Uvariopsis submontana Kenfack, Gosline & Gereau, Novon 13(4): 444 (2003)

Dagallier, Leo-Paul M. J., Mbago, Frank M., Couderc, Marie, Gaudeul, Myriam, Grall, Aurelie, Loup, Caroline, Wieringa, Jan J., Sonke, Bonaventure & Couvreur, Thomas L. P., 2023, Phylogenomic inference of the African tribe Monodoreae (Annonaceae) and taxonomic revision of Dennettia, Uvariodendron and Uvariopsis, PhytoKeys 233, pp. 1-200 : 1

Uvariopsis submontana Kenfack, Gosline & Gereau, Novon 13(4): 444 (2003)

Figs 82 , 83 , 84

Type.

Cameroon - South-West Region • D. Kenfack 1334 (holotype: YA; isotypes: K! (K000683145), MO, SCA), Rumpi Hills; 4°57'N, 9°02'E; alt. 800 m; 06 Feb. 2000 .

Description.

Tree 4.5-25 m tall, D.B.H 5-30 cm; young branches sparsely pubescent to glabrous, old branches glabrous. Petiole 3-8 mm long, 2.5-4 mm wide, sparsely pubescent to glabrous. Leaf lamina 160-380 mm long, 50-110 mm wide, length:width ratio 2.7-4.3, obovate, coriaceous, base rounded to subcordate, apex attenuate to acuminate, acumen 8-30 mm long, surface above glabrous, surface below glabrous; midrib impressed above, raised below, glabrous above, glabrous below; secondary veins 9-25 pairs, brochidodromous to weakly brochidodromous, impressed above, raised below; tertiary veins reticulate. Flowers unisexual, male and female flowers slightly dimorphic, on same individuals (plant monoecious). Flower buds ovoid to conical. Male inflorescences borne in dense clumps on thickenings at base of the trunk, sparser above 2 m., above the clumps of female inflorescences, mainly between the base and the lower 5 m of the trunk, composed of 6 to 50 flowers. Peduncle inconspicuous. Flower pedicel 25-50 mm long, ca. 1 mm in diameter, pubescent to sparsely pubescent. Bracts 2 to 4 at base, upper bract 1-1.6 mm long, 1-1.6 mm wide, broadly ovate, pubescent outside, glabrous inside. Sepals 2, 5-11 mm long, 6-12 mm wide, broadly ovate, pubescent to sparsely pubescent outside, glabrous inside, dark red. Petals 4, 8-19 mm long, 4-8 mm wide, length:width ratio 1.8-4.7, ovate to narrowly ovate, free to fused at base over 30% of their length, pubescent outside, glabrous inside, pinkish to dark red outside. Stamens 100 to 200, 0.4-0.7 mm long, 0.3-0.4 mm wide, anthers linear, connective prolongation truncate. Female inflorescences borne in dense clumps on thickenings at base of the trunk, below the clumps of male inflorescences, composed of 6 to 50 flowers. Flower pedicel 24-60 mm long, ca. 1 mm in diameter, pubescent to sparsely pubescent. Bracts 2 to 4 at base, upper bract 1-1.6 mm long, 1-1.6 mm wide, broadly ovate, pubescent outside, glabrous inside. Sepals 2, 6-8 mm long, 6-9 mm wide, broadly ovate, pubescent to sparsely pubescent outside, glabrous inside, dark red. Petals 4, 15-17 mm long, 5-9 mm wide, length:width ratio 1.8-4.7, ovate to narrowly ovate, free to fused over 30% of their length, pubescent outside, glabrous inside, pinkish to dark red outside. Carpels 50 to 100, 1.5-3.5 mm long, 0.8-1.5 mm wide, pubescent, free; stigma ca. 0.5 mm long, ca. 0.2 mm wide, globular, glabrous. Fruiting pedicel 25-90 mm long, 3-7 mm in diameter, glabrous. Monocarps, 3-25, 17-80 mm long, 13-55 mm wide, length:width ratio, ovoid to cylindrical, constricted between seeds in dried specimens, sparsely pubescent to glabrous, pale green ripening dark yellow, sessile. Seeds 6-12 per monocarp, biseriate, 18-25 mm long, 8-13 mm wide, ellipsoid.

Distribution.

Endemic to Lower Guinean Domain of the Guineo-Congolian Region. Only known from the South-West and Littoral Regions in Cameroon, mainly in Mont Koupé and Ebo National Park.

Habitat and ecology.

Submontane mature or old secondary rain forests. Soil: rocky, humic combisol. Altitude: 900-1300 m asl.

Phenology.

Flowers collected from January to May and in December.

Vernacular names.

Cameroon: ‘Michile’ in Bakossi (Cheek 7131).

Notes.

This species resembles Up. bakeriana , Up. citrata and Up. korupensis in having large obovate leaves (up to 38 cm long), with rounded to cordate bases. It differs from Up. bakeriana and Up. citrata in having longer flower pedicel (24-60 mm vs. 0-8 mm). It is very similar to Up. korupensis , but has generally smaller leaves (16-38 cm vs. 28-62 cm in Up. korupensis ). The female flowers of Up. submontana have longer sepals (6-8 mm long vs. 3-5 mm long) and smaller petals (15-17 mm long vs. 15-35 mm long) than Up. korupensis , which results in petals less than 3 times longer than the sepals (vs. petals more than 3 times longer than the sepals). Petals of Up. submontana are pinkish to dark red inside and outside whereas petals of Up. korupensis are cream to brownish outside and cream to pinkish inside (Table 5 ).

Conservation status.

This species is endemic to Cameroon and has been evaluated as Endangered EN B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) and mainly threatened by the expansion of agriculture ( Cheek 2014b).

Additional specimens examined.

Cameroon - Littoral • D. Kenfack 1602 (MO), Nkam, Yingui , Bataba. PE 80; 4°32'N, 10°18'E; alt. 780 m; 20 Feb. 2002 • T.L.P. Couvreur 627 (MPU, YA), Ebo Wildlife Reserve, Djuma permanent camp. On east trail; 4°21'39.35'N, 10°15'07.7'E; alt. 957 m; 15 Feb. 2013 - South-West Region • J.F. Villiers 2490 (P), 6 km WNW Bomana , 34 km NW Limbé; 4°30'24.99'N, 9°00'50.26'E; 15 Dec. 1984 • M.R. Cheek 7034 (K, WAG, YA), Mount Kupe. Kupe village. Esense river near farm of Philip Taza ; 4°46'N, 9°41'E; alt. 1000 m; 19 Jan. 1995 • M.R. Cheek 7131 (K, WAG), Kupe village. Hunters path from Kupe village to the mountain top, running to S and parallel with Esense river (now dry). Towards village largely coffee farms with shade trees. Grid ref. from Magellan reading where path enters forest; 4°47'N, 9°41'E; alt. 840 m; 24 Jan. 1995 • P. Lane 490 (K, SCA, WAG, YA), Mount Kupe. Ndum. Forest trail 2 km S from Etube-Tape village ; 4°51'N, 9°42'E; alt. 1100 m; 01 Feb. 1995 • S. Cable 1221 (K, MO, SCA, WAG, YA), Mt Kupe, Nyasoso, Shrike trail; 4°49'00.12'N, 9°42'E; alt. 1100 m; 08 Feb. 1995 • S. Cable 2736 (K, MO, P, SCA, WAG, YA), Kupe-Muanenguba Division. Path on to ridge between Daniel's saprophyte site and Kupe rock; 4°47'N, 9°44'E; alt. 1000 m; 30 May. 1996 • T.L.P. Couvreur 1059 (MPU, WAG, YA), Nyasoso village, on max's trail to Mt Kupe ; 4°49'47.02'N, 9°41'34.79'E; alt. 1024 m; 05 Apr. 2016 • T.L.P. Couvreur 965 (MPU, WAG, YA), Rumpi mountains, forest trail, ca. 5 km after Dikome Balue village, ca. 40 km north of Kumba ; 4°56'10.37'N, 9°14'30.34"E; alt. 1418 m; 10 Jan. 2016 .

Figures

Figure 1. Phylogenetic trees of the Monodoreae inferred with ASTRAL, based on 334 nuclear genes trees. The branch support is given as local posterior probability (LPP) in three shades of greys. For the details on the specimens see Suppl. material 3. Insets: flowers of A Ophrypetalum odoratum (Couvreur 82) B Sanrafaelia ruffonammari (Dagallier 31) C Asteranthe asterias (Dagallier 10) D Hexalobus crispiflorus (no specimen associated) E Uvariastrum zenkeri (no specimen associated) F Isolona hexaloba (no specimen associated) G I. cauliflora (Dagallier 44) H Monodora grandidieri (Dagallier 26) I M. myristica (living specimen at NY conservatory) J M. tenuifolia (Couvreur 1019) K Mischogyne elliotana (no specimen associated) L Uvariodendron gorgonis (Dagallier 38) M Ud. molundense (Bidault 2222) N Ud. connivens (Couvreur 1016) O Ud. var. fuscum (Couvreur 990) P Uvariopsis congensis (Lachenaud 1384) Q Up. lovettiana (Couvreur 97 b) R Up. bakeriana (Couvreur 1000) S Up. submontana (Couvreur 627) T Up. pedunculosa (Couvreur 878). Photos CC BY-NC 4.0 A, D-F, J, N, O, Q-T Thomas Couvreur B, C, G-I, L Leo-Paul Dagallier K Carel Jongkind M Ehoarn Bidault P Olivier Lachenaud.

Figure 82. Uvariopsis submontana Kenfack, Gosline & Gereau A trunk with clumps of inflorescences B leaf, upper side C leaf base lower side D leaf base, upper side E female flower, two petals removed, side view F flower, top view G clumps of inflorescences on the trunk H male flower, two petals removed, side view I male flower, top view. A-I Couvreur 627. Photos Thomas Couvreur.

Figure 83. Uvariopsis submontana Kenfack, Gosline & Gereau A leaves B female flower bud, side view C male flower, side view D male flower, one petal removed, side view E inner surface of sepal F outer surface of sepal G female flower, all four petals removed, side view H carpel, lateral view I infructescence J longitudinal section of monocarp K transversal section of monocarp. A-H from Kenfack 1334 (type) I-K from Kenfack 1373. Drawings by David Kenfack, from " The Genus Uvariopsis (Annonaceae) in Tropical Africa, with a Recombination and One New Species from Cameroon ", Novon 13: 4, Figure 1, p. 445 (Kenfack et al. 2003), with permission from the Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.

Figure 84. Distribution map of Uvariopsis submontana. Shades of grey represent elevation, from white (sea level) to darker grey (higher elevation). The inset shows the extent of the map over Africa.