Anisophyllea buettneri Engler (1921: 667)

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

9. Anisophyllea buettneri Engler (1921: 667) ( Figure 17 )

Type :— DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. Bandundu: Kwango, 400–500 m, common in bush steppes, no date, s.n. (syntypes,? B; not found). Illustration: Engler (1921: 676, Fig. 301: G – K, lectotype, here designated) .

Small rhizomatous shrubs. Leaves petiolate; leaf blade lanceolate, apex acute, base narrowly cuneate; main longitudinal veins 5, two inner lateral veins springing above blade base, two outer lateral veins fine and almost confluent with blade margins; transverse veins parallel at angles of 35°–40° with midrib; veinlets reticulate. Flowers bisexual(?), 4-merous, sessile; receptacle narrowly ovate, tomentose(?); sepals broadly ovate, tomentose(?) abaxially, reflexed; petals base entire, irregularly laciniate from middle, laciniae to 7, linear, middle one much longer; anthers small, ca. 0.2 mm long; styles free, densely hairy. Fruit a drupe, narrowly pyriform, base attenuate, apex obtuse with persistent floral parts.

Flowering and fruiting: —Unknown.

Habitat and distribution: — In scrublands; 400–500 m. Democratic Republic of the Congo (Bandundu) ( Figure 18 ) .

Taxonomic notes: — Anisophyllea buettneri is the least known species of the rhizomatous shrub species of the genus in western Africa and was published. Without exactly locating its original material and other specimens ascribable to this species, its identity needs further study.

32 • Phytotaxa 229 (1) © 2015 Magnolia Press

CHEN ET AL.

MONOGRAPH OF ANISOPHYLLEACEAE

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Figures

FIGURE 17. Anisophyllea buettneri Engler. —A. Young fruiting branch. —B. Flower. —C. Petal. —D. Lingitudinal section of fruit. (Artist unknown; reproduced and modified from Engler, Die Vegetation der Erde-Sammlung Pflanzengeographischer Monographien, vol. 9, part III, no. 2: p. 676, Fig. 301: G–K. 1921).

FIGURE 18. Geographical distribution of Anisophyllea buettneri Engler.