Uvaria anisotricha (Le Thomas) 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 : 334-337

Uvaria anisotricha (Le Thomas) Couvreur , comb. et stat. nov.

Figs 103 , 108 ; Map 13B

≡ Uvaria poggei var. anisotricha Le Thomas, Adansonia, ser. 2, 8, 2: 247, 1968.

Type.

Gabon. Ogooué-Ivindo; Bélinga, Hallé N. & Le Thomas A. 484, 14 Aug 1966: holotype: P[P00362742] .

Description.

Liana, 5-20 m tall, d.b.h. unknown. Indumentum of stellate hairs; old leafless branches sparsely pubescent, young foliate branches tomentose. Leaves: petiole 2-4 mm long, 1-2 mm in diameter, tomentose, grooved, blade inserted on top of the petiole; blade 7-12 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, ovate, oblong or elliptic, apex acuminate, acumen 1-1.5 cm long, base rounded to subcordate, coriaceous, below covered with a continuous persistent layer of small stellate hairs intermingled with larger stellate hairs, above glabrous when young and old; midrib sunken or flat, above densely pubescent when young and old, below densely pubescent when young and old; secondary veins 18 to 20 pairs, glabrous above; tertiary venation percurrent. Individuals bisexual; inflorescences ramiflorous on young foliate branches or less often on old leafless branches, extra axillary. Flowers with 9 perianth parts in 3 whorls, 1 per inflorescence; pedicel 10-20 mm long, 2-3 mm in diameter, tomentose; in fruit unknown; bracts 2, one basal and one towards the lower half of pedicel, basal bract 1-2 mm long, 1 mm wide, soon falling; upper bract unknown (soon falling?); sepals 3, valvate, covering in bud, free, 8-10 mm long, 8-10 mm wide, triangular, apex acute, base truncate, green to yellow, densely pubescent outside, densely pubescent inside, margins reflexed; petals free, sub equal; outer petals 3, 17-20 mm long, 10-15 mm wide, elliptic to suborbicular, apex obtuse to rounded, base truncate, light yellow, margins flat, pubescent outside, sparsely pubescent inside; inner petals 3, imbricate, 17-20 mm long, 10-15 mm wide, elliptic, apex obtuse to rounded, base truncate, light yellow, margins flat, tomentose outside, sparsely pubescent inside; stamens 150 to 200, in 8 to 9 rows, 2-3 mm long, oblong; connective discoid, sparsely pubescent; staminodes absent; carpels free, 27 to 32, ovary 4-5 mm long, stigma coiled, pubescent. Fruits unknown.

Distribution.

A central African species, known from Gabon, Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo; in Cameroon only known from the South West region.

Habitat.

An uncommon species in Cameroon; mainly occurring in submontane or montane rain forests. Altitude 800-1300 m a.s.l.

Local and common names known in Cameroon.

None recorded.

IUCN conservation status.

Not evaluated.

Uses in Cameroon.

None reported.

Notes.

Uvaria anisotricha was first described under the name Uvaria poggei var. anisotricha by Le Thomas (1968b) distinguishing it from var. Uvaria poggei poggei by the presence of two layers of stellate hairs on the lower side of the leaf blades, one minute and another larger. Besides this character, and after close examination, we can add the following differences suggesting the status of species rather than simply a variety: In U. anisotricha the leaves are coriaceous, strongly discolorous, with two types of hairs on lower surface: short buff hairs fully covering the lower leaf surface mixed with sparser longer rufous hairs; and the flowering pedicels are thick (2-3 mm). In U. poggei the leaves are papyraceous, concolourous, with hairs all similar, sparse and not obscuring the surface and the flowering pedicels thin (1 mm). Uvaria poggei is also found in Cameroon but is restricted to the East region towards the border with the Central African Republic.

Uvaria anisotricha belongs to a group of species in Uvaria with numerous secondary veins, generally more than 18 pairs and up to 25, whereas the rest of Cameroonian Uvaria have between 6 and 16 pairs of secondary veins. It resembles U. baumannii in this respect in addition to the presence of two layers of stellate hairs on the lower surface of the leaf blades, but differs by the flower buds being pyramidal in shape with the sepals free and reflexed at maturity, versus sepals completely fused and cylindrical in bud in U. baumannii ( Le Thomas 1968b, 1969b). Pyramidal flower buds with reflexed margins are also found in other species such as U. poggei and U. klainei , the latter only known from Gabon and differing by its larger leaves glabrous above (except for the midrib) and with a single layer of stipitate stellate hairs below and larger flowers.

Cheek and Cable (1998, p. 12) tentatively named Tekwe 49 as U. poggei , but this specimen is U. anisotricha .

Specimens examined.

South-West Region: Monkey forest descending to waterfall at Ndip , 5°N, 9.7°E, 20 January 1998, Cheek M. 8950 (K,YA); Rumpi mountains forest trail ca 5 km after Dikome Balue village ca 40 km north of Kumba, 4.93°N, 9.239°E, 10 January 2016, Couvreur T.L.P. 959 (WAG,YA); Kodmin, 5°N, 9.666°E, 16 November 1998, Gosline W.G. 147 (K,WAG,YA); Above Upper Baondo, 4.06°N, 9.15°E, 07 April 1992, Tekwe C.F. 49 (K,P,YA) .

Figures

Map 13. A Uvaria angolensis B Uvaria anisotricha C Uvaria anonoides D Uvaria baumannii E Uvaria bipindensis F Uvaria buchholzii G Uvaria chamae H Uvaria comperei I Uvaria heterotricha. White borders represent region limits in Cameroon; green patches represent protected areas (see methods and Suppl. material 1: Fig. S 1).

Figure 103. Uvaria angolensis A lower side of foliate branch B fruits C flower, top view, note reflexed petals and tongue shape stamen connectives. Uvaria anisotricha D leaves, top view with a flower E close up of flower bud, note reflexed sepal margins F petals of flower (fallen on ground). Uvaria comperei (1 / 2) G leaf base, lower side H leaf base, upper side I flower A, B Bidault 3284, Guinea C Mas 1301, Guinea D-F Couvreur 959, Rumpi Montains, Cameroon G-I Couvreur 893, Gabon. Photos A, B Ehoarn Bidault. Tropicos. org, Missouri Botanical Garden C Cyrille Mas. Tropicos. org, Missouri Botanical Garden D-I Thomas L. P. Couvreur.

Figure 108. Uvaria clavata (not in Cameroon) A flowering branch B flower C stamen, side and front view D fruit E seed. Uvaria heterotricha F flowering branch G detail of pubescence of lower side of leaf blade, note mix between stellate and simple hairs H flower, bottom view I stamen A-E from Halle & Villiers 5594 F Le Testu 8610 G-I from Le Testu 9481. Drawings by Helene Lamourdedieu, Publications Scientifiques du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris; modified from Le Thomas (1969 b, pl. 6, p. 51).