Phytotaxa 275 (2): 181–185 ISSN 1179-3155 (print edition)

http://www.mapress.com/j/pt/
Article PHYTOTAXA
Copyright © 2016 Magnolia Press ISSN 1179-3163 (online edition)

http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.275.2.10

Phoradendron longicaule (Viscaceae): a new species from Michoacán, Mexico

JOB KUIJT1 & VICTOR W. STEINMANN2,3
1
649 Lost Lake Road, Victoria, BC V9B6E3, Canada; E-mail: jobkuijt@uvic.ca
2
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, 1500 N. College Ave., Claremont, California, U.S.A.; E-mail: steinmav@gmail.com
3
corresponding author

Abstract

Phoradendron longicaule (Viscaceae), a new, nearly leafless species of mistletoe from the Infiernillo-Zicuirán Biosphere
Reserve of southern Michoacán, Mexico, is described and illustrated. It occurs in a tropical deciduous forest at elevations
of 400 to 500 m, and all known hosts belong to Fabaceae. The long, straight, pendulous stems and elongated vegetative in-
ternodes are distinctive features. It is most similar to P. nudum but differs by having 3 or 4 pistillate flowers per fertile bract,
expanded albeit highly reduced leaves, and longer vegetative internodes. It is also similar to P. teretifolium from which it
differs by having a pendulous habit, longer vegetative internodes, 3 or 4 pistillate flowers per fertile bract, and fruits on short
internodes.

Key words: Infiernillo-Zicuirán Biosphere Reserve, mistletoe, tropical deciduous forest, taxonomy

Resumen

Se describe e ilustra una nueva especie de muérdago, Phoradendron longicaule (Viscaceae). Se conoce de la Reserva de la
Biósfera Infiernillo-Zicuirán del sur de Michoacán, México. Crece en bosque tropical caducifolio a elevaciones de 400 a 500
m y sus hospederos son especies de Fabaceae. Los tallos péndulos, rectos y largos, además de los internodos elongados son
sus características distintivas. Se parece a P. nudum pero se distingue por tener 3 o 4 flores pistiladas en cada bráctea fértil,
hojas extendidas aunque reducidas e internodos más largos; también se parece a P. teretifolium pero se distingue por tener su
hábito péndulo, internodos más largos, 3 o 4 flores pistiladas en cada bráctea fertil y frutos sobre entrenudos cortos.

Introduction

Phoradendron Nuttall (1848: 185) (Viscaceae) is an important component of the Mexican flora and stands out as being
the most speciose genus of aerial branch parasites in the country, where approximately 55 species have been reported
(Kuijt, 2003). Although reaching it greatest diversity in temperate oak woodlands and pine-oak forests, the genus
is widely distributed throughout the country, and numerous species occur in tropical vegetation, including tropical
deciduous forest. In the latter they are often hidden by their host’s foliage during the rainy season only to become
conspicuous as the host’s leaves are shed during the dry season. As would be expected for a diverse genus in a
biologically diverse country, new species remain to be discovered, and the purpose of this article is to describe and
illustrate a remarkable mistletoe with small, early caducous leaves that recently has been collected in the tropical
deciduous forest of the Infiernillo region of southern Michoacán.

Taxonomic Treatment

Phoradendron longicaule Kuijt & V. W. Steinm., sp. nov. (Figs. 1 and 2).

Similar to P. nudum but differs by having longer vegetative internodes, expanded albeit highly reduced leaves, and 3 or 4 pistillate flowers
per fertile bract; similar also to P. teretifolium from which it differs by having a pendulous habit, longer vegetative internodes, and 3
or 4 pistillate flowers per fertile bract.

Accepted by Zhi-Qiang Zhang: 14 Aug. 2016; published: 19 Sept. 2016 181

FIGURE 1. Phoradendron longicaule Kuijt & V.W. Steinm. A. Habit; B. Young, pendulous shoot; C. Node with young and mature
staminate inflorescence; D. Infructescence. A–C based on Steinmann 4264; D based on Steinmann & Ramírez-Amezcua 7843. Drawn by
Job Kuijt.

182 • Phytotaxa 275 (2) © 2016 Magnolia Press KUIJT & STEINMANN
FIGURE 2. Phoradendron longicaule Kuijt & V.W. Steinm. A. Habit; B. Close-up of shoot system; C. Staminate inflorescences; D. Young
fruits on pistillate infructescences. A, C Steinmann 6584; B, D Steinmann & Ramírez-Amezcua 7843. Photos by Victor W. Steinmann and
Yocupitzia Ramírez-Amezcua.

Type:—MEXICO. Michoacán: Mpio. La Huacana, Sierra las Cruces, ca. 5 km al oeste-noroeste de Los Ranchos, sobre la vereda a Los
Cueramos, 18°42’45” N, 102°04’00” W, 500 m, sobre Acacia cochliacantha, escasa en bosque tropical caducifolio, 1 May 2004 [♀],
V. W. Steinmann 4264 (holotype MEXU!; isotypes ARIZ!, RSA!, MICH!, MO!, NY!).

Large, profusely branched, bright green, pendulous plants with stems to 1 m long, glabrous throughout. Internodes
slender and much elongated, grayish when young, 3–6 cm long, 2–3 mm thick, terete, deeply grooved when dry,
bearing innumerable stomata; basal and intercalary cataphylls absent. Basal phyllotaxy median. Leaves paired, early
caducous, fleshy, 1–5 × 1.5 mm, more or less cylindrical or slightly dorsoventrally flattened, apex rounded; prophylls
yellow, evident, blunt, with smooth, fleshy margins; basal foliar organs median. Dioecious; inflorescences axillary
and eventually also in axils of prophylls, mostly on older growth. Staminate inflorescences golden yellow, often in
small clusters, 3–4 mm long, with a terminal, raised crest, peduncle extremely short (0.5 mm), followed by one fertile
internode; flowers 3 per fertile bract, apical flowers 2/1, distal flowers 1/2, yellow, triseriate, anthers white, biloculate,
with two conspicuous pores. Pistillate inflorescence of similar size, peduncle as in the staminate, usually followed
by one fertile internode; flowers yellow, 3 or 4 per fertile bract, triseriate; sometimes with an additional, very short,
2-flowered terminal internode. Fruits globular to somewhat short-obpyriform, 3(4) per fertile bract, 2.5 × 2 mm, the
distal 0.5 mm consisting of prominent, more or less closed petals bright reddish orange at maturity. Seeds 3 × 2 mm,
broadly lanceolate, slightly notched at one end, straw-colored when dry.
Distribution, habitat and phenology:—Phoradendron longicaule is known from three collections made within
the Infiernillo-Zicuirán Biosphere Reserve of southern Michoacán, Mexico, at elevations of 400 to 500 m. This area
forms part of the lower Balsas Depression and is considered to be an important center of endemism (Guevara-Fefer &
Rzedowski, 1980). It grows in tropical deciduous forest, and hosts include Acacia cochliacantha Humb. & Bonpl. ex
Willdenow (1806: 1081), Apoplanesia paniculata Presl (1831: 64), and an unknown species of Fabaceae subfamily
Mimosoideae. All three known localities occur within four kilometers of each other, with a total area of occurrence
of less than 10 km2; however, its actual distribution is likely greater, and much of the surrounding area has not been
surveyed.
Phoradendron longicaule is the only known species of the genus endemic to Michoacán. Although a detailed
assessment of its conservation status is lacking, its limited distribution and apparent host specificity to a few species of
Fabaceae suggest that it is vulnerable if not endangered following IUCN Red List criteria (IUCN, 2001). Flowering

PHORADENDRON LONGICAULE (VISCACEAE) Phytotaxa 275 (2) © 2016 Magnolia Press • 183
and fruiting occur both in the dry and rainy seasons, with flowers collected in January, May and September, and fruits
in May and September.
Etymology:—The specific epithet “longicaule” refers to the long pendulous stems with elongated internodes.
Additional specimens examined (paratypes):—MEXICO. Michoacán: Mpio. La Huacana, Sierra las Cruces,
5.5 km al oeste de Los Ranchos, sobre la vereda a la Barranca de la Vaca, 18°41’43”N, 102°04’02”W, 500 m, 29
January 2009 [♂], V. W. Steinmann 6584 (ARIZ, IEB, MEXU, NY); Sierra Las Cruces, ca. 5.7 km (en línea recta) al
suroeste de Nuevo Centro sobre una brecha que va a la base del Condémbaro, 18°43’46.3”N, 102°03’39.7”W, 410
m, en Apoplanesia paniculata, 11 September 2014 [♀], V. W. Steinmann & Y. Ramírez-Amezcua 7843 (ARIZ, IEB,
MEXU, MICH, MO, NY).

Discussion

Reduction in leaf size is evident in many species of Phoradendron both in its northern range and in Central and South
America (Kuijt 1961, 2003). It also occurs in the related genus Dendrophthora Eichler (1868: 95, 102). It is clear that
this feature cannot be used taxonomically independent of other traits, and phylogenetic analyses have shown that the
characteristic has evolved more than once (Ashworth 2000a, Ashworth 2000b). This was earlier proposed by Kuijt
(1997:181), who hypothesized that the squamate species P. californium Nutt. (1848: 185), the type of the genus, has
southern affinities rather than being related to other squamate species such as P. juniperinum Gray (1849: 58) and
P. minutifolium Urban (1897: 2). Even though a comprehensive classification and morphological characterization
of Phoradendron is lacking, the northern clade is definable by the combination of dioecy, triseriate flowers, and the
lack of basal cataphylls. This lineage consists of at least 16 species (Kuijt 2003: 35–36), and a case could be made
for the inclusion of the unique P. perredactum Rzedowski & Calderón de Rzedowski (2011: 4), in which only the
inflorescences emerge from the endophyte.
The structural details of P. longicaule leave no doubt that it belongs to the northern clade. Within this group
it appears most closely related to P. nudum Kuijt (2003: 323), a species initially known from only two collections
gathered in the states of Jalisco and Morelos but more recently also reported from additional localities in Morelos and
Guerrero (Galvan González 2009: 110). In contrast to other species of the northern acataphyllous clade of species, both
P. nudum and P. longicaule flower on older growth and show basal median phyllotaxy, i.e., the lowest foliar organs on
lateral ramifications, including inflorescences, are placed in a median rather than transverse position. The systematic
significance of this curious variation is unknown but it is worth mentioning that it is also present in Dendrophthora
(see Kuijt, 1961).
Phoradendron nudum differs from P. longicaule by having usually two fertile internodes, 3 to several pistillate
flowers per fertile bract, total absence of expanded leaves, and shorter (≤4 cm) stem internodes. Furthermore, there
appear to be differences in host specificity, with P. nudum growing on Ficus Linnaeus (1753: 1059) (Moraceae) and P.
longicaule on Fabaceae. A more remote relative may be the rare, much smaller P. teretifolium Kuijt (1990: 156), known
from only two Veracruz gatherings (Kuijt 2003). It bears only one pistillate flower per fertile bract and otherwise
differs from P. longicaule in being erect and having an infructescence of 2–4 fertile internodes; also the single fruits
are placed at the distal ends of long fertile internodes. Its vegetative internodes are to 3 cm long, whereas those of the
present species are 3–6 cm long.

Acknowledgements

We thank Yocupitzia Ramírez-Amezcua for help with fieldwork and Damián Piña Bedolla for preparing the plate.

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