobe 3.3–7.5 cm long, 1.4–3.8 cm wide. Inflorescence axillary, pendent, singular. Peduncles slender, 2.7–3.8 cm long, terete, densely tomentose in a whitish dawn; bracts ovate-oblong, acuminate at apex, connate up to about 25–30 their length from the base, forming an ampliated tube at the base of the hypanthium, each bract 3.1–3.5 cm long, 1.0– 1.1 cm wide, densely pubescent, green with reddish venation. Flowers 6.0– 6.8 cm long, 3.0– 3.5 cm wide, bright pink to fuchsia; hypanthium 3.6–4.0 cm long, 0.4–0.6 cm wide, with 1.2–1.6 cm exserted above the bracts, very slightly dilated at base, pubescent on outer surface with straight, transparent trichomes, greenish with pinkish streaks on the outside, whitish-green on the inside; sepals oblong, 2.0– 2.3 cm long, 0.6–0.8 cm wide, bright pink inside, darker pink and pubescent on the outside, short corniculate with a subterminal aristae ca. 1 mm long; petals subequal to sepals, pink on both side, membranous; corona reduced to a fleshy ring with few short, tuberculate teeth 0.2–0.3 mm long, ring a darker purple-pink, teeth slightly pale pinkish; operculum membranous, white, borne near the base of the hypanthium, 3–4 mm long, recurved around the base of the androgynophore, margin slightly dentate; nectar chamber white to whitish yellow; androgynophore white, 5–6 cm long, glabrous; ovary ellipsoidal, marginally pubescent with fine, straight trichomes ca. 0.1 mm long, very light green; pollen yellow; stigmas 6–8 mm long, whitish pink with green receptors. Fruit [taken from Escobar 1992] ellipsoidal, ca. 5.5 cm long, ca. 2.2 cm wide, strongly coriaceous, green.

Distribution:—The habitat where Passiflora brachyantha is found comprises of distinct montane dry forest on the east-facing hills west of the city of Loja, Ecuador. This seasonal dry forest is composed mostly of small, shrubby vegetation consisting of Podocarpus and Ericaceae at elevations between 2400 and 2700 m. Sadly, most of the original forests have disappeared, rendering none of the early coordinates for the species suitable for finding P. brachyantha . The authorial team sighted two new plants belonging to this species, both growing about 200 m apart from one another in a small ditch between two legal property boundaries used for cattle farming. This called into question the longevity for this population, and the fifth author has reported that recent road construction has critically damaged both plants.

Preliminary conservation assessment:—With only two plants known, it is impossible to calculate a creditable EOO or AOO, however. If the original coordinates were to be included, the Extent of Occurrence (EOO) would still remain an alarming 0.16 km 2 with an Area of Occupancy (AOO) of 6–8 km 2. These statistics would mark it as CR (Critically Endangered) in accordance with the IUCN (2022) criteria B1a,biv-B2abc and C2ai and D. Following our recent observations of habitat fragmentation, population decline, and lack of environment stability: CR categories A and E are triggered, and the two plants remaining have already suffered a critical setback following recent widening of the road. Five conservation attempts by local cultivation (at secure facilities provided by Loja University) to avoid the total extinction of Passiflora brachyantha have been unsuccessful in getting material to grow ex situ. With fruits and fresh material being absent, it is uncertain whether P. brachyantha will be able to survive and a wider search for more populations is highly urgent.

Notes:—Linda Albert de Escobar described Passiflora brachyantha in 1992, based on material collected by R. M. King & F. Almeda in 1979. In the manuscript, Albert de Escobar noted that this species most closely resembles P. glaberrima by virtue of the general shape of the leaves, the slender peduncles, and the short flowers; but differs notably in its vestiture. She also noted the difference in distribution, with P. glaberrima thought to be (at the time of manuscript release) endemic solely to Peru ( Escobar 1992). However, in 1990 and 1994, P. M. Jørgensen & C. Ulloa also sighted specimens of P. glaberrima in the Cordillera de Las Lagunitas; and the authorial team sighted P. glaberrima in the Yacuri National Park, both located within Ecuador suggesting P. brachyantha and P. glaberrima being near sympatric in distribution.

A photograph of Passiflora brachyantha appeared on the cover of the German Passiflora enthusiast society’s journal PASSIFLORUNDE ( Behnken 2004, s.3), though it remains unclear who took this picture or where it was taken. In April 2011, Jim Jaume reported another P. brachyantha from nearby Laguna Negra in the Catacocha region, Loja, Ecuador, pictures of which appeared on the German Passiflora website www.blumen-passiflora.de hosted by Martin Drews in 2014. Nadine van Rüschen (2015) also claimed to have P. brachyantha in cultivation and available for sale, showing again Jaume’s pictures of the true species on her respective website. However, despite its apparent “availability” within European markets, I have not seen any creditable material of true P. brachyantha in cultivation, as most plants sold under this name being hybrids or cultivars of the much more common P. matthewsii or P. luzmarina Jørgensen (1997: 2) .

True Passiflora brachyantha is extremely rare and under extreme threat of total extinction. A search in December 2022 revealed that the entire original habitat for the species has been cleared for pine [timber] growing, a large wind farm, and cattle grazing. Only two plants were found growing on the verge of a field with cattle, being essentially under severe threat of routine clearing that would easily wipe out this last population. The plant found carried many flowers, yet there were no fruit present suggesting absence of suitable pollinators or compatible gene pools. Unfortunately, road construction did severely damage both plants, and despite repeated efforts to cultivate this species locally, all attempts for growing cuttings or grafts failed. This is strong testimony to the specific conditions required for P. brachyantha to survive. Ongoing efforts in collaboration with the botanic garden in Loja and Basel seeks to continue searching for new populations, aiming at cultivation ex situ and securing this alarmingly endangered species for future reintroduction.