Resurrection of Passiflora acuminata DC. and synonymization of P. tolimana Harms, P. gleasonii Killip, P. metae M. Bonilla, C. Aguirre & Caetano (Passifloraceae) following a study of their morphology and ecogeography

Abstract

Within the very uniform series Laurifoliae, Passiflora acuminata (treated as a synonym of P. laurifolia in the Flora of China), P. tolimana, P. gleasonii and P. metae appear particularly similar. A review of their descriptions and the associated specimens confirms their lack of morphological differentiation and leads us to formally resurrect P. acuminata and place the three other taxa under its synonymy. This taxonomic move is also supported by a revision of 72 additional geolocalized specimens (for a grand total of 78) and an analysis of their distribution and habitats. In fact, the bioclimatic space corresponding to the specimens previously assigned to P. acuminata encompasses that of all specimens previously assigned to the three other taxa under study. The species range covers a wide region, comprising the lower Amazon and the north of its basin, mostly below 200 m, and, to the west, in the upper Amazon, the Orinoco basin, and along the Andean foothills and valleys, from Venezuela to Peru, at elevations between 100 and 2200 m. In the lowlands, the species appears associated with white sand savannas and water courses. A more complete description is proposed for the species, including its unusual fusiform and slightly ribbed fruit. Another rare trait in the series Laurifoliae is that the outer corona filaments tend to be longer than the corolla.