Uvariopsis noldeae Exell & Mendonca , Bol. Soc. Brot. ser . 2, 25: 101 (1951)

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 noldeae Exell & Mendonca, Bol. Soc. Brot. ser. 2, 25: 101 (1951)

Figs 73 , 74

Type.

Angola - Malanje • I. von Nolde 576 (holotype: BM! (BM000554081)), Quela; 9°16'06.17'S, 17°04'12.72'E; alt. 1200 m; Dec. 1938 .

Description.

Tree height and D.B.H. unknown; young branches sparsely pubescent to glabrous, old branches glabrous. Petiole 1-2.5 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm wide, sparsely pubescent to glabrous. Leaf lamina 110-204 mm long, 40-60 mm wide, length:width ratio ca. 3.4, elliptic to obovate, coriaceous, base rounded, apex acuminate, acumen ca. 21 mm long, surface above glabrous, surface below glabrate to glabrous when young, glabrous when old; midrib impressed above, raised below, glabrous above, glabrous below; secondary veins 11-12 pairs, weakly brochidodromous, impressed above, raised below; tertiary veins reticulate. Flowers unisexual, male and female flowers dimorphic, on same individuals (plant monoecious). Flower buds ovoid to conical. Male inflorescences borne on trunk, composed of 1 flower. Peduncle inconspicuous. Flower pedicel 2-4 mm long, ca. 0.5 mm in diameter, pubescent. Bracts 1 to 2 at base, upper bract 0.5-1 mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, broadly ovate, pubescent outside, glabrous inside. Sepals 2, 1-2 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide, broadly ovate, pubescent outside, glabrous inside. Petals 4, 6.5-10 mm long, 2-3.5 mm wide, length:width ratio 2.8-3.2, ovate, free, pubescent outside, glabrous inside, brownish red outside, cream inside. Stamens numerous (exact number unknown), 0.3-0.6 mm long, 0.1-0.4 mm wide, anthers linear, connective prolongation truncate. Female inflorescences borne on trunk, composed of 1 flower. Flower pedicel 70-83 mm long, ca. 1 mm in diameter, sparsely pubescent. Bracts 1 to 2 at base, upper bract ca. 1.5 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm wide, broadly ovate, pubescent outside, glabrous inside. Sepals 2, 3-4 mm long, ca. 4 mm wide, broadly ovate, pubescent outside, glabrous inside, color unknown. Petals 4, 14-16 mm long, 5-8 mm wide, length:width ratio 1.8-3.2, ovate, free, pubescent outside, glabrous inside, brownish red outside, cream inside. Carpels 40 to 45, ca. 2 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, velutinous, free, ovules ca. 20 per ovary, biseriate; stigma flat. Fruits unknown.

Distribution.

Endemic to Zambezian Region. Known from only one locality in Angola: Quela in Malange region.

Habitat and ecology.

Montane rain forests. Altitude ca. 1700 m asl.

Phenology.

Flowers collected in December.

Notes.

Up. noldeae closely resembles Up. solheidii in having similar leaves and flowers. However, Up. noldeae differs from Up. solheidii in having young branches and petioles sparsely pubescent to glabrous (vs. tomentose to shortly tomentose) and leaf midrib glabrous below (vs. tomentose to glabrous below). Up. noldeae has very dimorphic flowers with pedicels of male flowers 2-4 mm long (vs. 9-30 mm long in Up. solheidii ) and pedicels of female flowers 70-83 mm long (vs. 30-198 mm long in Up. solheidii ).

Conservation status.

This species is known from a single specimen from Angola, collected in 1938, outside any protected area. Angola is one of the least botanically explored countries ( Sosef et al. 2017), with very few Annonaceae collected since the beginning of the civil war in 1975 (see https://bio-dem.surge.sh/, Zizka et al. 2021). It has been previously been assessed as Data Deficient DD ( Cosiaux et al. 2019d).

Figures

Figure 73. Uvariopsis noldeae Exell & Mendonca A full specimen sheet with branch with leaves B leaf, upper side C flowers, side view D detail of female flower, petals removed, side view. A-D Nolde 576 (type). Photos Leo-Paul Dagallier.

Figure 74. Distribution map of Uvariopsis noldeae. Shades of grey represent elevation, from white (sea level) to darker grey (higher elevation). The inset shows the extent of the map over Africa.