Coccinia senensis (Klotzsch) Cogn. in A.DC. & C.DC., Monogr. Phan. 3: 535. 1881.

Holstein, Norbert, 2015, Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae), PhytoKeys 54, pp. 1-166 : 111-115

22. Coccinia senensis (Klotzsch) Cogn. in A.DC. & C.DC., Monogr. Phan. 3: 535. 1881.

Cephalandra senensis Klotzsch in W.C.H. Peters, Naturw. Reise Mossambique: 151. 1862.

Coccinia senensis Type: Mozambique. [ Zambézia Province]: Rios de Sena [province], without detailed locality, in grassland, W.C.H. Peters s.n. (Holotype: B, destroyed).

Coccinia senensis Type: Tanzania, Lindi Region: 40 km W of Lindi, Lake Lutamba, hill, woodland, climbing over bushes, c. 240 m, male, fl, 6 Sep 1934, H.J.E. Schlieben 5259 (Neotype, designated in Holstein and Renner (2010: 441): M! [M-0165202]; isoneotypes: B! [B 10 0379053, digital image: B], BM!, G! [G00301596], HBG! [HBG518898], MO!, P!, S! [S08-12156, digital image: S], Z!).

Coccinia jatrophiifolia (A.Rich.) Cogn. var. australis Cogn. [sphalm.: Coccinia jatrophaefolia var. australis Cogn.] Bol. Soc. Brot. ser. 1, 7: 228. 1889.

Coccinia senensis Type: Mozambique. [Nampula]: Mossuril et Cabaceira ( Zambézia), male, fl, 1884, R. de Carvalho 15 (Lectotype, designated here: BR!).

Coccinia senensis Type: Mozambique. Ibid., male, fl, 1884-1885, R. de Carvalho s.n. (isolectotype: COI!).

Coccinia fernandesiana C.Jeffrey, Kew Bull. 30(3): 478. 1975.

Coccinia senensis Type: Mozambique. Niassa: Erati, between Namapa and Ocúa, near river Lúrio bridge, female, fl, fr, 9 Mar 1960, F. de Lemos & L. Macuácua 29 (Holotype: COI, isotypes: BM! [BM001010006], BM! [BM001010007], K!, LISC! [LISC 002485, digital image: IICT, JPS], LMA, PRE! [PRE0592949-0, digital image: JPS], PRE! [PRE0592950-0, digital image: JPS], SRGH! [SRGH0106711-1, digital image: JPS], SRGH! [SRGH0106711-2, digital image: JPS], SRGH! [SRGH0106711-3, digital image: JPS]).

Coccinia senensis Type: Tanzania. Mtwara: Masai Distr. [sic, must be Masasi Distr.], W of R. Bangala, 390 m, in woodland on gravelly soil, 17 Dec 1955, E. Milne-Redhead & P. Taylor 7703 (Paratypes: EA!, K (2)!, LISC!, P!).

Coccinia senensis Type: Tanzania. Lindi: Mlinguru, 275 m, shrub woodland, 18 Dec 1934, H.J.E. Schlieben 5745 (Paratypes: B! [B 10 0379052, digital image: B], B!, BR!, EA!, HBG! [HBG518899], K (2)!, P!, LISC!, MO!, PRE!, SRGH).

Coccinia senensis Type: L. cl., F. de Lemos & L. Macuácua 30 (Paratypes: BM! [BM001010005], COI! [2 sheets], K!, LISC! [LISC 002482, digital image: IICT, JPS], LMA, P!, SRGH).

Coccinia senensis Type: Mozambique. Niassa: Erati, between Namapa and Nacarea, F.A. Mendonça 1128 (Paratypes: LISC! [LISC 002483, digital image: IICT, JPS]).

Coccinia senensis Type: Ibid., F.A. Mendonça 1129 (Paratypes: LISC! [LISC 002484, digital image: IICT, JPS]).

Coccinia senensis Type: Mozambique. Zambézia: Milange, 95 km towards Quelimane, A.R. Torre & M.F. Correia 14060 (Paratypes: K! [K000313233, digital image: JPS, K], LISC! [LISC 002481, digital image: IICT, JPS]). Type: Tanzania. Lindi: Nachingwea, Pterocarpus - Combretum woodland, B. Anderson 815 (Paratypes: EA!, K!, NHT!).

Coccinia senensis Type: Tanzania. Lindi: Mbemkuru [also called Mbwenburu, Mto Bwamkuro], in deciduous thicket by roadside, 135 m, E. Milne-Redhead & P. Taylor 7473 (Paratypes: BR!, EA!, K (2)!, P!), E. Milne-Redhead & P. Taylor 7473A (Paratypes: K (2)!), E. Milne-Redhead & P. Taylor 7473B (Paratype: K), E. Milne-Redhead & P. Taylor 7473C (Paratype: K), E. Milne-Redhead & P. Taylor 7473D (Paratype: K).

Coccinia subglabra C.Jeffrey, Kew Bull. 30(3): 479. 1975.

Coccinia senensis Type: Mozambique. Nampula: Nacala, 11 km from Itoculo towards Nacala, 130 m, male, fl, 4 Dec 1963, A.R. Torre & J. Paiva 9417 (Holotype: LISC [LISC 002486, digital image: IICT, JPS]; isotypes: COI, K! [K000313458, digital image: JPS, K], LMA).

Coccinia senensis Type: Mozambique. Ibid., A.R. Torre & J. Paiva 9417A (Paratypes: COI, K! [K000313457, digital image: JPS, K], LISC, LMA).

Coccinia senensis Type: Mozambique. Niassa: Ruvuma River, J. Kirk s.n. (Paratype: K!).

Coccinia senensis Type: Mozambique. Nampula: Mossuril e Cabaceira, R. de Carvalho s.n. (Paratypes: COI (2)!).

Coccinia senensis Type: Mozambique. Zambézia: 23 km on road [from vila] Maganja da Costa [= Olinga] towards Namacurra, A.R. Torre & M.F. Correia 14176 (Paratypes: EA!, LISC [LISC 002487, digital image: IICT, JPS], MO!).

Description.

Perennial climber or creeper. Stems up to 3 m, glabrous or with erect, stiff, articulate, pale trichomes, glabrescent, when older sometimes with white pustules. Leaves subsessile or distinctly but not long petiolate. Petiole 0.4-4 cm long, abaxial side more or less densely covered with erect, stiff, articulate, pale trichomes, sometimes glabrous. Leaves 4-14 × 5-16 cm, cordate or shallowly to deeply 3- or 5-lobate, sometimes auriculate (Fig. 6). Lobes triangulate, lanceolate to lineal, sometimes with broader end. Finely to coarsely serrate-dentate, especially towards the lobe tips, sometimes lobulate. Lobe apices acute to subacute, with an apical tooth. Upper leaf surface with erect, stiff, articulate, pale trichomes or with whitish pustules. Lower leaf surface glabrous or covered with erect, stiff, articulate, pale trichomes, nerves with same indumentum or with white pustules. Between the main nerves at lamina base often with blackish glands. Probracts up to 4 mm. Tendrils simple, rarely bifid. Male flowers (Fig. 39) in few-flowered racemes, sometimes accompanied with 1-2 solitary flowers. Common peduncle 0.3-6.2 cm long, often more or less densely covered with erect, stiff, articulate, pale trichomes. Petiole of flowers in racemes 0.2-1.2 cm. Bracts up to 2.5 mm, often missing. Petioles of solitary flowers 3.2-6.2 cm long. Petioles in each case with indumentum of peduncle. Perianth tube glabrous or with erect, stiff, articulate, pale trichomes. Calyx lobes 2.5-6.5 mm long, subulate to narrowly triangulate-lanceolate. Corolla 1.1-3 cm, yellow, orange to salmon, lobes 0.9-1.1 cm. Color of filament column, anther head, and pollen sacs not seen. Pedicel of female flower 1.2-2.3 cm. Hypanthium, calyx lobes, and corolla like in male flowers. Ovary glabrous or more or less covered with erect, articulate trichomes. Style and stigma not seen. Fruit 3.5-4.4 × 1-1.5 cm, long ovoid to shortly cylindrical, often with apical sterile tip. Unripe pale green with dark green longitudinal lines, ripe red. Seeds 5.5-7 × 3-5 × 1.2-1.3 mm (L/W/H), symmetrically obovate, face lenticular.

Phenology.

Flowering time: January-April, September, December.

Distribution.

Fig. 23. Central Tanzania (Iringa, Lindi, Morogoro, Ruvuma), Malawi (Southern Region), Mozambique (Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Tete, Zambezia). Elevation 0-700 m. Sandy soil. Coccinia senensis seems to be a typical element of the Zambezian center of endemism ( White 1983b). Deciduous woodlands, termitaria, riverine thickets, coastal forests.

Vernacular names.

Kihehe: mtumbulansoka (W. Carmichael 171), Macua [Makhuwa]: muuco-uco (F. de Lemos & L. Macuácua 29)

Remarks.

The species is recognizable by the combination of few-flowered racemes, long subulate calyx lobes, and the often subsessile leaves. The trichome type (often appearing articulate when dried) is the same as in Coccinia rehmannii , where (sub-)glabrous collections also occur (see also the Taxonomic remarks). Except for the degree of trichome density, a subglabrous collection (E.M.C. Groenendijk et al. 1031) from 11 km from the collecting site of the Coccinia subglabra holotype was neither morphologically nor genetically ( Holstein and Renner 2011b) distinguishable from Coccinia fernandesiana , and Coccinia senensis (sensu Flora Zambesiaca ( Jeffrey 1978) and sensu Holstein and Renner (2010)). Fruit shape and length as well as the length of the female pedicel are variable, so Coccinia subglabra is synonymized. Without calyx lobes, Coccinia senensis is only hardly, if at all, distinguishable from glabrous Coccinia adoensis collections or those with long articulate trichomes, which are described as Coccinia adoensis var. jeffreyana in this treatment. The fruit and seed shape also match the variable Coccinia adoensis . Usually, Coccinia adoensis var. adoensis has short trichomes and calyx lobes are ≤ 2 mm, but where both species meet (Malawi, NW Mozambique, S Tanzania), exceptions can be found (listed and further discussed as Coccinia adoensis var. jeffreyana ). Whether Coccinia adoensis and Coccinia senensis are truly separate species and the role of these intermediates needs to be tested by artificial hybridization, field observations, and/or a phylogeographic analysis.

Taxonomic remarks.

Although the holotype of Coccinia senensis burned during the destruction of the Berlin herbarium in 1943, and the name appears to have been lost, the protologue mentions several characters that allow Coccinia senensis to be synonymized with Jeffrey’s Coccinia fernandesiana . The Coccinia senensis protologue points out “articulate” trichomes and an overall appearance like Coccinia quinqueloba , which matches perfectly with many collections of Coccinia fernandesiana . Interestingly, many of these collections have been identified as " Coccinia quinqueloba " or " Coccinia palmata " by various collectors and scientists. The similarity, including the calyx lobes, is easily visible in many collections, but both species are restricted to southern Africa.

Cogniaux described var. australis of Coccinia jatrophiifolia (synonym to Coccinia adoensis ) recognizing the similarity to the polymorphic Coccinia adoensis . However, he differentiated between the R. de Carvalho specimens with long lineal lobes (BR, COI) and specimens with lanceolate lobes (BR, COI), which he determined as Coccinia senensis . When Jeffrey described Coccinia subglabra , he cited the two COI specimens (as deduced from his ID labels), but he did not refer to Cogniaux’ variety, which must have been overlooked. The one COI specimen is therefore paratype of Coccinia subglabra and syntype of Coccinia jatrophiifolia var. australis . The two COI specimens are also misplaced paratypes of Meeuse’s Coccinia rehmannii var. littoralis . The similarity of the COI specimens of Meeuse’s variety to Coccinia senensis is striking, but the long peduncles and the conspicuous black sublaminal glands refer rather to Coccinia senensis than to Coccinia rehmannii .

Specimens examined.

(Selection, in total: 49) Malawi. Northern Region: Rumphi district, Nyika Plateau, 20 mls N of M1, J. Pawek 13339B (MO). Southern Region: Bvumbwe, I.F. La Croix 2653 (MO); Lengwe National Park, near Mukanyu ravine, A. Hall Marker 1051 (K). Mozambique. Cabo Delgado: Mueda Plateau, 11°22'S, 39°20'E, W.R.Q. Luke et al. 10084 (EA, K). Nampula: Monapo district, Monapo, forest reserve of Mr. Wolf, E.M.C. Groenendijk et al. 1031 (WAG [WAG0104327]). Tete: Cabora bassa [Cahora bassa], police post no. 3, 5 km from barrage, A.R. Torre et al. 18788 (MO). Tanzania. Lindi: Selous Game Reserve, Kingupira, 8°28'S, 38°33'E, K. Vollesen 1908 (EA); ibid., K. Vollesen MRC 4316 (DSM, EA, K, WAG [WAG0234144]); ibid., R.C. Wingfield et al. 3466 (DSM). Morogoro: Kilosa district, Ilonga Research Institute, 9.5 km NNE of Kilosa on road to Dumila, 6°46'31.3"S 37°2'23"E, N. Holstein et al. 66 (DSM, M).