Vadensea vogelii (Miers) Jongkind & O.Lachenaud, 2019

Jongkind, Carel C. H. & Lachenaud, Olivier, 2019, Vadensea (Icacinaceae), a new genus to accommodate continental African species of Desmostachys, Phytotaxa 405 (5), pp. 237-247 : 245

4. Vadensea vogelii (Miers) Jongkind & O.Lachenaud , comb. nov. ( Figs. 4 & 5 )

Basionym:— Sarcostigma vogelii Miers (1852b: 117) .

Homotypic synonym:— Desmostachys vogelii (Miers) Stapf (1906: 587) .

Lectotype designated here:— LIBERIA. Liberia , Cape Palmas, Vogel 68 (K000226132!).

Distribution and ecology:— Eastern Sierra Leone, Liberia,southern Ivory Coast, and southwestern Ghana; undergrowth of evergreen forest, 20–460 m in elevation.

Notes:— This species is here regarded as endemic to West Africa (Upper Guinea sensu White 1979), where it is the only representative of the genus. Central African collections cited by Villiers (1973a, 1973b) all represent other taxa: the only specimen from Cameroon (Fleury in Chevalier 33405) is Vadensea tenuifolia , while among those from Gabon N Hallé 2713 is also V. tenuifolia, Le Testu 8045 is V. testui , and Klaine 354 belongs to Urobotrya congolana (Baill.) Hiepko (1972: 662) ( Opiliaceae ). Another Gabonese collection cited by Sosef et al. (2006), AM Louis 1486, is V. testui . Local uses reported by Villiers (1973a, 1973b) refer to V. tenuifolia , while the line drawing published by the same author, which is made after Le Testu 8045, represents V. testui . For differences with the latter, see that species.

Originally three syntypes from the same location were cited by Miers (1852b), all are mounted on a single sheet in Kew. The most complete specimen is selected here as lectotype.

Vadensea vogelii is the only species of the genus that is sometimes climbing (as noted by several collectors, and confirmed by OL’s field observations in Ivory Coast), although it is more commonly an erect shrub or small tree.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Vadensea testui. A. Flowering branch. B. Flower. C. Flower bud. D. Calyx. E. Flower opened. Vadensea vogelii. F. Flower. G. Flower bud. H. Flower opened. I. Fruit (from spirit). J. Fruit indumentum detail. K. Cross section same fruit. L. Dry fruit. M. Dry fruit indumentum detail. N. Endocarp.A–E: drawn from: Sosef et al. 2564 (WAG); F–H: Jongkind 6232 (WAG); I–K: Versteegh & den Outer 665 (WAG); L–N: de Koning 196 (WAG). Drawn by Hans de Vries, June 2018.

FIGURE 5. Distribution map of Vadensea vogelii (circle) and V. testui (star).