Aspicarpa hirtella Rich.
Family: Malpighiaceae
Description: Herbaceous with slender stems up to 1 m long, strigose herbage,
ovate to oblong-ovate leaves to 4.5 cm long, usually cordate,
bearing cleistogamous and chasmogamous flowers, the chasmogamous
flowers lacking petals, carpels 2, strongly keeled dorsally but
not winged.
Distribution: Southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico
at least to Zacatecas, Jalisco, and México.
Plants Seen or Cited: Mexico; Durango; Mpio. Mezquital;
3 km por el camino a El Mezquital, 23o18'N, 104o29'W, 1460m, 2
Oct 1984, M. González 1610 (CIIDIR); Temoaya, 23
km por el camino a El Mezquital, 23o27'N, 104o28'W, 2300m, 2 Oct
1984, S. González, M. González & Rzedowski
3031 (CIIDIR); Mpio. Vicente Guerrero; Vicente Guerrero,
10 km al E, por la carretera a Sombrerete, 23o44'N, 103o52'W,
2050m, 14 Sep 1982, Fernández 1114 (CIIDIR); United
States; New Mexico; Hidalgo Co.; Peloncillo Mts., NWSW S19 T29S R20W,
15 Oct 1992, McIntosh 2468 (NMC); Bioresearch Ranch, Skull
Canyon, 3 Sep 1979, Todsen sn (NMC); Peloncillo Mts., Maverick
Spring Canyon, 6 Sep 1979, Todsen sn (NMC); Peloncillo
Mts., Coronado Natl. For., Clanton Draw, 2.3 rd mi W of E side
of natl. for. by Forest Rd. 63 (S18 T32S R21W), 29 Aug 1986, Worthington
14967 (NMC, UTEP). UTEP also has three sheets from southern
Arizona, one sheet from Chihuahua, and three sheets from Durango.
Habitat: Grasslands and xerophytic shrublands to the transition
with oak woodland (Arreguín S. 1991); chapparal (Kearney
and Peebles 1969); dry rocky slopes (Correll and Johnston 1970);
rocky heavily grazed area with extensive areas of bare rock consisting
of solidified white volcanic ash, with Juniperus monosperma
and Xanthocephalum sarothrae (McIntosh 2468); crevices
in bare rocky S-facing slope, 1800m (Todsen 3 Sep 1979);
crevices and pickets in rocky S-facing slope, 1650m (Todsen
6 Sep 1979).
Discussion: McIntosh (2468) notes plants to be heavily
utilized by livestock. Kearney and Peebles (1969) indicate that
Arizona specimens seem to belong to one species but had been varously
identified as A. longipes A Gray, A. humilimus (Benth.)
Small, and A. hirtella. Correll and Johnston (1970) cover
both A. longipes and A. humilus for Texas, noting
that no specimens that with certainty were the former had been
seen in the state. They also note that the two names may refer
to variants of the same species. Martin and Hutchins (1980) indicated
the species (as A. longipes) to be probably in New Mexico
in Doña Ana, Otero, Eddy and Lea counties. González
E. et al. (1991) record the species (as A. hirtella) from
Durango. Arruguín restricts the distribution of A.
hirtella to the states of México, Jalisco, and Zacatecas.
Her treatment apparently relies heavily on that of Small (1910)
who notes the type of A. hirtella to be from cultivated
material, and cites its distribution to be "Mexico."
The state records collected a few days apart by Todsen were identified
by W. Anderson, a specialist in the family, as A. hirtella.
This is apparently a variable complex of forms that most
authors now place in A. hirtella. If that accurately represents
the variation, then this is a widespread species in southern North
America and is simply peripheral in New Mexico.
Important Literature:
Arruguín S, M. de la L. 1991. Malpighiaceae, pp. 376-380
in J. Rzedowski and G.C. de Rzedowski (eds), Flora Fanerogamica
del Valle de México, vol. 1, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias
Biologicas, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, México (reprinted),
403 pp.
Correll, D.S., & M.C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the Vascular
Plants of Texas. Texas Research Foundaton, Renner. 1881 pp.
González E., M., S. González E. and Y. Herrera A. 1991.
Flora de Durango. Listados Florísticos de México,
IX. Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma
de México, México. 167 pp.
Kearney, T.H. and R.H. Peebles. 1969. Arizona Flora, 2nd
ed. (with supplement by J.T. Howell, Elizabeth McClintock, et
al.). Univ. California Press, Berkeley. 1085 pp.
Martin, W.C., and C.R. Hutchins. 1980. A Flora of New Mexico,
vol. 1. J. Cramer, Vaduz. Pp. 1-1276.
Small, J.K. 1910. Malpighiaceae. North American Flora 25(2):
117-171.
Todsen, T.K. 1982. Noteworthy collectons (New Mexico). Madroño
29:60.
Information Compiled By: Richard Spellenberg with gratitude expressed to
Dra. Socorro González Elizondo of CIIDIR for supplying information, 1998
