158. Guatteria synsepala Maas & Westra, sp. nov. — Fig. 70c, 79; Map 34

Sepalis longe connatis foliis parvis, monocarpiis breviter stipitatis, seminibus fere laevibus bene distincta. —

Typus: Betancur et al. 811 (holo HUA 2 sheets; iso COL, F, MO, NY, U 2 sheets), Colombia, Antioquia, Mun.Amalfí, Cordillera Central, 8–15 km from Amalfí to Rumazón,sitios ‘Salazar’ and ‘La Playa’, 1550 m, 28 Sept. 1988.

Shrub, liana, or small tree of up to 8 m tall, c. 3 cm diam; young twigs rather densely covered with appressed hairs, soon glabrous. Leaves: petiole 3–6 mm long, c. 1 mm diam; lamina narrowly elliptic,6–13(–17) by 2–4(–7) cm (leaf index 2.5–3.6),chartaceous, not verruculose, dull, greyish brown to dark brown above, brown below, sparsely covered with appressed hairs, soon completely glabrous above, sparsely covered with appressed hairs below, base acute to attenuate, apex acute to acuminate (acumen c. 5 mm long), primary vein impressed above, secondary veins distinct, 8–10 on either side of primary vein, flat above, smallest distance between loops and margin 1–2 mm, tertiary veins slightly raised to flat above, reticulate to slightly percurrent. Flowers solitary in axils of leaves or less often on leafless branchlets; pedicels 5–10 mm long, 1–1.5 mm diam, fruiting pedicels 15–20 mm long, 1.5–2 mm diam, sparsely covered with appressed hairs, articulated at 0.2–0.4 from the base, bracts 4–6, soon falling, not seen; flower buds broadly ovoid; sepals connate, finally broadly ovate-triangular, c. 6 by 6 mm, appressed, outer side densely covered with appressed hairs; petals green, brown to black in vivo, ovate, 10–12 by 7–8 mm, outer side densely covered with appressed hairs; stamens c. 1.5 mm long, connective shield papillate. Monocarps 10–30, maturing green, orange-green (‘verde granate’) to black in vivo, brown in sicco, ellipsoid, 8–15 by 6–10 mm, glabrous, apex apiculate (apiculum <1 mm long), wall c. 0.5 mm thick, stipes 4–10 by 1–2 mm. Seed ellipsoid, 7–10 by 5–7 mm, brown, smooth to weakly pitted, raphe raised.

Distribution — Colombia (Antioquia).

Habitat & Ecology — No mention of vegetation type on the labels, but probably occurring in forests.At elevations of 1150– 2030 m. Flowering: July, September, October; fruiting: September, December.

Vernacular names — Not recorded.

Other specimens examined. COLOMBIA, Antioquia, Mun. Amalfí, Cordillera Central, 8–15 km from Amalfí to Rumazón, sitios ‘ Salazar’ and ‘ La Playa’, 1550 m, 28 Sept. 1988, Betancur et al. 817 (F, MO 2 sheets, U 2 sheets); Mun. Amalfí, 8–27 km NE of Amalfí, along the road from Vetilla to Fraguas, sitios ‘ Salazar’ and ‘ Marenga’, 1150–1450 m, 7 Dec. 1989, Callejas et al. 9109 (NY); Mun.Concepción, Vereda Pelaez-San Bartolome, Finca El Cardal, 2030 m, 22 July 1997, F. A. Cardona et al. 252 (F, MO); Mun. Amalfí, Vereda Las Animas, 1500–1600 m, Tuberquia et al. 837 (JAUM), Tuberquia & Zapata 1021 (COL, JAUM), Tuberquia & Carvajal 1065 (JAUM), 1243 (COL).

Note — Guatteria synsepala is a species restricted to the Cordillera Central in the Colombia Department of Antioquia, where it occurs at elevations between 1150 and 2030 m. It is a shrub, liana, or small tree characterized by connate sepals., leaves with relatively few secondary veins (8–10), and shortly stipitate monocarps with almost smooth seeds.