Rubiaceae Americanarum Magna Hama Pars LIII. New Species and a New Combination in Rudgea in Western and Central South America (Palicoureeae)

Abstract

Study of specimens of Rudgea Salisb. (Rubiaceae, Palicoureeae) from western and central South America by the author has found some that do not agree with known species and represent species new to science, and clarified the identity of some previously published names. Coffea oleifolia Kunth is an older name for R. sanmartensis (Rusby) C. M. Taylor, Bruniera & Zappi, and the new combination R. oleifolia (Kunth) C. M. Taylor is made here. The 13 species newly described here are found from lowland to montane elevations in the Amazon basin, mostly in lowland wet forest, and the Andes: R. appendiculata C. M. Taylor from Amazonian Ecuador; R. arenicola C. M. Taylor from seasonal vegetation in eastern Bolivia; R. ceronii C. M. Taylor from Amazonian southern Colombia and eastern Ecuador; R. enigmatica C. M. Taylor from the central Amazon basin in Brazil; R. hirsuta C. M. Taylor from Amazonian forest from northern Bolivia to central Brazil; R. jaramilloi C. M. Taylor from Amazonian eastern Ecuador; R. lewisorum C. M. Taylor from Amazonian eastern Ecuador and northeastern Peru; R. napoensis C. M. Taylor from Amazonian northeastern Ecuador; R. neillii C. M. Taylor from cloud forest in southern Ecuador; R. nubicola C. M. Taylor from montane forest in central Bolivia; R. setosa C. M. Taylor from the Amazonian drainage of central eastern Ecuador; R. smithii C. M. Taylor from Amazonian eastern Peru and western Brazil; and R. valenzuelae C. M. Taylor from premontane forest in central Peru. Rudgea enigmatica is notable for its apparent association with ants, housed in its swollen stipules; R. lewisorum for its habitat on scattered patches of Amazonian white sand substrates; and R. hirsuta for its unusually well-developed dense pubescence.