Commelina sugariae M. Pell. 2025, sp. nov.

Commelina sugariae M.Pell. sp. nov. urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77347327-1 Figs 15, 19; Table 2 Diagnosis Similar to C. robusta and C. vestita due to their gross morphology, paired petals light blue to blue to sky blue or pale lilac to lilac, medial petal involute, entire, ovary and capsules smooth, seeds white-farinose, and testa rugose-foveolate. However, C. sugariae sp. nov. can be readily differentiated from both species due to its medial anther connective with an orange-brown spot at centre, its peculiar 2-carpellate, oblong and dorsiventrally compressed ovary, and capsules equally 2-valved, oblong to rectangular, dorsiventrally compressed, 4-seeded, and seeds homomorphic. Etymology The epithet honours Rebecca Rea Sugar, USA animator, director, screenwriter, producer, storyboard artist, voice actor, singer-songwriter, and creator of the Cartoon Network animated series ʻSteven Universeʼ. Sugar is the first non-binary person to create a series for Cartoon Network independently. Sugar identifies as bisexual, non-binary, and genderqueer, using she/they pronouns. Sugar’s queerness has served as their inspiration for stressing the importance of LGBTQIA+ representation in art, especially in children’s entertainment, clearly visible in both ʻSteven Universeʼ and ʻAdventure Timeʼ. The latter series had Sugar up to 2013 as a writer, storyboard artist, singer-songwriter, and voice actor. Type material BRAZIL – Mato Grosso • 9 km E of the base camp of the expedition, base camp, ca 270 km N of Xavantina; 18 Apr. 1968; fr.; J.A. Ratter 1073; holotype: K [K001245927]!; isotypes: NY [NY00872565]!, P [P01742698]!, UB [no. 3785] n.v. Other material examined (Paratypes) BRAZIL – Goiás • Gouvelândia, Unidade de Conservação Ricardo Machado Borges, floresta estacional semidecídua; 453 m a.s.l.; 25 Feb. 2023; fl.; I.L. Morais 7965; JAR, K, RB • Gouvelândia; 455 m a.s.l.; 26 Feb. 2023; fl.; I.L. Morais 7989; JAR, RB • Gouvelândia; 455 m a.s.l.; 18 Mar. 2023; fl.; I.L. Morais 8063; JAR, K, NY, P, RB, SP, SPF, UB • Gouvelândia; 449 m a.s.l.; 19 Mar. 2023; fl.; I.L. Morais 8090 JAR, K, RB, SP, SPF, UB • Gouvelândia; 453 m a.s.l.; 2 Apr. 2023; fl.; I.L. Morais 8125; JAR • Gouvelândia; 453 m a.s.l.; 29 Apr. 2023; fl.; I.L. Morais 8179; JAR, K, UB • Serra dos Pirineus, Pico dos Pirineus, ca 20 km NW of Corumbá de Goiás, near road to Niquelândia; ca 1400 m a.s.l.; 28 Jan. 1968; fl., fr.; H.S. Irwin et al. 19370; K, NY, UB. – Mato Grosso • ca 14 km W of Km 90 of the Xavantina-Aragarças road, Vales dos Sonhos; 1 Apr. 1968; fl., fr.; D. Philcox & B. Freeman 4669; K, NY, P, UB. – Minas Gerais • Monte Belo, Fazenda Lagoa; 21 Mar. 1981; fl., fr.; M.C. Weyland Vieira 441; K, RB • Monte Belo, Fazenda Monte Alegre, Mata Mundo Novo; 21 Feb. 1982; fl.; M.C. Weyland Vieira 295; K. Description Herbs 30–100 cm tall, ascending, perennial, robust, terrestrial or paludal. Roots fibrous, thin. Rhizome short. Stems monomorphic, herbaceous to slightly succulent, base prostrate, apex ascending to suberect, rooting at base, occasionally rooting at the nodes touching the substrate, sparsely branched throughout; internodes 1.2–7.5 cm long, distally shorter, green to dark green, sometimes sparsely to densely speckled with vinaceous spots, glaucous, puberulous with glandular microhairs, generally with a sparse hirsute line opposite to the leaves, hairs acicular, rusty to rusty-brown to red to dark red to atro-vinaceous. Leaves distichously-alternate, congested at the apex of the stem, pseudopetiolate; sheaths 1–2.5 cm long, glaucous, green to dark green, sometimes with red to vinaceous striations or reticulations up to almost entirely red to vinaceous, puberulous with glandular microhairs, hairs hyaline, with a hirsute line opposite to the blade, hairs acicular, rusty to rusty-brown to red to dark red to atro-vinaceous, rarely with a sparse line of hirsute hairs continuous to the blade’s midvein, hairs acicular, rusty to rusty-brown, margin upright, hirsute, hairs acicular, rusty to rusty-brown to red to dark red to atro-vinaceous; pseudopetiole 0.3–1.1 cm long; blades (2.3–2.8–)5.8–15.9 × (0.9–1.4–) 2.5–5.5 cm, elliptic to widely elliptic to obovate, slightly falcate, membranous to thinly chartaceous, adaxially evenly dark green or with 2 broad and irregular silvery-green longitudinal stripes, sometimes the stripes so broad as to make the entire blade silvery-green with an irregular dark green stripe along the midvein, drying greyish-green to olive-green with an irregular lighter stripe along the midvein, sometimes dark brown, abaxially light green to greyish-green, drying olive-green to light brown, adaxially scabrid with prickle-hairs, sometimes sparsely hispidulous with a mixture of prickle- and acicular hairs, hairs hyaline, abaxially hispidulous to densely hispidulous with acicular hairs or a mixture of prickle- and acicular hairs, hispid along the midvein with acicular hairs, hairs hyaline, sometimes rusty to rusty-brown at blade base, base asymmetric, cuneate to obtuse, margin flat, scabrid with prickle-hairs, apex acute to acuminate; midvein conspicuous, adaxially impressed, abaxially prominently obtuse, secondary veins 3–4 pairs, adaxially conspicuous, abaxially inconspicuous, becoming conspicuous on both sides when dry. Synflorescence composed of a solitary main florescence or a main florescence and 1–8 co-florescences, restricted to the apex of the stems, sometimes also axillary along the distal part of the stems. Inflorescences terminal and apparently terminal, peduncle 0.3–1.3 cm long, straight, sparsely pilose to pilose with minute hook-hairs, hairs hyaline; spathe 1.3–3.4 × 2.1–4.3 cm, widely ovate to very widely ovate, patent to the peduncle, concolourous with the leaves, internally conspicuously mucilaginous, base connate for 3.7–7.8 mm, truncate to round, rarely cordate, externally sparsely pilose to pilose with minute hook-hairs or with a mixture of hook- and glandular microhairs, hairs hyaline, sometimes with sparse to occasional hispid setose hairs, hairs hyaline, pilose with minute hook-hairs along the fused base, sometimes with a mixture of minute hook- and hispid acicular hairs, hairs hyaline, margin flat, glabrous to sparsely hispid near the base, hairs acicular, hyaline, sometimes rusty, internally with occasional acicular hairs, hairs hyaline, apex obtuse to acute, straight, veins 5–6 pairs, inconspicuous, becoming conspicuous when dry; upper cincinnus developed, 2–4-flowered, flowers mainly staminate, sometimes bisexual, peduncle 0.7–2.4 cm long, exserted, J-shaped to decurved at pre-anthesis, gently decurved at anthesis, post-anthesis and fruit, pilose with hook-hairs, hairs hyaline; lower cincinnus 2–6-flowered, flowers mainly bisexual, rarely staminate, peduncle 0.5–1.3 cm long, thickened in fruit, sparsely puberulous with a mixture of hook- and glandular microhairs, hairs hyaline; bracteoles early deciduous, ovate, hyaline, inconspicuous, margin entire, glabrous. Flowers chasmogamous, strongly zygomorphic, enantiostylous (style gently dislocated to the opposite side to the medial stamen); floral buds 2.2–4.9 × 1.4–2.9 mm, obovoid, slightly falcate, light blue to blue, glabrous; pedicel 1.5–4.3 mm long, deflexed in bud and at anthesis, reflexed and elongating in fruit, light green, apex puberulous with glandular microhairs, hairs early deciduous, hyaline; sepals white, hyaline, persistent and accrescent in fruit, dorsal sepal 3.5–4.7 × 1.3–2.7 mm, elliptic to ovate, concave, glabrous, apex acute, lower sepals 4.3–6.2 × 2.9–4.6 mm, shortly-clawed, connate for a third of their length, claw 0.5–1.2 mm long, limb 3.8–5 × 2.9–4.6 mm, widely oblique-ovate to depressed oblique-ovate, concave, glabrous, apex round; paired petals 3.4–7.1 × 4.8–5.6 mm, clawed, claw 2.1–3.5 mm long, mauve, becoming pale pink to pale lilac towards the limb, rarely white, limb 2.8–4.7 × 4.8–5.6 mm, ovate-reniform to widely ovate-reniform, light blue to blue to sky blue, base asymmetric, cordate to sagittate, apex round to slightly emarginate, medial petal 5.5–6.1 × 0.5–0.9 mm, sessile, oblanceolate, entire, completely involute, discolourous with the paired petals, white, hyaline, glabrous on both sides, apex obtuse; staminodes 3, medial staminode shorter than the laterals, filaments 2–3.4 mm long, straight to arcuate-decurved, vinaceous to mauve, base tan-coloured, antherodes 0.7–0.8 × 0.3–0.6 mm, X-shaped, yellow, minute pollen sacs between the upper and lower lobes present, non-polliniferous or producing very few grains, not apiculate between the upper lobes, upper lobes conspicuous, spathulate to obovate, gently curved outwards, much smaller than the lower, lower lobes spathulate to obovate; lateral filaments 4.8–6.8 mm long, strongly sigmoid, geniculate distal to the middle, apex recurved, vinaceous to mauve, base and apex tan-coloured, anthers 1.1–1.3 × 0.7–1 mm, held near the medial anther, oblong to elliptic, orange-yellow to apricot, drying pale yellow, connective orange-yellow to pale apricot, pollen orange-yellow to pale apricot, drying pale yellow; medial filament 2.2–4.6 mm long, straight to arcuate-decurved, apex gently recurved, white, apex tan-coloured, anther 1.5–1.9 × 0.9–1.6 mm, held near the lateral anthers, widely oblong to widely elliptic, slightly curved, pale orange-yellow to pale apricot, drying pale yellow, connective shield-shaped, orange-yellow to apricot, with a orange-brown spot at centre, anther sacs not appressed to each other, pollen orange-yellow to pale apricot, drying pale yellow; ovary 1–1.9 × 0.4–0.9 mm, 2-carpellate, 4-ovulate, oblong, dorsiventrally compressed, light green, smooth, puberulous with glandular microhairs, style 3.6–7.4 mm long, ca the same length as the stamens, gently sigmoid to sigmoid, apex strongly recurved, base not tapering into the ovary, white, apex sometimes tan-coloured, deciduous in fruit, stigma trilobate, white to tan-coloured. Capsules 3–5 per spathe, 5.2–7 × 2.2–3.5 mm, oblong to rectangular, do