Diospyros bejaudii Lecomte

Meeprom, Nattanon, Duangjai, Sutee, Utteridge, Timothy M. A., Culham, Alastair & Puglisi, Carmen, 2024, Notes on South-East Asian Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae, Ericales): commonly misidentified species in mainland South-East Asia, European Journal of Taxonomy 932, pp. 225-251 : 236-237

Diospyros bejaudii Lecomte

Figs 3 , 4A–D , 6

Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, séries 2 1: 430 ( Lecomte 1929).

– Type: CAMBODIA • 18 Apr. 1929; Béjaud 23; lectotype: P [ P00721441 ]!, designated by De Kok & Puglisi (2021); isolectotype: P [ 02141496 ] !.

Lecomte (1930: 936).

Diospyros odoratissima Lecomte var. oblonga Lecomte , Notulae Systematicae 4 (4): 109 ( Lecomte 1928), syn. nov.

– Type: CAMBODIA • Région de Kompong Cham [Kampong Cham]; 28–30 Dec. 1917; Chevalier 35881; lectotype: P [ P00721654 ]!, designated by Meeprom et al. (2022) .

Lecomte (1930: 940).

Diospyros pubicalyx [as ‘ pubicalix ’] Bakh., Gardens’ Bulletin, Straits Settlements 7 (2): 182 ( Bakhuizen van den Brink 1933), syn. nov.

– Type: THAILAND • Lower Siam , Hat Sunuh or Lajburi , S. West Siam [Prachuap Khiri Khan, Hat Sanuk]; 16 Apr. 1919; Hamid C.F. 3827; lectotype: SING [ SING0052425 ]!, designated by De Kok & Puglisi (2021); isolectotype: K [ K001089523 ]! .

Bakhuizen van den Brink (1938: 179; 1955: pl. 39, fig. II); Fletcher (1938: 377); Phengklai (1978: 62, fig. 33A; 1981: 344, fig. 33A); Gardner et al. (2015: 510, 692).

Diospyros montana [non Roxb.] sensu Ng (2001: 310, pro parte, quod syn. D. pubicalyx Bakh.

Description

Tree, up to 30 m in Kerr 10773. Bark greyish black, scaly-fissured (resembles bark of Tamarindus indica L.) or smooth, inner bark pale yellow, sapwood creamy white. Young twigs sparsely hairy, old twigs glabrous. Leaves oblong, oblong-oblanceolate to oblong-obovate, noticeably roughly pentangular in outline, 6–11 × 2–4.5 cm, base rounded or subcordate, apex obtuse, acute or rounded, blade glabrous on both sides except the midrib sparsely hairy to pubescent; petiole 4–7 mm long, pubescent or glabrescent; lateral veins 6–10 on each side, arched and anastomosing near the margin, with 1–2 pairs of basal veins branching in narrower angle than the upper pairs of lateral veins, tertiary veins reticulate; glands 1–6 on each side. Male inflorescences 3-flowered fascicle, peduncle 1–5 mm long, pubescent. Calyx campanulate; lobes 4, divided about halfway to the base, triangular, spreading or slightly reflexed, valvate, apex acute-obtuse, margin slightly revolute. Corolla short-salverform, ca 1 cm long, glabrous except along the midvein outside of each lobe; lobes 4, divided about halfway to the base, elliptic, twisted, apex obtuse. Stamens not seen. Female flowers solitary (observed from female specimens with fallen corolla and fruits), corolla similar to male flowers but corolla tube widened in the middle. Calyx campanulate, sparsely hairy on both sides; lobes 4, divided halfway to ⅔ of the way to the base, ovate, reflexed when mature, apex acute-obtuse to acuminate-obtuse. Fruits subglobose, black when dried, 1.2–1.5 × 1–1.4 cm, subglabrous, 8-locular. Fruiting calyx accrescent, 0.8–1.5 cm in diam., subglabrous on both sides except the middle part inside sericeous (when the fruit removed); lobes 4, divided halfway to ⅔ of the way to the base, broadly ovate, spreading, slightly to strongly reflexed but not plicate, base with raised rim, apex acute, margin slightly revolute. Seeds 8, concave, thin.

Distribution

CAMBODIA • Kampong Cham [Béjaud s.n. ( K [ K001361045 ], P [ P00721713 , P00721442 ], VNM [ VNM00015139 ], 23 (P), 24 (A, P), Chevalier 35581 ( P), 35582 ( P)] .

THAILAND • Chonburi [Collins 1506 ( K), 2259 ( K), Phengklai 11942 ( BKF), 11977 ( BKF), 13259 ( BKF)]; Prachuap Khiri Khan [Hamid 3827 ( K, SING), Kerr 10773 ( K), Middleton 1210 ( BKF), Put 3161 ( K)]; Phetchaburi [Kaewmuan 22 ( BKF)] .

Ecology

Diospyros bejaudii is distributed in dry evergreen forest or beach forest at or near sea level ( Fig. 6 ).

Notes

Diospyros bejaudii is morphologically close to D. ebenum J.Koenig as they both have a raised rim inside the fruiting calyx and their leaves usually have basal veins. They can be distinguished by the shape of calyx lobes. Male calyx lobes of D. bejaudii are triangular with acute to acuminate apex while those of D. ebenum are semicircular with rounded apex. Female calyx lobes of D. bejaudii are spreading or curved outward while they are abruptly reflexed in D. ebenum.

Previously, D. pubicalyx was either cited as a synonym of D. montana by Ng (2001) or treated as a good species by Gardner et al. (2015). The type specimens of D. pubicalyx are not morphologically different from D. bejaudii and here treated as its new synonym. In addition, D. odoratissima Lecomte var. oblonga Lecomte morphologically and geographically matches with D. bejaudii . However, D. odoratissima var. oblonga (published in 1928) must be treated here as a synonym of D. bejaudii (published in 1928) because the infraspecific epithet ‘ oblonga ’ has been taken by another species.

Figures

Fig. 3. Lectotype of D. bejaudii Lecomte (Béjaud 23 P[P00721441]) (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle 2022).

Fig. 4. A–D. Diospyros bejaudii Lecomte. A. Male flowers. B. Female calyx and corolla. C. Twig with leaves. D. Fruit (Put 3161 K[K001361559]). E–H. D. retrofracta Bakh. E. Male flower (Kerr 10718 K[K001361567]). F. Remaining calyx of female flower (Kerr 12697A K[K001361574]). G. Twigs with leaves and fruits. H. Fruits. Photographed by N. Meeprom and S. Duangjai.

Fig. 6. Occurrence of D. bejaudii Lecomte (Z) and D. retrofracta Bakh. (A) in mainland South-East Asia.