Uvariopsis dicaprio Cheek & Gosline, PeerJ 9(e12614): 8 (2022)

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 dicaprio Cheek & Gosline, PeerJ 9(e12614): 8 (2022)

Figs 59 , 60

Type.

Cameroon - Littoral • L. MacKinnon 51 (holotype: K! (K001381842); isotypes MO, YA); Yabassi, Ebo Forest , Dicam Trail 2000 m from Bekop camp; 4°20'44'N, 10°24'33'E; alt. 849 m; 25 Mar. 2008.

Description.

Tree 3-4 m tall, D.B.H 1.8-2.5 cm; young branches glabrous, old branches glabrous. Petiole 4-5 mm long, 1.9-2.1 mm wide, glabrous. Leaf lamina 177-230 mm long, 64-79 mm wide, length:width ratio 2.7-3, obovate, base acute, minutely cordate, apex acuminate, acumen 0.5-1.3 mm long, surface above glabrous, surface below glabrous; midrib impressed above, raised below, glabrous above, glabrous below; secondary veins 5-9 pairs, brochidodromous, impressed above, raised below; tertiary veins reticulate. Flowers unisexual. Flower buds narrowly ovoid to pyramidal. Male inflorescences borne on trunk from base towards 2.5-3 m, composed of 3 to 7 flowers. Peduncle ca. 2 mm long, ca. 2 mm in diameter, glabrous, bearing radiating 1-flowered partial peduncles 0.5-2 mm long, 0.9-1.2 mm wide. Flower pedicel 18-25 mm long, ca. 1 mm in diameter, glabrous. Bracts 0 to 2, upper bract ca. 1 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, ovate, sparsely pubescent outside, glabrous inside. Sepals 2, 1-1.5 mm long, 2.1-2.5 mm wide, depressed ovate, glabrous outside, glabrous inside, green to pale brown. Petals 4, 14-16 mm long, 5.5-9 mm wide, length:width ratio 1.7-2.6, ovate to oblong, free, sparsely pubescent outside, glabrous inside, light yellow-green (black when dry) outside, light yellow-green with dark red base inside. Stamens ca. 0.5 mm long, ca. 0.1 mm wide, anthers linear, connective prolongation truncate. Female inflorescences unknown. Fruits unknown.

Distribution.

Endemic to Lower Guinean Domain of the Guineo-Congolian Region. Known from only one location in Cameroon: the Ebo Forest Reserve.

Habitat and ecology.

Submontane mature rain forests. Altitude ca. 280-1000 m asl.

Phenology.

Flowers collected in March.

Notes.

Up. dicaprio resembles Up. solheidii in having obovate leaves with acute to minutely cordate leaf base and acuminate apex. It differs from Up. solheidii in having young branches and petioles glabrous (vs. tomentose), greater petals (14-16 mm long and 5.5-9 mm wide, vs. 5-10 mm long and 2.5-3.5 mm wide) and petals light yellow-green outside (vs. brown to light red outside). Up. dicaprio also differs from all the other Uvariopsis species in having and inflorescence peduncle ca. 2 mm long and 2 mm wide (vs. inconspicuous).

Preliminary conservation status.

This species is known from a single specimen collected in the Ebo National Park, and has previously been preliminarily assessed as Critically Endangered, CR B1+2ab(iii), D ( Gosline et al. 2022).

Figures

Figure 59. Uvariopsis dicaprio Cheek & Gosline A inforescences on the trunk B young branch with leaves C inflorescence, side view D detail of male flower, two petals removed E detail of petal outer surface G detail of petiole and base of leaf. A-G from MacKinnon 51 (type). Drawings by Meg Griffiths, from Gosline et al. (2022; fig. 3, p. 5), PeerJ 2022 (CC BY 4.0).

Figure 60. Distribution map of Uvariopsis dicaprio. Shades of grey represent elevation, from white (sea level) to darker grey (higher elevation). The inset shows the extent of the map over Africa.