Annona senegalensis Pers. ssp. oulotricha Le Thomas, Halle , Fl. Gabon, vol. 16: 322, 1969

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 : 41-44

Annona senegalensis Pers. ssp. oulotricha Le Thomas, Halle, Fl. Gabon, vol. 16: 322, 1969

Fig. 8 ; Map 1G

= Annona arenaria Thonn. var. obtusa Robyns & Ghesq., Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belge 67: 22 (1934). Type. Republic of the Congo. Pool, Brazzaville, Chevalier A.J.B. 27304, Jul 1912; holotype: P[P00363246].

= Annona arenaria auct., non Thonn., Robyns & Ghesq., Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belge 67: 22 (1934); Annona senegalensis Pers. var. arenaria (Thonn.) Sillans, Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat., sér. 2, 24: 581 (1952). Type. Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kongo-Central, Temvo, Vermoesen F.M.C. 1592, 20 Fev 1919: neotype, designated by Robyns and Ghesquière (1934, p. 25), sheet here designated: BR[BR0000013871604]; isoneotype: BR[BR0000013871611].

Type.

Republic of the Congo. Pool; Bord de la M’Boté, Bouquet, A. 513, 12 Sep 1964: holotype: P[P00363247] .

Description.

Tree to shrub, 1-6(8) m tall, d.b.h. unknown; stilt roots or buttresses absent. Indumentum of simple hairs; old leafless branches glabrous, young foliate branches brown tomentose. Leaves: petiole 7-20 mm long, 2-3 mm in diameter, brown tomentose, grooved, blade inserted on top of the petiole; blade 6-20 cm long, 5-12 cm wide, obovate to elliptic, apex rounded or obtuse or shortly emarginate, base rounded to subcordate, papyraceous to coriaceous, below densely pubescent, curly hairs covering the whole leaf blade when young and old, above sparsely pubescent to glabrous when young, glabrous when old, discolorous, whitish below; midrib impressed, above glabrous when young and old, below densely pubescent when young and old; secondary veins 8 to 15 pairs, glabrous above; tertiary venation percurrent but also appearing reticulate. Individuals bisexual; inflorescences ramiflorous on old or young foliate branches, leaf opposed or extra axillary. Flowers with 9 perianth parts in 3 whorls, 1 to 2 per inflorescence; pedicel 10-25 mm long, 1-2 mm in diameter, brown tomentose; in fruit 15-30 mm long, 3-4 mm in diameter, pubescent; bracts 2, all basal, 2-5 mm long, 2-3 mm wide; sepals 3, valvate, free, 3-4 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, triangular to ovate, apex acute, base truncate, green, densely pubescent outside, glabrous inside, margins flat; petals free, inner smaller than outer; outer petals 3, 10-15 mm long, 8-10 mm wide, ovate, apex acute, base truncate, yellow to green, margins flat, tomentose outside, glabrous inside; inner petals 3, valvate, 8-10 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, narrowly oblong or narrowly elliptic, apex acute, base truncate, yellow-green, margins flat, glabrous outside, glabrous inside; stamens numerous, rows not counted, 2-3 mm long, linear; connective discoid, shortly pubescent; staminodes absent; carpels free, numerous, ovary 1-2 mm long, stigma capitate, pubescent. Fruit pseudosyncarpous, 20-50 mm long, 20-50 mm in diameter, obovoid to globose, yellow orange at maturity; individual monocarps 20 to 30, sessile, completely fused between them; apex shortly pyramidal, brown tomentose, smooth, yellow to orange when ripe; seed 1, 8-10 mm long, 4-5 mm in diameter, flattened ellipsoid; aril absent.

Distribution.

A west and central African subspecies distributed from Guinea to Ivory Coast and from Cameroon to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic; in Cameroon known from Adamaoua, Central, East, North, North-West, South-West and West regions.

Habitat.

A common species; in lowland savanna regions towards the north, at higher altitudes towards the south, sometimes the dominant tree species in the savanna, reported to naturally invade certain areas ( Le Thomas 1969c). Altitude 200-1300 m a.s.l.

Local and common names known in Cameroon.

None recorded.

IUCN conservation status.

Least Concern (LC) (Botanic Gardens Conservation International and IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group 2019a).

Uses in Cameroon.

None recorded, but probably same as for Annona senegalensis var. senegalensis .

Notes.

Subsp. Annona senegalensis oulotricha is distinguished by the pubescence of the lower surface of leaf blades, which is tomentose with short curly hairs. Besides that, it is very close morphologically to subsp. Annona senegalensis senegalensis . The species ( A. senegalensis ) as a whole is very variable morphologically and widespread across the drier parts of sub-Saharan Africa (west to east), also occurring in northern Madagascar ( Le Thomas 1969c). Though we have followed the classification of Le Thomas (1969c), the taxonomic limits in this group would need more in-depth studies.

Cheek et al. (2000, p. 114), in the Check list of plants of Mt Oku, reported the presence of A. chrysophylla Bojer (Brunt 234), but this specimen has now been identified as A. senegalensis subsp. oulotricha . Moreover, the former name is now a synonym of A. senegalensis subsp. senegalensis ( Le Thomas 1969c).

Robyns and Ghesquière (1934) chose a neotype for the species A. arenaria (now a synonym of A. senegalensis subspecies senegalensis ), thinking that no original material seen by Thonning remained (see under that name for details). However, in doing so, they chose a neotype specimen belonging to A. senegalensis subsp. oulotricha ( Le Thomas 1969c). When describing this latter species, Le Thomas chose a different type than the one selected by Robyns and Ghesquière (1934) as not to "bring extra confusion to the situation" ( Le Thomas 1969c).

Specimens examined.

Adamaoua Region: Meiganga, 6.52°N, 14.3°E, 06 February 1946, Aubréville A. 729 (P); Tignère, 7.37°N, 12.65°E, 01 March 1939, Jacques-Félix H. 3423 (P); Ngaoundéré, 7.32°N, 13.58°E, 01 June 1939, Jacques-Félix H. 4012 (P); 11 km de Ngaoundéré vers Ngakha, 7.32°N, 13.58°E, 06 March 1958, Letouzey R. 606 (P). Central Region : Mont Ngolep massif Ngoro 38 km N de Bafia, 5.09°N, 11.26°E, 21 April 1975, Ngameni B.K. 51 (P); Mont Ngoro à 58 km SW de Linte, 5.09°N, 11.26°E, 17 April 1982, Nkongmeneck B. A. 256 (P). East Region : Bétaré Oya, 5.5°N, 14.1°E, 02 March 1961, Breteler F.J. 1185 (P); Piste Moyenam Rivière Konbo, 4.58°N, 13.68°E, 29 February 1960, Letouzey R. 3187 (P); Piste Moyenam-rivière Koubou, 4.58°N, 13.68°E, 29 February 1960, Letouzey R. 3191 (P). North Region : Garoua, 9.3°N, 13.4°E, 10 February 1946, Aubréville A. 787 (P); Garoua, 9.3°N, 13.4°E, 11 February 1946, Aubréville A. 804 (P); 17 km N of Banyo along road to Mba, 6.91°N, 11.8°E, 29 February 1972, Leeuwenberg A.J.M. 9440 (WAG). West Region: Dschang, 5.45°N, 9.95°E, 13 April 1966, CNAD 317 (P); Nkounden, 5.7°N, 10.67°E, 01 May 1967, CNAD 808 (P); Bangwa ca. 15 km NW of Baganté, 5.2°N, 10.48°E, 30 April 1964, de Wilde W.J.J.O 2359 (P); Between Bangwa and Bangangté ca 8 km NW of Bangangté, 5.16°N, 10.5°E, 12 May 1964, de Wilde W.J.J.O 2589 (P,WAG); Batchingou, 5.13°N, 10.4°E, 01 January 1939, Jacques-Félix H. 3026 (P); Kontchankap, 5.58°N, 10.80°E, 01 February 1939, Jacques-Félix H. 3033 (P); Foumban, 5.72°N, 10.92°E, 01 February 1939, Jacques-Félix H. 3136 (P) .

Figures

Map 1. A Afroguatteria discostigma B Annickia affinis C Annickia chlorantha D Annickia letestui E Annickia polycarpa F Annona senegalensis G Annona senegalensis subsp. oulotricha H Anonidium brieyi I Anonidium mannii. White borders represent region limits in Cameroon; green patches represent protected areas (see methods and Suppl. material 1: Fig. S 1).

Figure 8. Annona senegalensis subsp. senegalensis A flowering branch B detail of pubescence on lower side of leaf blade C leaf D detail of pubescence on lower side of leaf blade E longitudinal section of the flower F stamen G carpel, side view and view of the single basal ovule H seed. Annona senegalensis subsp. oulotricha I leaf J detail of pubescence on lower side of leaf blade K fruit branch showing two pseudosyncarpous fruits. Annona glabra L leaf M section of fruit. Drawings by Helene Lamourdedieu, Publications Scientifiques du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris; modified from Le Thomas (1969 b; pl. 56, p. 321).