A revision of Xylopia L. (Annonaceae): the species of Madagascar and the Mascarene islands
Author
Johnson, David M.
Author
Murray, Nancy A.
text
Adansonia
2020
2020-02-05
42
1
1
88
journal article
21758
10.5252/adansonia2020v42a1
28f94b79-38d7-4c25-ac76-cf64809114fc
1639-4798
3877215
12.
Xylopia anomala
D.M.Johnson & N.A.Murray
,
sp. nov.
(
Figs 6G
;
15A-K
)
Belonging the
Madagascar
group of
Xylopia
species having short broad petals and clavate stigmas, but distinguished from the others by the chartaceous leaves lacking a pronounced vein reticulum, the flowers up to 5 per inflorescence and forming a short corymb-like inflorescence, the obtuse outer petals 8.6-9.0 mm long and 2.5-4.1 wide at base, the stamens only 4-7-locellate, the staminal cone with filament bases only loosely connate, and the densely lenticellate monocarps up to
7.3 cm
long and
3.2 cm
thick.
TYPE. —
Madagascar
.
Prov. Antsiranana
,
Sava Region
,
Anjangoveratra
,
Antanandava
,
Makirovana
,
14°10’01”S
,
49°57’12”E
,
685 m
,
4.V.2010
(fl.),
Razakamalala et al. 5422
(holo-,
MO
!).
PARATYPES
. —
Madagascar
. Prov.
Antsiranana
,
Sava Region
,
Vohemar
,
Antsirabe-Nord
,
Antanambaon’Isokitra
, forêt
de Tsihomanaomby
, au sud-est du village
Antanambaon’Isokitra
,
14°06’S
,
50°02’E
,
30.XI.2013
(fr.),
Martial
et al. 306
(
OWU
, P[P00982778])
;
Sava Region
,
Vohemar
,
Antsirabe Nord
,
Andravinambo
, forêt
d’Antsolatra
,
14°06’45”S
,
49°57’44”E
,
387 m
,
27.II.2013
(fr.),
Rakotonirina
et al. 48
(
OWU
, P[P01030032])
;
Sava Region
,
Sambava
,
Marogaona
,
Ambodivapaza
, forêt
de Farahangitra
,
14°08’09”S
,
49°54’43”E
,
322 m
,
11.IV.2013
(fl.),
Rakotonirina
et al. 105
(
OWU
, P[P01047882])
;
Sava Region
,
Sava
,
Andapa
,
Ambodivohitra
, forêt
Gelose
à
1.5 km
E du village
de Marovato
,
710 m
,
14°34’40”S
,
49°38’32”E
,
16.II.2006
(buds),
Rakotovao
et al. 2680
(
MO
,
OWU
, P[P01954121])
.
Prov. Toamasina
,
Masoala Peninsula
,
coastal trail leading S from Ambanizana
,
0-10 m
,
10.XII.1990
(fr.),
Schatz & Modeste
3042
(
K
,
MO
,
P
[
P01966122
]).
DISTRIBUTION, ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION STATUS. —
Xylopia anomala
,
sp. nov.
, is restricted to northeastern
Madagascar
, occurring in humid forest at elevations from near sea level up to nearly 700 meters (
Fig. 28
); one collection label mentions a blackish soil substrate and another sand. Specimens with large buds or flowers have been collected in February, April, and May, and with fruits in February, November, and December. The label of
Martial et al. 306
reports the fruit to be consumed by the
Madagascar
blue pigeon,
Alectroenas madagascariensis
. With an EOO and AOO estimated as
3468 km
2 and
24 km
2, respectively,
Xylopia anomala
,
sp. nov.
, is given a preliminary conservation assessment of Endangered (
Table 2
).
LOCAL NAME. — Moranga (
Rakotonirina et al. 48, Martial et al. 306
).
DESCRIPTION
Tree
up to
16 m
tall; d.b.h. up to
12 cm
.
Twigs
finely appressed-pubescent, the hairs
0.1-0.3 mm
long, at length glabrate; nodes with one or sometimes two axillary branches.
Leaves
with larger blades 14.0-19.0 cm long,
5.3-6.5 cm
wide, chartaceous, slightly discolorous, dull green adaxially, brown to orange-brown abaxially, elliptic, oblong, or oblanceolate, apex obtuse, acute, or acuminate, the acumen
18-22 mm
long, base cuneate, decurrent on petiole, margin flat, not revolute, glabrous adaxially, glabrous or with a few scattered hairs along the midrib abaxially; midrib dull yellow or blackish brown toward base adaxially, secondary veins weakly brochidodromous, 8-15 per side, diverging at 40-70° from midrib, these and higher-order veins plane to raised adaxially, raised abaxially; petiole
4.5-13 mm
long, semi-terete, smooth, sparsely pubescent.
Inflorescences
axillary, 2-5-flowered, corymb-like, pedunculate, pubescent; peduncles
2-3 mm
long; pedicels 2-5 per peduncle,
5.4-6.2 mm
long,
1.1-1.4 mm
thick; bracts 3, evenly spaced along pedicel, caducous or distal bract persistent,
1.7-3.3 mm
long, ovate to broadly ovate; buds oblong, apex rounded.
Sepals
slightly spreading at anthesis, ¼-1/3-connate,
3.6-5 mm
long,
3.7-4.8 mm
wide, subcoriaceous, broadly ovate to triangular, apex obtuse, pubescent abaxially.
Petals
light yellow
in vivo
; outer petals erect (ṙ) at anthesis, 8.6-9.0 mm long,
2.5-4.1 mm
wide at base,
4.9-6.8 mm
wide at midpoint, fleshy, ovate, concave, keeled at the apex adaxially, flat or slightly ridged abaxially, apex obtuse, densely pubescent except for the glabrous base adaxially, pubescent abaxially; inner petals erect and possibly connivent at base at anthesis, 8.2-9.0 mm long,
2.5-3.3 mm
wide at base,
2.5- 2.7 mm
wide at midpoint, fleshy, lanceolate-oblong, keeled at the apex adaxially, keeled abaxially, apex broadly acute to obtuse, base shallowly concave into a short claw, with undifferentiated margin but with a transverse thickening above the concavity, densely hairy except for the glabrous base on both surfaces.
Stamens
c.
100; fertile stamens
1.4-1.7 mm
long, narrowly oblong or slightly clavate, anther connective apex
0.1-0.3 mm
long, shield-shaped, overhanging anther thecae, papillate, anthers 4-7-locellate, filament
0.4-0.6 mm
long; outer staminodes 1.8-2.0 mm long, oblong to clavate, apex rounded to truncate; inner staminodes
1.1-1.4 mm
long, oblong to clavate, apex truncate; staminal cone
1.6-2.4 mm
in diameter, 0.7-1.0 mm high, concealing only the bases of the ovaries, rim irregularly laciniate.
Carpels
c.
5; ovaries
1-1.4 mm
long, narrowly oblong, densely pubescent, stigmas loosely connivent,
1.5-1.9 mm
long, clavate and somewhat falciform, glabrous or with a few hairs at the apex.
Fruit
of up to 4 monocarps borne on a pedicel
10-12 mm
long,
5-6 mm
thick, sparsely pubescent to glabrate; torus
11-15 mm
in diameter,
c.
7 mm
high, depressed-globose; monocarps with light brown exterior
in vivo
,
5.8-7.3 cm
long,
1.9-2.6 cm
wide,
1.3-3.2 cm
thick, oblong to oblanceolate, not torulose, apex obtuse, sometimes contracted into a short beak
c.
3.5 mm
long, base narrowed, sessile or contracted into a stipe
c.
2 mm
long,
8 mm
thick, smooth, densely lenticellate, dull, glabrate or with scattered patches of pubescence; pericarp
1.5-2 mm
thick.
FIG. 15. —
Xylopia anomala
,
sp. nov.
and
X. australis
,
sp. nov.
:
A -K
,
X. anomala
,
sp. nov.
;
A
, habit;
B
, seed, view from micropylar end;
C
, seed, side view;
D
, fruit;
E
, inflorescence;
F
, inflorescence with mature flower;
G
, inner petal, adaxial view;
H
, outer petal, adaxial view;
I
, staminal cone, ovaries, and outer staminodes;
J
, carpel;
K
, fertile stamen, abaxial view.
L -U
,
X. australis
,
sp. nov.
:
L
, outer staminode, abaxial view;
M
, fertile stamen, abaxial view;
N
, inflorescence;
O
, stigma;
P
, inner petal, adaxial view;
Q
, outer petal, adaxial view;
R
, habit;
S
, fruit;
T
, seed, view from micropylar end;
U
, seed, side view.
A
, from
Rakotonirina 48
(OWU);
B -D
, from
Schatz & Modeste 3042
(MO);
E
, from
Rakotovao et al. 2680
(MO);
F -I
,
K
, from
Razakamalala et al. 5422
(MO);
J
, from
Rakotovao et al. 2680
(OWU);
L
,
M
,
O -Q
, from
Schatz 2641
(MO);
N
, from
Rakotovao et al. 4575
(MO);
R -U
, from
Razakamalala et al. 2414
(MO). Scale bars: A-D, R-U, 1 cm; E, F, G, H, N, P, Q, 5 mm; I-M, O, 1 mm.
Seeds
c.
9 per monocarp, in two rows, perpendicular to long axis,
13.3-17.2 mm
long, 9.0-
15.6 mm
wide,
6.7-9.1 mm
thick, ellipsoid to nearly globose, wedge-shaped to elliptic in cross-section, brown, smooth, dull, perichalazal ring visible but not elevated; sarcotesta color
in vivo
unknown, visible as white crusty patches on dried seeds; aril absent.
NOTES
The first impression of
Xylopia anomala
,
sp. nov.
, both in flower and in fruit, is that it is not a
Xylopia
at all. The leaves are large, papery, and broad, the flower buds are rounded rather than pointed, and the inflorescences are corymb-like. Densely lenticellate oblong woody monocarps are unique among
Madagascar
Xylopia
species, and rare in the genus, although this fruit morphology is known in species such as
X. hypolampra
in Africa (
Johnson & Murray 2018
) and
X. ngii
in Asia (
Johnson & Murray 2015
). Unusual features of the plant extend to the androecium: the stamens have a low number of anther locelli, 4-7, and are borne on a staminal cone in which the stamen filaments are only loosely connate (
Fig. 15I
). The number of characters unusual for the genus suggested the specific epithet.
The short, broad, and thick petals, together with the clavate stigmas, place this species in the subclade of the
Stenoxylopia
clade with species such as
X. danguyella
and
X. fananehanensis
, but without any close resemblance to other species within that group.