Uvariopsis etugeana Dagallier & Couvreur, 2022

Couvreur, Thomas L. P., Dagallier, Leo-Paul M. J., Crozier, Francoise, Ghogue, Jean-Paul, Hoekstra, Paul H., Kamdem, Narcisse G., Johnson, David M., Murray, Nancy A. & Sonke, Bonaventure, 2022, Flora of Cameroon - Annonaceae Vol 45, PhytoKeys 207, pp. 1-532 : 422-424

Uvariopsis etugeana Dagallier & Couvreur sp. nov.

Map 16D

Diagnosis.

Uvariopsis etugeana resembles U. peduculosa in being a small tree and in the shape of its leaves, but differs by having a short flowering pedicel (4-10 mm versus 25-130 mm in U. pedunculosa ) and glabrous petals on the outside (versus pubescent in both U. pedunculosa ).

Type.

Cameroon. North-West Region; Wum, Letouzey R. 13414, 3 Dec 1974: holotype: P[P01982826] .

Description.

Tree, 3-6 m tall, d.b.h. unknown; stilt roots or buttresses absent. Indumentum of simple hairs; old leafless branches glabrous, young foliate branches slightly pubescent to glabrous. Leaves: petiole 3.5-4 mm long, 2.5-3.5 mm in diameter, glabrous, blade inserted on top of the petiole; blade 19-27 cm long, 7-9.5 cm wide, elliptic, apex attenuate to acuminate, acumen 1-2 cm long, base acute to slightly decurrent, coriaceous, below glabrous when young and old, above glabrous when young and old; midrib sunken, above glabrous when young and old, below glabrous when young and old; secondary veins 8 to 10 pairs per side, glabrous above; tertiary venation reticulate. Individuals unisexual, monoecious, dimorphic; inflorescences cauliflorous and ramiflorous on leafless branches, axillary. Flowers with 6 perianth parts in 2 whorls; 1 to 3 per inflorescence. Male flowers: pedicel ca. 8 mm long, 1.5 mm in diameter, glabrescent to glabrous; bracts 2, one basal and one upper towards the middle or lower half of pedicel, basal bract minute, ca. 1 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide; upper bract 1-1.5 mm long, 1-2.5 mm wide; sepals 2, valvate, basally fused, ca. 2 mm long, ca 4. mm wide, broadly ovate, apex acute or rounded, base truncate, sparsely pubescent to glabrous outside, glabrous inside, margins flat; petals free, 4 in one whorl, ca. 10 mm long, ca. 4 mm wide, elliptic to ovate, apex acute, base truncate, color unknown, margins flat, glabrous outside, glabrous inside; stamens numerous (exact number unknown), ca. 0.5 mm long; connective minute, glabrous; staminodes absent. Female flowers: pedicel ca. 4 mm long, ca. 2 mm in diameter, glabrescent to glabrous; in fruit unknown; bracts 2, one basal and one upper towards the middle or lower half of pedicel, basal bract minute, ca. 1 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide; upper bract ca. 1.5 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide; sepals 2, valvate, basally fused, 1.5 mm long, 3.5 mm wide, broadly ovate, apex acute or rounded, base truncate, sparsely pubescent to glabrous outside, glabrous inside, margins flat; petals free, 4, in one whorl, ca. 14 mm long, ca. 8 mm wide, elliptic, apex acute, base truncate, color unknown, margins flat, glabrous outside, glabrous inside; sterile stamens, ca. 5, ca. 1 mm long; carpels free, ca. 20, ovary ca. 3 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, stigma unknown, glabrescent at base to glabrous. Fruits unknown.

Distribution.

Endemic to Cameroon, only known from two localities in North-West and South-West Regions.

Habitat.

A rare species, only known from two collections to date; in mature rain forests or semi-deciduous forests. Altitude 170-700 m a.s.l.

Local and common names known in Cameroon.

None recorded.

IUCN conservation status.

Not evaluated.

Uses in Cameroon.

None reported.

Etymology.

Named in honor of the late Martin Etuge Ekwoge (1966-2020), a passionate Cameroonian horticulturalist, botanist and parataxonomist from Nyassosso village, South-West Cameroon. He was one of the main collectors for the 'Plants of Mount Mwanenguba and the Bakossi Mountains’ ( Cheek et al. 2004). For a total of 14,538 specimens recorded in the Kew database for Bakossi, 3,170 were collected by him ( Cheek et al. 2020) including over 652 (that we have seen) specimens of Annonaceae (representing 28 species).

Notes.

Uvariopsis etugeana resembles U. pedunculosa in the shape of its leaves, and U. solheidii in the shape of its flowers. However, U. etugeana has a short flowering male or female pedicel (<10 mm versus 25-130 mm in U. pedunculosa and 22-160 mm in U. solheidii ) and petals which are glabrous on the outside versus pubescent in both U. pedunculosa and U. solheidii .

Specimen examined.

South-West Region: Takamanda forest reserve near Matene, 6.23°N, 9.316°E, 21 March 1985, Thomas D.W. 4544 (MO,YA).

Figures

Map 16. A Uvariopsis conge nsis B Uvariopsis dicaprio C Uvariopsis dioica D Uvariopsis etugeana E Uvariopsis korupensis F Uvariopsis pedunculosa G Uvariopsis sessiliflora H Uvariopsis solheidii I Uvariopsis submontana. White borders represent region limits in Cameroon; green patches represent protected areas (see methods and Suppl. material 1: Fig. S 1).