Xylopia quintasii Engler & Diels, Monogr. afrik. Pflanzen-Fam. 6: 62. 1901.

Johnson, David M. & Murray, Nancy A., 2018, A revision of Xylopia L. (Annonaceae): the species of Tropical Africa, PhytoKeys 97, pp. 1-252 : 54-60

7. Xylopia quintasii Engler & Diels, Monogr. afrik. Pflanzen-Fam. 6: 62. 1901. Figs 3C , 4C , 14A-F

Xylopia striata Engler, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 34: 160. 1904. Type. CAMEROON. South Province, Bipindihof, Jan 1903 (fr), G. A. Zenker 2663 (lectotype, here designated: B!; isolectotypes: BM! [000511005, right hand portion of sheet], K! [001096587], P!).

Xylopia lanepoolei Sprague & Hutchinson, Kew Bull. Misc. Inform. 1916: 160-161. 1916. Type. SIERRA LEONE. Western Area, Headquarters District, Heddles Farm, Apr 1914, C. E. Lane-Poole 210 (lectotype, here designated: K! [000380211]; isolectotype: K, n. v. [spirit collection 15057.000]).

Polyalthia mayumbensis Exell, J. Bot. 64: Suppl. 4. 1926. Type. ANGOLA ["Portuguese Congo"]. Cabinda Province, Buco Zau, Mayumbe, 28 Nov 1916 (fl), J. Gossweiler 6845 (holotype: BM! [000511084]; isotype: COI! [00004887]).

Type.

SAO TOME & PRINCIPE. " Insel St. Thome , bei Angolares um 100 m. ü. d. M., Jan 1886, F. Quintas 3 (lectotype, here designated: K! [000199059]; isolectotype: COI)."

Description.

Tree up to 42 m tall, commonly 10-30 m, d.b.h. up to 75 cm, bole cylindrical, up to 37 m high, with narrow thin buttresses at the base, secondary branches horizontal, forming a small (3-5 m high) flat to conical crown; bark brown to reddish brown, scaly and peeling. Twigs light to dark brown, sometimes orange- or red-tinged, eventually light gray to brown, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, the hairs 0.1-0.2 mm long, soon glabrate, usually with bark exfoliating, sometimes marked with ridges decurrent from both sides of petiole base. Leaf with larger blades 6.0-11.9 cm long, 2.6-5.5 cm wide, subcoriaceous to chartaceous, discolorous with the lower surface often tan-colored, obovate to oblanceolate, occasionally elliptic, apex short-acuminate, the acumen 1.5-6.5 mm long, occasionally obtuse, rounded or emarginate, base cuneate and decurrent, glabrous adaxially, sparsely appressed-pubescent to glabrate abaxially; midrib plane to impressed adaxially, raised and somewhat keeled abaxially, secondary veins brochidodromous, 7-12 per side, diverging at 60-70° from the midrib, secondary veins slightly raised adaxially, raised abaxially, higher-order veins indistinct or occasionally slightly raised or impressed adaxially, usually forming a raised reticulum abaxially; petiole 2.5-6.5 mm long, shallowly canaliculate, sparsely pubescent to glabrate. Inflorescences axillary or from the axils of fallen leaves, 1-7-flowered, appressed-pubescent; peduncle 1 per axil, 2.6-2.8 mm long or pedicels arising directly from axil or both; pedicels 3-4 per peduncle, 6.5-8.5 mm long, 0.5-0.7 mm thick; bracts usually 3, sometimes 2 or 4, evenly spaced along length of pedicel, uppermost often persistent, but lower usually caducous, 1.2-1.5 mm long, lunate to semicircular, apex rounded; buds panduriform or narrowly oblong, apex obtuse. Sepals spreading at anthesis, free or only connate at very base, the bases sometimes slightly imbricate, 1.5-1.9 mm long, 1.9-2.4 mm wide, coriaceous, semicircular, triangular or ovate, apex acute to obtuse, pubescent abaxially. Petals pale green, white, or cream-colored in vivo; outer petals bent outward above the base at anthesis, 8-15 mm long, 1.8-2.8 mm wide at base, 1.5-1.8 mm wide at midpoint, coriaceous to slightly fleshy, ligulate, apex obtuse, puberulent except for glabrous patch at base adaxially, appressed-pubescent abaxially; inner petals erect at anthesis, 7.1-13.2 mm long, 0.7-1.5 mm wide at base, ca. 0.6 wide at midpoint, fleshy, linear, apex obtuse, base with differentiated fleshy or membranous margins, densely puberulent on both surfaces except for glabrous concavity and basal margins adaxially. Stamens 50-80; fertile stamens 1.3-1.8 mm long, oblong, apex of connective ca. 0.3 mm long, conical, slightly overhanging the anther thecae, long-papillate, anthers 8-10-locellate, filament 0.4-0.6 mm long; outer staminodes 1-1.3 mm long, broadly clavate to oblanceolate, apex conical; inner staminodes absent; staminal cone absent. Carpels 3-5; ovaries (0.8-) 1.2-1.6 mm long, ellipsoid, pubescent, stigmas discrete, not connivent, 0.3-0.7 mm long, clavate, glabrous except for fine setae at the apex. Torus flat, 1.4-1.9 mm in diameter. Fruit of up to 4 glabrate monocarps borne on a pedicel 8.3-19 mm long, 1.5-2.2 mm thick, glabrate; torus 2.4-4.7 mm in diameter, 1-3.5 mm high, depressed-globose. Monocarps with green exterior, tinged with brown, maroon, or purple, and green endocarp in vivo, 3.5-6.4 cm long, 0.7-1.0 cm wide, 0.6-0.9 cm thick, narrowly oblong, occasionally slightly falciform, torulose, apex obtuse to rostrate, the beak 1.5-4 mm long, base contracted into a more or less distinct stipe 6.5-11 mm long and 1.9-3.5 mm thick, obliquely striate, occasionally verrucose; pericarp 0.2-0.9 mm thick. Seeds up to 5, commonly 3, per monocarp, in a single row, parallel or slightly oblique to long axis, 10-12.5 mm long, 5.5-7 mm wide, 5-6 mm thick, ellipsoid, elliptic in cross-section, truncate at micropylar end, rounded and somewhat wedge-shaped at chalazal end, brown to reddish brown, smooth, shiny, raphe/antiraphe not or only faintly evident, micropylar scar 1.8-3.5 mm long, 2.5-3 mm wide, roughly circular or transversely elliptic; sarcotesta absent; aril red to deep orange in vivo, straw-colored when dried, fimbriate, extending the length of the seed, membranous, smooth.

Phenology.

Specimens with flowers have been collected from September to June and with fruits from March to October and in December. In West Africa (Sierra Leone to Nigeria), flowering begins in December and continues until May, while, in central Africa (Cameroon and eastward and southward), flowering begins in September and lasts until February. The fruiting phenology is also offset slightly, with fruits collected in western Africa in March, May, June, July, and October, and fruits in central Africa collected from April to August, and in October and December. The West African pattern is confirmed by Hall and Swaine (1981), who give the flowering period in southern Ghana as December to March and the fruiting period as July to October. In Sierra Leone, flowering is reported to occur from February to April, with ripe fruits following from June to September ( Savill and Fox 1967).

Distribution

(Fig. 15 ). Xylopia quintasii is distributed from Sierra Leone along the coast eastward to Ghana, resuming in southern Nigeria and extending eastward to the southern Central African Republic and southward across Gabon and the westernmost Democratic Republic of the Congo into the Cabinda Province of Angola. It occurs in primary lowland rainforest on a variety of soil types, occasionally in secondary forest or rarely in inundated forest, at elevations of 0-1000 m, although it is most common below 200 m.

Local names.

Brala ( ébrié, Aubréville 1959), gbay (Cooper 222), gbay-dee (Cooper 372), elo (Service forestier 458), lucanga (Gossweiler 6845), melasomba (Lissongo, Tisserant 527), aghako (Benin, Kennedy 1319), mbonba (Yaounde, Letouzey 5510), muomba (Wilde & Wilde-Duyfjes 1320), mvoma (Pahouin, Fleury 26594), mvǔ’ma (Fang, Tessmann 760, Tessmann 1913), nkala (Lissongo, Tisserant 1786), nzange (Ngwaka, Evrard 813; Lissongo, Tisserant 1786), obaa (Akan, Hall and Swaine 1981), opalifon (Yoruba), kpaini, bajineh, or bajmeh (Mende, Aylmer 202), kpaini (Lane-Poole 210). A number of these common names are also given to other species of Xylopia . The label of Deighton 4153, from a collection made in Sierra Leone in 1946, gives these additional details concerning common names applied to Xylopia quintasii there: "Kpa-hinei (Mende), the male Kpa tree. The Kpa (definite Kpei) is Tylostemon mannii . Forestry officers have usually given Kpaini as the Mende name for Xylopia quintasii , but I believe my spelling is more correct." Savill and Fox (1967) gave both the spellings “kpa-hinei” and “kpainii” and added that the same common name is also applied to Xylopia acutiflora .

Representative specimens.

GUINEA. Macenta+Beyla Prefectures, Simandou Range, S of Pic de Fon, 8°28'51"N, 8°54'29"W, 765 m, 15 Sep 2008 (yg fr), van der Burgt 1305 (K). SIERRA LEONE. Kabala, Mt. Loma, Kondembaya, 4 Feb 1966 (st), Adam 23553 (MO); Kabala, Mt. Loma, Mousouia, 4 Feb 1966 (fl), Adam 23647 (MO); Railway Hill, 12 Mar 1918 (fl), Aylmer 202 (K); Freetown, 20 March 1914 (fl), Dalziel 956 (K); Njala, 12 Feb 1946 (fl), Deighton 4153 (K); forêt sommet P?eraukouko (Loma), 800 m, 9 Feb 1966 (fl), Jaeger 9283 (K); Trigpoint III Kesewe, 8 Apr 1913 (fl), Lane-Poole 123 (communicated by M. Bañi?) (K); Northern Region, Tankolili District, Sula Mountains South, E of village Farangbaya near Bumbuna, forest patch on higher slopes of Simbili, 8°58'30"N, 11°41'21"W, 820 m, 26 Feb 2010 (fl), Sesay 30 (K); without definite locality, Smeathman s. n. (BM). LIBERIA. Near Firestone Plantations along Dukwia ["Dukwai"] R., 23 Feb 1929 (fl), Cooper 222 (A, BM, F, GH, K, NY, US, YF), Dukwia ["Dukwai"] River, Monrovia, 1929 (st), Cooper 337 (A, BM, F, GH, K, NY, PH, US, YF), 1929 (st), Cooper 372 (A, BM, F, GH, K, MICH, NY, PH, US, YF), 24 May 1929 (yg fr), Cooper 464 (A, BM, F, GH, K, NY, PH, US, YF); National Forest 18 mi N of Tapeta, Voorhoeve 144a (WAG); Nimba Mts., Voorhoeve 910 (WAG). IVORY COAST. Région d’Anyama, forêt du Téké, Aké Assi s. n. (MO); le Banco, Jun 1932 (fr), Aubréville 1345 (MO); Without definite locality [boqueteaux des savanes de Bingerville ( Aubréville 1959)], s. d. (fr), Aubréville 1943 (A, P), s. d. (fr), Aubréville 1945 (A); Duékoué-Buyo, 4 km E de Pinhou, 26 Mar 1969 (fl), Bamps 2260 (K); Bouroukrou, 20 Dec 1906-20 Jan 1907 (fl), Chevalier 16118 (bois) (K, MO--3 sheets, P); Dakpadou-Sago, 5°06'N, 5°58'W, 29 Mar 1968 (fl), Geerling & Bokdam 2314 (K, MO, WAG); San Pedro, Nero River near Grand Berybery, 4°40'N, 6°53'W, 5 m, 14 Dec 1997 (fl), Jongkind et al. 4218 (OWU); Abidjan, Banco Forest Reserve, c. 5°25'N, 4°03'W, 22 Dec 1972 (fl), de Koning 985 (OWU); Abidjan, Banco Forest Reserve, Route Martineau, 5°23'N, 4°03'W, 28 Dec 1974 (fr), de Koning 4009 (OWU); forêt de l’Abouabou, between Abidjan and Grand Bassam, 8 Jan 1959 (fl), Leeuwenberg 2406 (K, MO, P, WAG); Banco, s. d. (yg fr), Service forestier 458 (NY, P). GHANA. Tanosu, W. frontier, 18 Sep 1912 (fr), Brent 389 (K-2 sheets); Prov. Western, Enchi Dist., Tano Anwia F. R., Jan 1952 (fl), Andoh 5610 (BM); Fure Forest Reserve near Prestea, 15 Dec 1971 (fl), Deaw Sp 463 (MO, NY, RSA); Eastern Region, District Oda, Kade (University College Farm), 20 Jan 1958 (fl), Enti FH 6881 (K); Sikamang nr. Obuasi, 6 Mar 1975 (fl), Hall & Abbiw GC45145 (MO); Eastern, Atewa Range Forest Reserve, along the Old Geological Survey road, 06°14'06"N, 0°33'0"W, 19 Oct 1994 (fr), Jongkind et al. 1783 (MO); Eastern, Kade Agricultural Research Station, 11 km N of Kade, 6°08'28"N, 00°53'56"W, 200 m, 2 Dec 1996 (fl), Schmidt et al. 2267 (MO); Adeambra, 4 May 1923 (fl, yg fr), Vigne 856 (K). NIGERIA. Benin Province, Iyekuselu District, 8 Dec 1961 (fl), Daramola FHI 45673 (K); Ogun, Ijebu East, Omo forest reserve, 30 Aug 1994 (st), Daramola 434 (F, MO); Cross River State, 25 km N of Oban on road to Ekang, near Cameroun border, 28 Jun 1981 (fr), Gentry & Pilz 32875 (K, MO, WAG); Southwestern Nigeria, 2 mi S of Etemi fishing village, H. F. by the Omo River, 20 Mar 1946 (fl, fr), Jones & Onochie FHI 17012 (K); Ijebu-Ode Province, Akilla, plantations of Nauclea , etc., 12 Nov 1960 (fl), Keay FHI 37826 (K); S. Nigeria, Sapoba, 1930 (fl), Kennedy 702 (K-4 sheets); Mar 1930 (fr), Kennedy 1319 (K); S. Nigeria, without definite locality, s. d. (fr), Kennedy 1543 (A, BM, MO, US), s. d. (fl), Kennedy 1662 (A, BM, K, PR, US, YF), s. d. (fl), 1987 (A, K); Bendel State, forest about 15 km SW of Ekenwan, 6°01'N, 5°18'E, 28 Mar 1977 (fl, fr), Leeuwenberg 11276 (WAG-2 sheets); Prov. Ondo, Dist. Ondo, 1.5 miles from Ore on Agbabu road, 22 Sep 1965 (buds), Okafor & Latilo 057285 (MO); Prov. Ijebu, Shasha Forest Reserve, 26 Feb 1935 (st), Richards [Ross?] 3159 (BM), 12 Jun 1935 (fl), Richards 3334 (BM, F, MO, NY-2 sheets), 2 Sep 1935 (fr), 3434 (BM, MO-3 sheets, NY); Prov. Ijebu, Shasha Forest Reserve, Akilla, 8 Mar 1935 (fl, yg fr), Ross 68 (BM, MO); S. Nigeria, Oban District, 30 Jan 1912 (fl), Talbot & Talbot 1302 (BM, K, NY). SAO TOME & PRINCIPE. S. Tomé, Angolares, Agoa Gombela, 100 m, Jan 1886 (st), Quintas 1083 (BM). CAMEROON. Bipinde, 20-23 Jun 1918 (fl), Annet 319 (OWU, P); 20 km from Kribi, Lolodorf road, 3°00'N, 10°03'E, 9 Jun 1969 (fr), Bos 4773 (K, M, MO, P, WAG-2 sheets); 27 km SW of Bertoua, near Toungrélo, 5 Jan 1962 (fl), Breteler et al. 2398 (A, FI-T, K, M, P, WAG-2 sheets); Southwest Province, near Ngusi village, N of Nyassosso, 4°53'N, 9°42'E, 26 Apr 1986 (fr), Etuge & Thomas 56 (B, K, MO, NY, WAG); bassin du Mungo, village de Mayouka près de la gare de Mujuka, au km 59 du chemin de fer du Nord dans la forêt de la Dzigo, Jul 1917 (fr), Fleury 33517 [Bois no. 23] (OWU, P-2 sheets); without definite locality, Service forestier du Cameroun ( Yaoundé), 1935 (fl), Foury 36 (OWU); sud Cameroun, Hallé 4240 (WAG), 4247 (WAG); South West Province, Ndian Division, Korup National Park, Korup Forest Dynamics Plot, 29 May 1999 (fr), Kenfack 1187 (MO); 26 km au SSW de Koso (village situé à 60 km au SSW de Batouri, 27 Jul 1963 (fr), Letouzey 5510 (K-2 sheets); Piste Sanchou-Bale, 18 km SSW Dschang, 26 Nov 1974 (fl), Letouzey 13327 (K, MO, P. WAG); Bipinde-Ebolowa, Dec 1913 (fl), Mildbraed 7613 (K); südlich des Sanaga zwischen Jaunde und Dengdeng unweit der Vereinigung von Lom (Sanaga) und Djerem, etwa 125 km NO Jaunde, Feb 1914 (st), Mildbraed 8294 (K); Prov. Southwest, mile 12 Mamfe road between Kumba and Baduma, 4°45'N, 9°29'E, 4 Oct 1986 (fl), Nemba & Thomas 293 (GH, MO, P, WAG); without definite locality, SRFK 1913 (P); hill facing the village of N’Kolandom, 2°48'N, 11°10'E, 3 Jan 1975 (fl), de Wilde 7871 (K, M, MO, NY); hill roughly between N’Kolandom and N’Koemvone, 2°48'N, 11°09'E, 9 Jan 1975 (fl), de Wilde 7889 (K, MO, P); ca. 50 km NW of Eséka, W of Yaoundé, on opposite of [sic] the Kelè-river, 23 Nov 1963 (fl), de Wilde & de Wilde-Duyfjes 1320 (K, P, WAG-2 sheets); Bipinde, 1900 (fr), Zenker 2080 (B, BM, K, L, M, MO, P, WU), Oct 1913 (fl), Zenker 2094 [408?] (B, GH, M, MO, P, US, WAG); Bipindihof, Dec 1902 (fl), Zenker 2655 (B, BM [mounted on same sheet with 2663], K, L, M, P-2 sheets, WAG, WU); Bipinde, 1913 (fl), Zenker 4738 (B, BM, K, M, MO, P, PR, US); Mimfia, May 1914 (yg fr), Zenker 2095 [580?] (GH, M, MO, P, U, US, WAG), Jun 1913 (fl), Zenker s. n. [359?] (B, GH, M, MO, P, US); Hermanshof, Beguiberge, Sep 1910 (buds), Zenker 4096 (BM, F, K, L, M, MO, P, PR, WU). CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. Région de Mbaïki, Station Centrale de Boukoko, Tisserant 527 (BM, K, P), 19 Jun 1950 (fr), Tisserant 1786 (BM, P). EQUATORIAL GUINEA. [Locality not legible], Tessmann 760 (K). GABON. Estuaire: S of Ekouk, 0°06'S, 10°20'E, 3 Nov 1983 (buds, fr), Louis et al. 350 (K, U, WAG); rivière Ayemé, 0°05'S, 9°55'E, 24 Jan 1991 (fr), Louis 3304 (MO); S of Estuaire du Gabon along Remboué River, 0°00'N, 9°50'E, 23 Oct 1991 (fr), McPherson 15432 (MO, WAG); région de Sibang, Heitz 3 (P); Mission Nyonyie, Plaine Zabor, 4 Jul 1990 (fr), Wilks et al. 2107 (MO).- Moyen-Ogooué: Mabounié, 00°50'00"S, 010°27'00"E, 30 Oct 2012 (buds), Boupoya 807 (MO); environs du lac Zilé, près d’Atsié, sur l’Ogooué circonscription de Lambaréné, 12 Aug 1912 (st), Fleury 26594 (MO, P).- Ngounié: Mabounié, along bank of Ngounié River, 00°48'43"S, 010°30'03"E, 12 Oct 2012 (fl, fr), Stévart et al. 4642 (MO); about 22 km along a track in a northern direction from Doussala, 2°12'S, 10°36'E, 4 Dec 1986 (fl), Wilde et al. 9156 (K, P, WAG).-Nyanga: Doudou Mountains, ca. 35 km SW of Doussala, chantier CEB, 2°32'S, 10°30'E, 27 Aug 1985 (fr), Reitsma & Reitsma 1423 (MO, NY-2 sheets, RSA, WAG).- Ogooué-Ivindo: western border of Lopé-Okanda Reserve, along roads S of SEEF chantier, 0°25'S, 11°30'E, 28 December 1991 (fl), McPherson 15698 (MO, WAG); Lopé-reserve, chantier SOFORGA, 0°30'S, 11°33'E, 24 Jun 1986 (fr), Reitsma & Reitsma 2342 (MO, NY, RSA, U, WAG); Lopé Reserve, 0°15'S, 11°40'E, Aug 1991 (fr), SEGC 444 (MO); Reserve de Lopé-Okanda, 0°25'S, 11°30'E, 8 Dec 1990 (fl), White [series 2] 239 (MO); 25 km NNE de Koumameyong, 0°25'N, 11°55'E, 18 May 1987 (yg fr), Wilks 1536 (GH, MO).- Ogooué-Maritime: Rabi-Kounga, halfway down road to well Rab-71, 1°54'S, 9°50'E, 30 m, 11 Dec 1995 (fl), van Bergen 153 (MO, WAG); Toucan, ca. 01°47'S, 09°53'E, 1 Jun 2002 (buds), Bourobou Bourobou et al. 655 (MO, WAG); Petit Loango, 2°20.65'S, 09°36.82'E, 1 Oct 2002 (fr), Bourobou Bourobou et al. 930 (K, MO, WAG).-Woleu-ntem: Crystal Mountains, Tchimbélé, ca. 0°38'N, 10°23'E, 600 m, 18 Nov 2001 (st), Breteler 15795 (MO); la circonscription du Woleu-Ntem, Acourenzoc, région entre Ogooué et Cameroun, 29 December 1933 (fl), Le Testu 9438 (BM, K, P).-Province unknown: Kouilou inférieur, [ reçu le 9 Mar 1925] (fl), Sargos 242 (A, P). DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. Kongo Central: INEAC Luki Mayumbe (Bas-Congo), s. d. (fr), Hombert 475 (BR); INEAC, Luki, Mayambe, 1957 (fr), Mahieu 206 (WAG).-Sud-Ubangi: Boywaza, galerie de la Lua-Vindu [Lua Vindu is ca. 3°30'N, 19°E], 28 Apr 1955 (fr), Evrard 813 (BR).

Xylopia quintasii bears paddle-shaped obovate to oblanceolate leaves, small blunt flower buds, and a small number of striate torulose 1-5-seeded monocarps. The species is remarkably uniform over its broad distribution, varying little in leaf, flower or fruit morphology. The most notable variations are the larger leaves seen in some sterile specimens, and the occasional longer petals, e.g. in Leeuwenberg 11276 from Nigeria the outer petals are ca. 13 mm and the inner petals ca. 11 mm in length. Significantly, the taxonomic synonyms listed above were never compared to X. quintasii when they were published, but instead to other species: X. striata was contrasted with " X. acutifolia " [ X. acutiflora ], X. lanepoolei with X. parviflora [ X. longipetala ], and Polyalthia mayumbensis indirectly compared to other African species then placed in Polyalthia , both of which had unisexual flowers, by the observation "Apparently a species with no unisexual flowers." Pellegrin (1949) seems to have been the first author to recognize the similarity of these species, placing X. striata , X. lanepoolei , X. congolensis , and X. aurantiiodora as taxonomic synonyms of X. quintasii , while Paiva (1966) first placed Polyalthia mayumbensis as a synonym of the species.

Xylopia quintasii resembles X. aurantiiodora , sharing with it the characteristic features of sect. Ancistropetala , i.e. absence of the staminal cone, fleshy basal margins of the inner petals, and the fimbriate aril surrounding the seed. Xylopia quintasii is typically a tall tree, however, with a straight bole and compact crown with crowded horizontal branches, while X. aurantiiodora is a shrub or small tree, reaching eventually a height of up to 10 m. The two differ in other respects as well: the leaf of X. quintasii is usually oblanceolate to obovate and short-acuminate, while that of X. aurantiiodora is characteristically elliptic and obtuse to rounded at the apex; the inner petals of X. quintasii lack the overhanging tooth present in X. aurantiiodora ; the styles in X. quintasii are distinctly shorter than the ovary, while they are subequal in length in X. aurantiiodora ; the monocarps of X. quintasii are usually tipped by a blunt curved beak, while those of X. aurantiiodora are distinctly acute; and the seeds of X. quintasii are rounded at the apex while those of X. aurantiiodora are distinctly pointed. The two species also differ in habitat: Xylopia quintasii occurs most frequently in upland forest, while X. aurantiiodora is typically a species of inundated forest. Xylopia quintasii is the more western of the two species, but the two overlap in range in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Cabinda Province of Angola.

Recent fieldwork in Gabon by K. Abernethy and collaborators has revealed that the red or purple color of the leaf flush distinguishes X. quintasii from the similar X. congolensis , the latter with a white leaf flush, growing in the same field site. This color difference is not reliably visible in dried specimens, and is seldom reported on collection labels but has been reported for two collections of X. quintasii from Nigeria (Okafor & Latilo FHI 57285, Ross 68), and two from Gabon (Breteler & Jongkind 10470, Breteler 15795). Other differences between the two species are described under X. congolensis .

Collectors often call attention to the strong fragrance of the flowers-"pungently scented" (Gossweiler 6845), "sweetly fragrant" (Schmidt et al. 2267), "heavy sweet scent" (de Wilde 7889)-but nothing is known of pollinators or pollination in this spe cies. Monkeys of several species have been reported as dispersers of the seeds in both Ivory Coast (Eckardt and Zuberühler 2004, Koné et al. 2008) and Cameroon ( Mitani 1999, Poulsen et al. 2001, Wang 2008). In Ivory Coast, the seeds were seen to be spat out by the monkeys ( Koné et al. 2008) while in Cameroon they were recovered from gray-cheeked mangabey feces ( Poulsen et al. 2001).

Xylopia quintasii is reported to be an important forest species in southern Ghana ( Hall and Swaine 1981). Species associated with it in upland forest include Khaya sp., Lophira alata , Swartzia sp., and Terminalia superba, and, in inundated forest, Pandanus candelabrum and Marantochloa purpurea . Savill and Fox (1967) describe it as a lower canopy tree in Heritiera utilis - Cynometra leonensis forest of the Gola Forest, Sierra Leone, and that it can be found in secondary forests of various stages. Tessmann (1913) reported that the wood of the species was used to make handles for weapons and tools by the Fang people in Equatorial Guinea.

Engler and Diels, in the protologue of Xylopia quintasii , cited sheets of the type from both K and COI. We examined the K sheet, which corresponds well to the protologue and is annotated by Engler and have chosen it as the lectotype. A specimen at BM with slightly different information (Angolares, Agoa Gombela, 100 m, Jan 1886, Quintas 1083) may represent an additional isolectotype, as it has the same broader than normal leaves found on the K lectotype. Sprague and Hutchinson (1916), in their description of Xylopia lanepoolei , cited two specimens, Lane-Poole 210 and Dalziel 956, but did not designate one as the type. The sheet of Lane-Poole 210 has slightly better flower material, including a packet containing dissected flower parts, and has been designated as the lectotype.

Figures

Figure 3. Flowers of representative Xylopia species. A Flower from type collection of Xylopia globosa from Gabon B Xylopia tenuipetala from Mozambique C Xylopia quintasii from Gabon D Xylopia aethiopica from Gabon E Xylopia longipetala from Mali, representing a record for the country not otherwise documented F Xylopia piratae from Ivory Coast G Xylopia odoratissima from Zambia H Xylopia arenaria from Tanzania I Xylopia collina from Tanzania. A, D by Thomas L. P. Couvreur B by Frances Chase C by Ehoarn Bidault E by Philip Birnbaum F by Celine Pirat G by Warren McClelland H and I by D. M. Johnson.

Figure 4. Fruits and seeds of representative Xylopia species. A Xylopia staudtii from Democratic Republic of the Congo B Xylopia aethiopica from Republic of the Congo C Xylopia quintasii from Cameroon D Xylopia tenuipetala from Mozambique E Xylopia collina from Mozambique F Xylopia gracilipes from Mozambique G Xylopia hypolampra from Gabon H Xylopia tanganyikensis from Tanzania. A by Quentin Luke B by David Harris C, G by Thomas L. P. Couvreur D by Jonathan Timberlake E, F by Mervyn Loetter H by Noriko Itoh. C reproduced with permission of Thomas L. P. Couvreur and of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists D reproduced with the permission of Jonathan Timberlake and of the Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.

Figure 14. Xylopia quintasii, X. congolensis, and X. aurantiiodora. A-F X. quintasii A Seed, lateral view B Outer petal, adaxial view C Monocarp, lateral view D Flower, lateral view E Inner petal, adaxial view F Leaf G X. congolensis, flower, lateral view. H-K X. aurantiiodora H Leaf I Inner petal, adaxial view showing tooth J Flower, lateral view K Monocarp, attached to pedicel L Outer petal, adaxial view. A, C from Reitsma 1423 (WAG) B, D-F from de Wilde et al. 9156 (WAG) G from Tutin 80 (MO) H, K from Harris 752 (MO) I, J, L from Harris & Fay 1846 (MO).

Figure 15. Distributions of Xylopia aurantiiodora, X. congolensis, and X. quintasii. Bolder lines represent country borders, fainter lines lakes and major rivers.