Anisophyllea ismailii

Chen, Xin, He, Hai & Zhang, Li-Bing, 2015, A monograph of the Anisophylleaceae (Cucurbitales) with description of 18 new species of Anisophyllea, Phytotaxa 229 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

34. Anisophyllea ismailii J.A. McDonald (1995: 123) ( Figure 66 )

Type:— INDONESIA. East Kalimantan: Pujungan District, Kayan-Mentarang Nature Reserve , ca. 5 km NW of confluence of Bahau and Gong Rivers , 2°50’ N, 115°50’E, 900 m, 30 June 1992, Mcdonald & Ismail 3500 (holotype A-00057460!, isotypes A!, BO, F, L) .

Trees to 14 m tall, 15 cm in diam., trunks straight, with aerial roots at ground level; bark palely gray, rough; young shoots terete, 1.0– 1.5 mm in diam. when bearing leaves, palely gray, glabrous, turning roughened by early appearance of lenticel. Leaves monomorphic (?), internodes 1.5–2.5 cm; shortly petiolate, petioles to 2.5 mm long,

MONOGRAPH OF ANISOPHYLLEACEAE

Phytotaxa 229 (1) © 2015 Magnolia Press • 91 1.5–2.0 mm in diam., terete or slightly flattened adaxially, dark green, glabrous; leaf blade elliptic, 6–10 cm long, 3–5 cm wide, base often oblique, acute, apex shortly caudate, coriaceous, darkly green adaxially, palely green abaxially, glabrous on both surfaces; main longitudinal veins 5–6, springing from blade base, inner veins bold, outermost two veins rather fine, nearly merged with blade margins and sometimes disappearing into blade margins

92 • Phytotaxa 229 (1) © 2015 Magnolia Press

CHEN ET AL.

when 6 main veins present, raised on both surfaces; transverse veins irregular, nearly perpendicular with midrib at lower potion and at angles of ca. 45° with midrib at upper potion; veinlets reticulate and tessellate, slightly prominent on both surfaces. Inflorescences a spike, usually in 3 serials, axillary or a little supra axillary; rachis angled, often zigzag, 1.0– 2.2 cm long, to 1.5 mm in diam. during anthesis, to 3 mm in diam. during fruiting, ferruginous, bearing 10–15 flowers with floral internodes 1–2 mm distant; Flowers unknown; infructescence with obvious rounded floral scars that protruding to 1 mm from thickened rachis, more or less recurved, and with a conspicuous pit on dorsal surface. Fruit one or two per infructescence, terminal or subterminal, ellipsoid, to 5 cm long, 2.2 cm in diam., base obtuse, gradually attenuate from middle and forming a beak at apex, surface palely green and often with one or two lightly purple, longitudinal stripes, glabrous; pericarp ca. 4 mm thick.

Flowering and fruiting: —Flowering time unknown; fruiting around June.

Habitat and distribution: — In relatively cool and damp fagaceous forests; ca. 900 m. Indonesia (East Kalimantan) ( Figure 67 ) .

Taxonomic notes: —Comparing with Anisophyllea apetala , A. beccariana , and A. corneri , A. ismailii is distinctively different in its short inflorescences, its shorter floral internodes, and its obvious floral scars on the rachis of infructescences ( McDonald 1995). It is even more similar to another species on the Island of Borneo, A. nitida , which also has floral scars remaining in infructescences and has small beak on the apex of its fruit as well. However, these two species can be separate by the shape of their leaves, by the length of their petioles, and by the texture and the luster of their blades (very thickly leathery and shinning adaxially in this species vs. leathery and dim green adaxially in the latter). With only the type material available and no flowers were observed, we are not sure whether this species lacks petals as A. apetala does, or it has petals of any kinds. Neither can we verify if the leaves are monomorphic without small leaves.

Figures

FIGURE 66. Anisophyllea ismailii J. A. McDonald. —A. Portion of flowering branch. —B. Portion of fruiting branchlet with fruit (Drawn by S. Iskak; reproduced and modified from McDonald in Harvard Papers in Botany 1(6): 124. 1995; courtesy of the Harvard University Herbaria).

FIGURE 67. Geographical distribution of Anisophyllea ismailii J. A. McDonald.