Synopsis of the genus Mapania (Cyperaceae, Mapanioideae, Hypolytreae) in the Colombian Amazon

: Mapania is a genus placed in the tribe Hypolytreae, subfamily Mapanioideae of the family Cyperaceae. It includes about 100 species worldwide, widely distributed throughout the tropics. In South America, this genus is represented by 14 species, five of them in Colombia. Its presence in the Colombian Amazon is uncertain due to lack of knowledge of the group and dubious records. The aim of this study is to present a taxonomic synopsis of Mapania for the Colombian Amazon. Specimens from COAH and COL herbaria as well as online databases were revised. Presence of five species is reported: Mapania effusa whose occurrence in Colombia is confirmed, M. pycnocephala and M. pycnostachya new records for the Amazon region, M. maguireana and M. theobromina new records for the Colombian flora. Morphological descriptions, information about the habitat, geographic distribution, notes, and photographs for these species are presented along with a key to identify the Colombian species of this genus.

Species of Mapania are widely distributed throughout the tropics, being mainly forest dwellers (Simpson 1996, Goetghebeur 1998).In south America, there are 14 species occurring mostly in seasonally flooded forest of the Amazon region (Simpson 1992(Simpson , 1996)).In Colombia this genus is represented by five species distributed in the Pacific lowlands, Magdalena River valley and Andean region (Bernal et al. 2016).The only species located in the Amazon region is Mapania effusa (C.B.Clarke) T.Koyama, though Bernal et al. (2016) consider it as a dubious record.
Spicoids are present in members of the subfamily Mapanioideae, and they are interpreted as flowers (Goetghebeur 1998) or reduced spikelets (Simpson 1992, Bruhl 1995).Due to this complex inflorescence and its morphology sometimes unusual, species of Mapania can be difficult to identify.Some species look different to the typical graminoid sedge being herbs with pseudopetiolated broad leaves and terminal congested inflorescence subtended by broad bracts, hence they are sometimes confused with Rapateaceae.Also, some species are confused with the related genus Hypolytrum.The aim of this study is to provide a taxonomic synopsis of the genus Mapania for the Colombian Amazon.Morphological descriptions, information about the habitat, geographic distribution, notes, and photographs for each species are presented along with a key to identify the Colombian species of this genus.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The taxonomic treatment was conducted through an examination of 36 herbarium specimens from the Herbario Amazónico Colombiano -COAH and Herbario Nacional Colombiano -COL, in addition to digital images from the US herbarium (acronyms according to Thiers 2023).The protologues of the accepted species and type specimens were consulted in online resources (Botanicus 2021, BHL 2021, Jstor 2021).Observations were made using a stereomicroscope Leica S9D.Morphological features were recorded using a conventional precision ruler.
Descriptions were based on the material examined, following specialized terminology (Kearns et al. 1998, Simpson 2006, Beentje 2010).Images were edited using the Photoshop® software.Records from biodiversity repositories (GBIF 2023, speciesLink 2023) were debugged and used along with the information of the herbarium labels to determine the distribution and habitat of each species.Finally, the distribution map was elaborated using the DIVA-GIS software and shapefiles were obtained from its official website (DIVA-GIS 2023).

RESULTS
In the Colombian Amazon the genus Mapania is represented by five species: Mapania effusa, M. maguireana, M. pycnocephala, M. pycnostachya, and M. theobromina.All these species are known from few records in the southeastern part of Colombia, while M. maguireana is also occurring in the southwest of this country, near the border with Peru (Figure 1).

A taxonomic synopsis for Mapania in the Colombian
Amazon is presented:    Notes: This species is usually confused with Rapateaceae but in Cyperaceae perianth is absent or reduced to bristles or scales (vs.present) and its fruits are achenes (vs.loculicidal capsules).Likewise, it is similar to Mapania pycnocephala which also can have leaves oblongs with apex caudate and evident pseudopetiole, and small round fruits.In Mapania maguireana the inflorescence is whitish (vs.reddish), spicoid and floral bracts are shorter (up to 4.9 and 4 mm long vs. up to 7 and 8.5 mm long, respectively).The separation between them lies in the length of their spicoid bracts, nutlet surface and distribution patterns (Simpson 2006).Based on their distribution, the former is predominantly found from Nicaragua to Peru, while the latter is observed from eastern Colombia to French Guiana (Simpson 2006, GBIF 2023, speciesLink 2023).A comparable disjunct distribution pattern is evident among other members of the genus (Simpson 1989), presumably linked to the uplift of the Andes.However, this distribution is not rigid, and both subspecies can coexist, particularly in the eastern regions of Colombia and western Venezuela.
Mapania pycnostachya also represents a novel addition to the Colombian Amazon flora.While previously documented in the Pacific lowlands by Bernal et al. (2016), this species is naturally tied to Amazonian forests (Kearns et al. 1998, Simpson 2006, Silva et al. 2019).The earlier report is likely a result of mistaking M. pycnocephala for M. The outcomes of this study facilitate the revision of the species composition within the Mapania genus in Colombia, growing from five (Bernal et al. 2016) to eight species.Among these, five are distributed in the Amazon, rendering this region the most diverse for the genus in the country.
The Colombian species of Mapania are important elements of the understory vegetation and riverbank environments within the Amazon and Chocó biogeographic regions.Their ability to diversify in the prevailing humid conditions of these areas can be attributed to their specialized morphoanatomical features (Silva et al. 2019).In the Colombian Amazon most of the species occur in forests and hills along the Apaporis River basin.This area is part of the upper Amazonian forests, which are considered one of the most diverse regions in the world (Gentry 1988, Ter Steege et al. 2000).
Additionally, this region encompasses rocky formations of the Guiana shield where high values of Heringeriana 17: e918031.2023.

CONCLUSIONS
Mapania is a tricky genus to identify and usually confused with other taxa.Thus, its presence in the Colombian Amazon was uncertain for an extended period.This study provides key information for identify this genus and the Colombian species.Five species were recognized for the Colombian Amazon.As a result, the species richness of this genus in the country has grown to eight, with the Amazon region emerging as the richest area.
All the species examined are endemic to the Amazon basin and known from scarce records, thereby warranting heightened attention.Finally, it is interesting to note that all these species are virtually new records at the regional or national level.This observation reveals the deficient understanding of this taxonomic group in Colombia, situation that is generalized for the whole family and supports the need for additional studies.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Distribution of Mapania species in the Colombian Amazon.
pycnostachya, an understandable confusion due to their close resemblance particularly in the absence of fruits.Consequently, the inclusion of the M. pycnostachya in this study corroborates the presence of this species for the Colombian flora.Mapania maguireana is now confirmed as a new record for Colombia.Despite its limited number of sightings, this species demonstrates a wide distribution across the Amazon basin, ranging from Guiana to Colombia and potentially extending to Peru.Similarly, Mapania theobromina represents a novel presence for the Colombian flora.This species was collected in the eastern region of Colombia, situated at an approximate distance of 140 km from the Type locality.Therefore, its presence in the country is expected.
endemism have been documented(Cárdenas-López et al. 2009, Córdoba 2014).The species under examination in this study are restricted to the Amazon basin occurring from Colombia and Peru to French Guiana.Despite this extensive geographic distribution within the Amazon, these species have limited documented occurrences, primarily concentrated around the same locality or its vicinity(GBIF 2023, speciesLink 2023).This trend is notably pronounced in species like M. maguireana and M. theobromina, suggesting a certain level of habitat specialization.Consequently, evaluating the populations of Mapania species becomes imperative to determine their conservation status.