Diospyros hasseltii Zoll.

Meeprom, Nattanon, Duangjai, Sutee, Utteridge, Timothy M. A., Culham, Alastair & Puglisi, Carmen, 2024, Notes on South-East Asian Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae, Ericales): commonly misidentified species in mainland South-East Asia, European Journal of Taxonomy 932, pp. 225-251 : 241-244

Diospyros hasseltii Zoll.

Fig. 7D–F

Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch-Indië 14: 159 ( Zollinger 1857).

– Type: Illustration of Kuhl & Hasselt No. 2b.; holotype, probably at BO (not seen) .

Hiern (1873: 265); Bakhuizen van den Brink (1938: 254); Ng (1977: 221; 1978: 73); Phengklai (1978: 66, fig. 38; 1981: 352, fig. 38); Pham-Hoang (1991: 818; 1999: 648); Nguyen (1996: 67); Gardner et al. (2015: 500, 690).

Diospyros horsfieldii Hiern , Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 12: 193 ( Hiern 1873).

– Type: INDONESIA • Java; s.d.; Horsfield 1182; lectotype: K [ K000792680 ]!, designated by De Kok & Puglisi (2021) .

Ridley (1923: 293); Lecomte (1930: 932); Fletcher (1938: 372).

Diospyros brachiata King & Gamble , Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Part 2. Natural History 74: 224 ( King & Gamble 1906).

– Type: PENINSULAR MALAYSIA • Penang, Waterfall valley ; 1888; Curtis 1453; lectotype: K [ K000792583 ]!, designated by De Kok & Puglisi (2021: 295); isolectotype: SING [ SING0052913 ] !.

Ridley (1923: 293); Fletcher (1938: 364).

Diospyros brachiata King & Gamble var. atra C.E.C.Fisch. , Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) 1927 (7): 314 ( Fischer 1927).

– Type: MYANMAR • South Tenasserim ; 28 Feb. 1926; Parkinson 1957; holotype: K [ K000792407 ]!.

– Notes: Fischer (1927) cited Parkinson 1957 collected from Tenasserim as the original gathering. To the best of our knowledge, the only sheet of this collection has been found in K and is considered the holotype of this taxon.

Fletcher (1938: 364).

Diospyros brachiata King & Gamble var. lanceolata H.R.Fletcher , Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) 1937 (7): 383 ( Fletcher 1937).

– Type: THAILAND • Puket, Kamala [Phuket, Kamala Beach ]; Kerr 17412; lectotype: K [ K001361057 ]!, here designated; isolectotypes: BK [ BK257846 ]!, E [ E00318456 ]!, K [ K000792556 ]!.

– Notes: Fletcher (1937) cited only Kerr 17412 from Puket [Phuket] as the original material, and several sheets have been located at BK, E and K. As the only sheet, K001361057, was annotated as ‘type’ while the others were either unannotated or annotated as ‘co-type’ in Fletcher’s own handwriting, the sheet is selected here as the lectotype.

Fletcher (1938: 364).

Diospyros dictyoneura [non Hiern], sensu auctorum: Bakhuizen van den Brink (1938: 257, pro parte; 1955: pl. 57 figs a–x); Fletcher (1938: 368); Phengklai (1978: 82, fig. 49; 1981: 373, fig. 49); Pham-Hoang (1991: 815; 1999: 645); Nguyen (1996: 65); Gardner et al. (2015: 500, 690).

Description

Tree, up to 15 m tall. Bark black, smooth or scaly and sparsely lenticellate, inner bark reddish brown, sapwood white, young twigs green, glabrous, older twigs blackish-brown. Leaves elliptic, elliptic-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 15–30 × 5–10 cm, base rounded or cuneate, apex acuminate or caudate (usually missing in herbarium specimens), blade chartaceous to subcoriaceous and usually crispy when dried, glabrous on both sides; lateral veins 9–15 on each side, usually parallel, curved near the margin, sunken above and distinctly raised below, tertiary veins reticulate, commonly scalariform; petiole 1–1.5 cm long, glabrous. Male inflorescences compound cymes, ca 5 cm long, many-flowered, on young or old branches; bracts and bracteoles present. Calyx campanulate in outline, hairy on both sides; lobes 4, divided at least ⅔ of the way to the base, ovate, 5–7 × 4–6 mm, valvate, base plicate which makes each calyx lobe look like heart-shaped, apex acuminate. Corolla tubular when closed, salverform when opened, 1.5–2.5 cm long, densely hairy outside, hairs usually black, sometimes brown, subglabrous inside; tube with 4 longitudinal ridges outside; lobes 4, divided halfway to the base, oblong 0.7–1 cm long, apex obtuse. Female inflorescences similar to male inflorescence but with fewer flowers. Female calyx and corolla similar to male flowers. Fruits subglobose to ovoid, 2.5–4 × 1.5–2.5 cm, usually depressed at both ends, dark green when young and turning yellow when ripe, usually covered by blackish or brownish hairs when young, glabrescent when mature, 8(–10)-locular; fruit stalk 0.5– 1 cm long. Fruiting calyx accrescent, 1.5–2.5 cm in diam. (2.5–3(–4) cm in diam. when fully spread); lobes 4, divided ⅔ of the way to the base, broadly ovate, ca 1.5 × 1.5 cm, spreading or curved inward, not reflexed, base plicate, apex acute, margin sometimes undulate or reflexed. Seeds 8(–10), sometimes abortive, crescent-shaped, 1.5–2 × 0.7–1 cm; endosperm smooth.

Distribution

MYANMAR • Tanintharyi [Parkinson 1957 ( K000792407 )] .

CAMBODIA • Kandal [Bejaud 811 ( P), Chevalier 31833 ( P)] .

LAOS • Sainyabuli [Thorel 3076 ( P)].

THAILAND • Bangkok [Kerr 4229 ( K, P), Marcan 1893 ( K)], Bueng Kan [Kerr 21337 ( K)], Chonburi [Phengnaren 556 ( BKF)], Chumphon [Williams 1263 ( BKF)], Kanchanaburi [Maxwelll 93-295 ( BKF)], Krabi [Chamchumroon 6 ( BKF), Kerr 12432 ( K), Pooma 3633 ( BKF, K)], Lampang [Winit 1651 ( BKF, K)], Loei [Smitinand s.n. ( BKF [ BKF019432 ])], Nakhon Si Thammarat [Maxwell 85- 883 ( BKF), Suvarnakoses 776 ( BKF, K), Thavorn 1007 ( BKF)], Narathiwat [Lakshnakara 624 ( K), Niyomdham 8216 ( BKF)], Phang-nga [Gardner ST0854 ( BKF, K), Geesink 5022 ( BKF, K), Kerr 18351 ( K), Meeboonya RM289 ( BKF), Maudsub 45 ( BKF) Promdej 286 ( BKF)], Phrae [Phengklai 73 ( BKF, K), Smitinand 10824 ( BKF, K), Smitinand 46521 ( BKF, K), Winit 1674 ( K)], Phuket [Kerr 17412 ( K, lectotype of D. brachiata King & Gamble var. lanceolata H.R.Fletcher ), Ranong [Gardner ST0864 ( BKF, K), Geesink 4915 ( BKF), Kerr 16993 ( K), 17019 ( K)], Satun [Gardner ST0245 ( BKF, K), ST1479 ( BKF, K), ST1529 ( BKF, K), ST1536 ( BKF, K), Surat Thani [Damrongsak s.n. ( BKF [ BKF018899 , BKF197556 ], Prapat 42 ( K)], Trang [Larsen 33291 ( BKF, P), Phengklai 1572 ( BKF), Phengnaren 87 ( BKF), Sinbunroong 28 ( BKF), Vanpruk 663 ( K, Bakhuizen van den Brink (1938: 259) mentioned this specimen under D. dictyoneura ), Williams 2020 ( BKF)] .

PENUNSULAR MALAYSIA • Kedah [Kochummen 8969 ( K)], Kelantan [Corner SFN10202 ( K), 33416 ( K)], Malacca [Griffith (Herb. Griffith No.) 3620 ( K), Griffith s.n. ( K001346333 ), Wight s.n. ( K001345340 )], Penang [Curtis 1453 ( K, SING), 1454 ( K, SING), 3591 ( K, SING)] .

SUMATRA • Locality not specified [Forbes 2330 ( P), Yates 1588 ( K)] .

JAVA • East Java [Backer 18218 ( K), Koorders 28903/b ( L)], Semarang [Kooders 26239/b ( K)], West Java [Bakhuizen van den Brink 6718 ( L)], locality not specified [Horsfield 1182 ( K), Koorders 1672 ( K)] .

VIETNAM • Ha Noi [Fleury 37752 ( P)], Nghe An [Chevalier 30192 ( P)], Tonkin Meriodinal [Bon 416 ( P)] .

Ecology

Diospyros hasseltii is found in evergreen or dry evergreen forest, usually found near streams, at 0–800 m elevations.

Notes

Although the type of D. hasseltii has not been seen by the authors, the species is easy to recognise and has consistent morphological characters. Moreover, the original description of D. hasseltii clearly depicted the noticeable characters of this species (4-ridged corolla tube covered by black hairs and 8-locular fruits).

Figures

Fig. 7. A–C. Diospyros dictyoneura Hiern. A. Corolla and stamen of male flower (Beccari 2615 K[K000792678]). B. Female flower (Galao S15705 K[K001423314]). C. Fruits (Bernstein 179 K[without barcode]). D–F. D. hasseltii Zoll. D. Male flower with front calyx lobe removed (Smitinand 46521 K[K001361167]). E. Female inflorescences. F. Fruits. G–H. D. fecunda H.R.Fletcher. G. Male inflorescence; H. Fruit. Photographed by N. Meeprom and S. Duangjai.