Taxonomic revision of Peperomia (Piperaceae) from Uruguay

Abstract

The genus Peperomia is represented by eight species in Uruguay: P. catharinae, P. comarapana, P. hispidula, P. increscens, P. pereskiifolia, P. psilostachya, P. tetraphylla and P. trineuroides. Peperomia psilostachya is reported for the first time for the flora of Uruguay, from material collected in moist hillside and riverside forests from the northeast and east of the country. Three new synonyms are proposed: P. arechavaletae var. arechavaletae as synonym of P. trineuroides, P. arechavaletae var. minor of P. tetraphylla and P. trapezoidalis of P. psilostachya. Lectotypes for P. arechavaletae, P. arechavaletae var. minor and P. tacuariana, and a neotype for P. herteri are designated. The taxonomic treatment includes synonymies used in Uruguay, morphological descriptions, distribution and habitat data, phenology, conservation assesment, observations, and material examined for each species treated. A species identification key, plant illustrations and distribution maps in Uruguay are provided. ResumenEl género Peperomia está representado en Uruguay por ocho especies: P. catharinae, P. comarapana, P. hispidula, P. increscens, P. pereskiifolia, P. psilostachya, P. tetraphylla y P. trineuroides. Peperomia psilostachya es registrada por primera vez para la flora de Uruguay a partir de material colectado en bosques de quebrada y ribereños del noreste y este del país. Se proponen tres nuevas sinonimias: P. arechavaletae var. arechavaletae como sinónimo de P. trineuroides, P. arechavaletae var. minor de P. tetraphylla, y P. trapezoidalis de P. psilostachya. Se designan lectotipos para P. arechavaletae, P. arechavaletae var. minor y P. tacuariana, y un neotipo para P. herteri. El tratamiento taxonómico incluye para cada especie sinonimias usadas en Uruguay, descripciones morfológicas, datos de distribución y hábitat, fenología, evaluación del estatus de conservación, observaciones y material examinado. Asimismo, se presenta una clave para la identificación de las especies, ilustraciones y mapas de distribución en Uruguay.

Catalogue of the vascular epiphytic flora of Uruguay

“…This southern limit is remarkable to orchids (10 of 12 species), ferns (13 of 25 species), and to the genus Peperomia (six of seven species) and Ficus (all the species in the country). This distributional trait of epiphytes was previously reported for orchids (Waechter 1998;Rossado et al 2014) and peperomias (Mai et al 2016), and is furthermore shared with many terrestrial woody species (Grela & Brussa 2003;2005;Brussa & Grela 2007;Delfino et al 2011;Haretche et al 2012;Brussa 2016). The epiphytic examples given above reinforce the transitional nature of the Uruguayan flora, despite a single biogeographic province (Pampean) is commonly assigned to the entire country.…”

“…The species was cited for Uruguay few years ago (Mai et al 2016) so, it is not included as a priority for conservation by Marchesi et al (2013). Therefore, we consider it relevant to add P. psilostachya to the list of species considered as priority for conservation in Uruguay, as it was suggested in Mai et al (2016). The species occurs in the protected area 'Paisaje Protegido Paso Centurión y Sierra de Ríos'.…”

“…Nevertheless, there are no studies concerning the entire epiphytic flora of Uruguay and the relationships of this flora with forest types. Most of the present knowledge on vascular epiphytes is addressed in taxonomic studies of families or groups containing epiphytic species, such as ferns (Osten & Herter 1925;Herter 1928;1939;1949;Legrand & Lombardo 1958;Marchesi 1964;1979;Mai 2014), peperomias (Trelease [1939(Trelease [ ]1941Trelease & Herter 1952;Marchesi 1968;Mai et al 2016), orchids (Izaguirre 1972;1985;2013;Rossado et al 2014), bromeliads (Smith 1933;Marchesi 1965;Smith & Downs 1977;Brito & Llano 2008;Rossado 2018;Rossado et al 2018a;b;2019), tradescantia (Pellegrini 2018), ficus (Herter 1940;Brussa & Grela 2007) and cacti (Herter 1930;Lombardo 1946;Eggli et al 2008;Berazategui et al 2010).…”

A new occurrence of Gomesa leinigii (Pabst) M.W. Chase & N.H. Williams (Orchidaceae) and new populations of Macradenia paraensis Barb.Rodr. (Orchidaceae) and Peperomia psilostachya C.DC. (Piperaceae) in São Paulo state, Brazil

“…Peperomia psilostachya occurs in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay (Brako et al 1993, Mai et al 2016. In Brazil, 3 varieties of P. psilostachya are accepted: P. psilostachya C.DC.…”

“…We deposited our specimens at HASSI (acronym according to Thiers 2018). The geographic distributions of the 3 species were verified using herbarium records and the literature (Pabst 1972, Brako et al 1993, Ferreira et al 2010, Mai et al 2016, Flora do Brasil 2018, Govaerts 2018, SpeciesLink 2018. Description.…”