Macropodiella garrettii (C.H.Wright) C.Cusset (Cusset 1978: 302)

Bidault, Ehoarn, Boupoya, Archange, Ikabanga, Davy U., Nguimbit, Igor, Texier, Nicolas, Rutishauser, Rolf, Mesterhazy, Attila & Stevart, Tariq, 2023, Novitates Gabonenses 93: a fresh look at Podostemaceae in Gabon following recent inventories, with a new combination for Ledermanniella nicolasii, Plant Ecology and Evolution 156 (1), pp. 59-84 : 59

Macropodiella garrettii (C.H.Wright) C.Cusset (Cusset 1978: 302)

Distribution.

Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ivory Coast. This species is endemic to West Africa, where it seems common and present in multiple watersheds.

Habitat and ecology.

Falls in rivers from ca 30 to 300 m wide, 20-520 m in elevation. It appears to be quite common, but not abundant when encountered. It was recorded on medium-sized to large rivers with fast-flowing current. Flowers and fruits were collected in January, February, October, and November. In Liberia, it has been found in the vicinity of Ledermanniella aloides and Tristicha trifaria .

Notes.

Macropodiella garrettii was not mentioned as being present in Gabon in the available literature ( Sosef et al. 2006; Ghogue 2018). Nevertheless, one collection from this country is available at P (Thollon 846), made in the Ogooué river at the Lopé rapids. This collection was identified as M. garrettii by Cusset in 1976, but this information was surprisingly not reproduced in her study of the genus Macropodiella published two years later ( Cusset 1978). Recent examination of this material revealed that it does not belong to this taxon, differing from it by having two stigma lobes (vs cristate, occasionally papillose) and a cylindrical capsule (vs laterally flattened). Thollon 846 very likely belongs to L. bifurcata . Macropodiella garrettii is thus excluded from the flora of Gabon.