Monodora Dunal, 1817

Couvreur, Thomas L. P., Gereau, Roy E., Wieringa, Jan J. & Richardson, James E., 2006, Description of four new species of Monodora and Isolona (Annonaceae) from Tanzania and an overview of Tanzanian Annonaceae diversity, Adansonia (3) 28 (2), pp. 243-266 : 246-247

Genus Monodora Dunal

MONODORA IN EAST AFRICA

At present, Monodora comprises14 species that occur from Sierra Leone to Angola in West and Central Africa, and from southern Somalia to northern South Africa in East Africa. Verdcourt (1971) recognised five species of Monodora for East Africa, plus two unnamed species from Tanzania that he called Monodora sp. A . and Monodora sp. B . More material is now available that permits the description of these two species as new, and one additional one.

The three new species of Monodora are all quite characteristic and unique, and are rather difficult to relate to other members of the genus, except maybe by the disposition of the inner petals. The position of the clawed inner petals of Monodora seems to play an important role in pollination, allowing or not direct access to the receptacle for the pollinator.Within the genus, three different types can be recognized:

– type 1: blades of inner petals fully connivent by margins (e.g., M. myristica (Gaertn.) Dunal ; M. brevipes Benth. ), access limited;

– type 2: blades of inner petals connivent at apex only (e.g., M. angolensis Welw. ; M. crispata Engl. & Diels ), access easy by the sides;

– type 3: blades non-connivent but recurved and pressed over the receptacle at the central part (e.g., M. junodii Engl. & Diels ; M. zenkeri Engl. ), access by the sides and the top.

In this clasification M. globiflora would fit into type 1, M. carolinae into type 2 and M. hastipetala into type 3. More morphological and molecular studies are in course to see if this character has any phylogenetic significance.

KEY TO EAST AFRICAN SPECIES OF MONODORA

1. Flowers several in an inflorescence ................................................................. M. minor

— Flowers solitary .......................................................................................................... 2

2. Pedicel <5 cm long ................................................................................... M. myristica — Pedicel ≥ 5 cm long .................................................................................................... 3

3. Outer petals straight, not undulate ............................................................................. 4 — Outer petals clearly undulate or crisped ...................................................................... 5 4. Outer petals less than 2 times as long as wide, obovate to elliptic, shortly pubescent .......

.................................................................................................................... M. junodii — Outer petals at least 5 times as long as wide, linear to lanceolate, glabrous ... M. stenopetala

5. Inner petals broadly clawed, the claw at least 2 times as wide as long .......................... 6 — Inner petals narrowly clawed, the claw at least 3 times as long as wide ........................ 7

6. Leaves with percurrent (parallel) tertiary venation; pedicel pubescent; inner petals pubes-

cent on both surfaces ................................................................................ M. globiflora — Leaves with intermediate tertiary venation; pedicel glabrous; inner petals glabrous on

outside ...................................................................................................... M. carolinae

7. Leaves usually pubescent, cordate at base; outer petals spatulate ............. M. grandidieri — Leaves glabrous, rounded to cuneate at base; outer petals lanceolate to ovate .............. 8

8. Inner petals with lamina long-acuminate at apex, densely pubescent on the inside; outer petals patent ........................................................................................... M. hastipetala

— Inner petals with lamina rounded to acute at apex, glabrous on the inside; outer petals recurved ................................................................................................... M. angolensis

Fruiting specimens

1. Peduncle 8 to 25 cm, woody and> 1 cm thick .......................................... M. myristica — Peduncle short, <8 cm long and <0.6 mm thick ....................................................... 2

2. Leaves pubescent ........................................................................................................ 3 — Leaves glabrous .......................................................................................................... 4

3. Leaves with cordate base, tertiary venation intermediate between percurrent (parallel) and

reticulate ................................................................................................ M. grandidieri — Leaves with rounded to cuneate base, tertiary venation percurrent (parallel) ... M. globiflora

4. Fruits globose ............................................................................................................. 5 — Fruits conical or ellipsoid ........................................................................................... 7

5. Peduncle from 6 to 7 cm long ....................................................................... M. minor — Peduncle <6 cm ......................................................................................................... 6

6. Mature fruits ≥ 30 mm, dark blue-black ...................................................... M. junodii — Mature fruits <30 mm, light brown ....................................................... M. hastipetala

7. Fruits ellipsoid, finely rugose .................................................................. M. stenopetala — Fruits conical, irregularly longitudinally ribbed ........................................ M. angolensis