Maesobotrya liberica Jongkind, 2016

Jongkind, Carel C. H., 2016, Maesobotrya liberica Jongkind (Phyllanthaceae), a new forest species from Liberia, Candollea 71 (2), pp. 275-279 : 276-279

Maesobotrya liberica Jongkind , spec. nova ( Fig. 3-4 ).

Typus: LIBERIA: c. 50 km east of Greenville, 5°04’14’’N 8°30’05’’W, 60 m, 10.III.2014, fr., Jongkind et al. 12333A (holo-: BR!; iso-: G!, WAG!).

Maesobotrya liberica Jongkind resembles M. pauciflora Pax and M. oligantha O. Lachenaud & Breteler with similar short, axillary, inflorescences, but differs by its indumentum and leaf shape.

Shrub up to 4 m high with branches up to 4 cm in diam. Bark strongly fissured. Stipules paired, lanceolate, up to 8 × 1.5 mm, with appressed hairs along the edge and sometimes on the outside along a line in between the edges, often persistent at younger nodes. Leaves alternate; petiole bipulvinate, 0.3- 4.5 cm long, with short, more or less appressed, pale hairs; blade obovate to elliptic, 5.5-23.5 × 2.2-10 cm, acute at base, acuminate at apex, slightly bullate, the margin with small teeth each bearing a tuft of straight hairs, blade in bud completely covered with pale hairs, in the adult stage almost glabrous except for the midrib and the main lateral nerves below; 5-7 pairs of main lateral nerves. Male and female inflorescences axillary, usually solitary, racemose, rachis <2 cm long, more or less appressed and pale hairy, bracts and bracteoles 1 mm or smaller, male with 7-18 flowers, female with 10-16 flowers. Flowers green, yellowish or reddish, with a joint in the pedicel close to the inflorescence rachis, sepals imbricate and glabrous, petals absent. Male flowers usually single along the rachis; pedicel 1.5-3 mm long, glabrous; sepals ca 1 mm long, elliptic, glabrous; 5 glabrous stamens, opposite the sepals; filaments free, 1.5-2 mm long; anthers c. 0.2 mm long, erect, dorsifixed, introrse, thecae parallel, longitudinally dehiscent; disk with lobed edge, short hairy, with in the centre a rudimental ovary. Female flowers single along the rachis; pedicel 0.5-2 mm long, glabrous or with a few hairs; sepals c. 1 mm in diameter, elliptic, glabrous; disk lobed, hairy; ovary with scattered, appressed hairs, already early visible between sepals; styles very short; stigmas (2?-)3, bifid, recurved. Fruit ovoid, acute at apex, c. 12 mm high, fleshy, with a few hairs or glabrous, red, one seeded.

Distribution and ecology. – Only known from the undergrowth of evergreen lowland forest in Sino County in southeast Liberia.

Conservation status. – Maesobotrya liberica is only known from five locations. The species is not known from protected areas and forest close to the places where it was collected is changed at the moment into oil palm plantations. With an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 318 km 2 and an area of occupancy (AOO) is 20 km 2 (based on a cell width of 2 km), M. liberica is assigned a preliminary conservation status of “Endangered” [EN B1ab(i, ii, iii)+2ab(i, ii, iii)] following IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria ( IUCN, 2012).

Notes. – The genus Maesobotrya is said to be dioecious but Jongkind et al. 12333A, 12333B from M. liberica show, on separate branchlets, male or female inflorescences. It is not clear if these branches are from the same shrub or from different shrubs growing close together.

On the top of part of the fruits only 2 styles are counted, maybe in these cases one style dropped after flowering but it is also possible that female flowers have sometimes only 2 styles.

The fruits of the cauliflorous species in this genus are known to be dehiscent at maturity. In our new species, and maybe also in M. oligantha , the fruits seem to stay closed.

Paratypi. – LIBERIA: African Fruit Company plantation , 28.VII.1977, st. fl., de Gier & Goll 48 ( MO, WAG); 20 miles N of Sinoe, 16.I.1969, st. fl., JWA Jansen 1102 ( BR, K, MO, P, WAG); c. 50 km E of Greenville, 5°04’14’’N 8°30’05’’W, 60 m, 10.III.2014, pist. fl., Jongkind et al. 12333B ( BR, G, WAG) ; c. 50 km E of Greenville, 5°04’40’’N 8°34’27’’W, 163 m, 11.III.2014, pist. fl., fr., Jongkind et al. 12385 ( BR, G, P, WAG); E of Wiado village, 5°07’58’’N 8°54’27’’W, 55 m, 3.II.2016, st. fl., Jongkind & Sambolah 12943 ( BR, WAG).

Figures

Fig. 3. – Maesobotrya liberica Jongkind. A. Leaf from below and male infloresences; B. Stem c. 4 cm in diam. [Jongkind et al. 12943] [Photo: C. Jongkind]

Fig. 4. – Maesobotrya liberica Jongkind. A. Habit with male inflorescence; B. Leaf margin from below; C. Male inflorescence; D. Male flower; E. Same as D but with sepal removed, showing the hairy lobes of the disk; F. Female flower; G. Female inflorescence and stipules; H. Same as G but with sepal removed, showing hairy disk; I. Fruit. [A-E: Jongkind 12333B, BR; F-H: de Gier & Goll 48, WAG; I: Jongkind 12333A, BR] [Drawing: H. de Vries]