A new species of Cuscuta (Convolvulaceae) from Michoacn,

Mexico
MIHAI COSTEA1, IGNACIO GARCA RUIZ2,

AND

MARK WELSH1

Department of Biology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5, Canada;
e-mail: mcostea@wlu.ca; e-mail: marcuswalby@hotmail.com
2
CIIDIR-IPN Michoacn, Justo Sierra 28 /Apdo. postal 109, Jiquilpan, Michoacn,
C.P. 59510, Mexico; e-mail: igarciar2001@yahoo.com.mx

Abstract. A new species, Cuscuta cotijana, is described and illustrated from the
Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in northwestern Michoacn, Mexico. The species is
most closely related to Cuscuta jalapensis, C. mitriformis, C. rugosiceps and C. lindsayi, from which it differs by the large spur-like projections on the outer calyx lobes
and the ovoid to conical capsule with a small intrastylar aperture.
Key Words: Michoacn, Mexico, Convolvulaceae, Cuscuta, Cuscuta cotijana,
morphology.

Cuscuta (dodder) comprises about 180 species of holoparasitic herbs with leaves reduced
to minute scales; their stems are yellow to
orange, liform, trailing or dextrorsely twining,
and attached to the host by numerous small
haustoria (Costea & Tardif, 2006). Over 80% of
the species belong to the subgenus Grammica,
which is the most complex infrageneric taxon
of Cuscuta, characterized by separate styles
and globose stigmas (Yuncker, 1932; Stefanovi et al., 2007). More than one third of the
dodder species (69) were described between
1921 and 1961 by Truman George Yuncker
(Meurer-Grimes, 1989). The boundaries of
some of these species have been questioned
in recent years (e.g., Beliz, 1986; Gandhi et al.,
1987; Beliz, 1993). Our research within several
clades of subgenus Grammica has shown that
in most cases, Yunckers species correspond to
monophyletic entities that are recognizable by
their morphological and molecular make-up
(Costea et al., 2005, 2006a, b, c; Stefanovi et
al., 2007). Our preliminary results towards a
monograph of the genus indicate that there are
at least 15 to 20 new species that need to be
described from North and South America to
better reect the diversity within this genus.
Cuscuta is largely undercollected in Mxico,
Central America, and South America. One new

species from northern Michoacn, Mxico, is

proposed in this paper, and efforts are underway to nd collaborators and resources necessary to reach other geographical areas that
might also harbor new species.
The morphology of seeds and pollen was
shown to be important for the taxonomy of
Cuscuta (Costea et al., 2005, 2006a, b, c).
Pictures were taken with the scanning electron
microscopes Hitachi S-570 and LEO 1530 FESEM at 15 KV. Samples were coated with
30 nm gold using an Emitech K 550 sputter
coater. Terminology regarding the micromorphology of owers, seeds, capsules, and pollen
was described in Costea et al. (2006a).
Cuscuta cotijana Costea & I. Garca, sp. nov.
Type: Mexico. Michoacn: Mun. Cotija,
Los Gallineros, ca. 1900 m, 19 Apr 1991,
I. Garca Ruiz & A. Olmos 3289 (holotype:
CIMI; isotypes: IEB, IBUG, NY, UCR,
WLU). (Figs. 1, 2)
Cuscutae mitriformi, C. rugosicipiti, C. jalapensi et C.
lindsi maxime similis, sed distincta projecturis amplis
calcariformibus in lobis externis calycis et capsulis ovoideis
vel conicis aperturis intrastylaribus parvis; ab C. mitriformi
et C. rugosicipiti differt calyce quam tubo corollae breviore;
ab C. jalapensi et C. lindsi differt oribus majoribus atque
lobis corollae ac calycis auriculatis.

Brittonia, 60(3), 2008, pp. 235239

2008, by The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 U.S.A.

ISSUED: 30 September 2008

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FIG. 1. Cuscuta cotijana. A. Flower. B. Calyx, opened and attened, dorsal view. C. Detail of calyx lobe. D.
Corolla opened to expose infrastaminal scales. E. Capsule. (From the holotype.)

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COSTEA ET AL.: CUSCUTA (CONVOLVULACEAE)

237

FIG. 2. Cuscuta cotijana. Scanning electron photomicrographs of pollen (A, B) and seeds (C, D). (From the
holotype.)

Stems 0.61.5 mm diam, orange. Inorescences glomerule-like cymes with 315 owers,
often conuent in larger, dense inorescences;
pedicels 12.5 mm long; bract 1 at the base of
clusters, usually absent at the base of pedicels,
12.50.81.1 mm, eshy, ovate-triangular to
lanceolate, the margins entire, apices acute.
Flowers 5-merous, 57 mm long, eshy, white
when fresh, creamy to brown when dried;
papillae absent; laticifers numerous, isolated or
in groups of 25, evident in the calyx, corolla
and ovary/capsule, mostly ovoid or elongate;
calyx creamy-yellow when fresh and brown
when dried, campanulate, ca. 1/21/3 the length
of the corolla tube, divided ca. 2/3 of its length,
the tube 1.21.35 mm long, the lobes overlapping, 1.21.62.22.8 mm, broadly-triangu-

lar (broader than long), auriculate, margins

entire to slightly crenulate, the apices rounded;
outer two calyx lobes with a spur- or crest-like
projection that extends along calyx lobe for
0.71.5 mm and protrudes dorsally for 0.7
1.2 mm, the projections often denticulate or
provided with 24 thick mbriae; corollas
persistent on fruit, the tubes campanulate, 3
3.3 mm long, the lobes initially erect, later
spreading or reexed, 2.22.5 mm long, ovate,
auriculate, the margins entire, overlapping at
base, the apices rounded, initially hooded, later
at; stamens exserted, shorter than corolla
lobes, the anthers elliptic to broadly-elliptic,
0.91.10.60.7 mm, laments 0.71 mm
long; pollen grains 2225 m long, prolate to
prolate-spheroidal, the tectum microreticulate;

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lumina maximum diameter 1 m; supratectal

process granular to conical, uniformly distributed; infrastaminal scales equaling corolla
tube, 2.52.7 mm long, oblong to obovate,
rounded, uniformly, dense mbriate, mbriae
0.30.9 mm long; styles subulate, basally
thickened, apically narrowed, 1.32.5 mm long,
as long or shorter as the ovary; stigmas 0.4
0.6 mm in diameter, globose, convoluted.
Capsules dehiscent, ovoid to conical, 24
2.54 mm, the base of the styles forming a
conic beak, 0.91.5 mm long, the interstylar
aperture barely visible, the corolla persistent
around the capsule. Seeds 4 per capsule,
broadly elliptic, angled, 1.52.11.41.6 mm,
the seed coat wrinkled in a radial pattern, not
alveolate when dry, the cells slightly papillate,
1835 m in diameter, the epicuticular wax
absent, the hilum region round, 0.50.7 mm
diam., the vascular scar 0.180.25 mm long,
slightly oblique.
Distribution and ecology.The species
was found in Michoacn, Mexico, in the
Sierra de Cotija at 17001900 m elevation, in
ruderal vegetation within villages and in the
adjacent, mostly disturbed oak and pine
forests, sometimes in the canopy of trees 3
4 m high above the ground. Hosts: herbaceous and woody plants from genera such as
Alnus, Baccharis, Eupatorium, Fuchsia, Salvia, Solanum, Vernonia, and Vitis. Residents
of Cotija and Los Amoles report that the
species also attacks crop plants such as corn
and avocado, for which reason they have tried
to eradicate it by cutting it with sickles or
machetes. These activities may contribute to
the vegetative spreading of the plant.
Phenology.Flowering from December to
March; mature capsules from April to May.
Etymology.The specic epithet refers to
Sierra de Cotija where the species seems to be
localized.
Local common name.Tiripio, probably
coming from the Purhpecha language.
Additional specimens examined. MEXICO.
MICHOACN: Mun. Cotija, Sierra de de Cotija, Carretera
Cotija-Gallineros, 1.1 km al NE de Los Amoles, 1750 m,
13 Jan 2006, I. Garca Ruiz 7412 (CIMI, NY, WLU); Los
Amoles, 194258.7N, 1024154.1W, 1800 m, 16 Feb
2007, I. Garca Ruiz, M. Costea & E. Carranza 7557
(CIMI, F, NY, WLU); Los Gallineros, 194049.7N,

1024128.8W, 1918 m, 16 Feb 2007, I. Garca Ruiz, M.

Costea & E. Carranza 7560 (CIMI, NY, US, WLU); 16
Feb 2007, E. Carranza, I. Garca Ruiz & M. Costea
7316 (IEB).

Cuscuta cotijana is a member of the subsect.

Subulatae Engelm. ex Yunck., which is characterized by subulate styles that are basally
thickened and apically narrowed (Yuncker,
1932, 1965). The phylogenetic afnities of C.
cotijana are with the more widespread C.
mitriformis, C. rugosiceps, and C. jalapensis,
and the rare C. lindsayi, from which it can be
easily separated by the large spur-like projections on the outer calyx lobes and the ovoid to
conical capsule with a small intrastylar aperture. From C. mitriformis and C. rugosiceps it
differs by the calyx that is shorter than the
corolla tube; from C. jalapensis and C. lindsayi
by the auriculate, and evidently overlapping
corolla and calyx lobes. These species have
recently been shown to form a subclade in a
major lineage of the subgenus Grammica that
includes other Mexican and Central American
species, as well as two dodders from western
Australia and Tasmania (clade G, Stefanovi
et al., 2007). Because there are a few other new
related species that must be described from
Mexico, an identication key, comparative
descriptions, and the phylogeny of species will
be provided with the revision of the entire
group.

Acknowledgments
The authors thank two anonymous
reviewers for helpful suggestions that improved the manuscript. The rst author
gratefully acknowledges that nancial support for this research was received from a
grant funded by WLU Operating funds, and
the second author thanks COFAA and EDI of
IPN for the scholarships provided. Guy
Nesom kindly translated the Latin diagnosis.

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