Phyllanthus tararae Verwijs

Verwijs, J. I. M., Bouman, R. W. & Welzen, P. C. van, 2019, A taxonomic revision of Phyllanthus subgenus Macraea (Phyllanthaceae), Blumea 64 (3), pp. 231-252 : 245-246

18. Phyllanthus tararae Verwijs , stat. & nom. nov. — Map 12

Phyllanthus virgatus G.Forst.var. hirtellus Airy Shaw (1980) 195 (non P.hirtellus F.Muell.ex Müll.Arg. ). — Type: LJ Brass 8651 (holo K;iso L ( L0016455 )), Papua New Guinea, Western Division , Wassi Kussa River, Tarara .

Erect shrubs, c. 100 cm high; branches brown, densely whitish hirtellous, minutely ridged, distally slightly flattened and winged; internodes 1.1–2.8 mm long. Stipules triangular, 2‒2.5 by c. 1 mm, base cordate, margin entire or erose, apex attenuate. Leaves: petiole c. 0.5 mm long, whitish hirtellous or glabrous; blade elliptic, 7‒14 by 2‒4 mm, 3.2‒4.7 times longer than wide, densely whitish hirtellous on both sides, dark green above, slightly lighter green underneath, base rounded, margin not thickened, slightly revolute, apex acute, mucronate; midrib flat or sunken above, prominent underneath, lateral veins not visible. Staminate flowers solitary or in pairs, 0.7‒1.2 mm diam; pedicel 4‒5 mm long, glabrous, slender; sepals 6, elliptic, c. 1 by 0.7 mm, apex obtuse; disc glands 6, circular, c. 0.3 mm diam, flat; stamens 3, c. 0.4 mm long, filaments free, slightly reflexed, thecae ovoid, c. 0.15 mm long. Pistillate flowers solitary, c. 3.5 mm diam; pedicel 2‒11 mm long, whitish hirtellous, rarely glabrous; sepals 6, elliptic, 0.8‒1.4 by 0.3‒0.5 mm, apex obtuse; disc annular, slightly crispate, c. 1 mm diam, flat; ovary sessile, globular, 0.8‒1.2 mm diam, 0.5‒0.8 mm high, whitish hirtellous or glabrous; style absent, stigmas 3, c. 0.8 mm long, bifid for 2/3 of the length, reflexed. Fruits oblate, c. 3 mm diam, c. 2 mm high, 6-grooved, whitish hirtellous or glabrous; pedicel 5‒11 mm long, densely whitish hirtellous, rarely glabrous; columella c. 1 mm long. Seeds c. 1.2 by 1 mm, minutely verrucate, chestnut-brown, verrucae circular, randomly placed or in indistinct longitudinal lines.

Distribution — Papua New Guinea (Western Province).

Habitat & Ecology — In grassland and savannah forests. Flowering and fruiting likely all year round.

Notes — 1. Can be distinguished from P. virgatus and P. chrysanthus var. chrysanthus by its densely hirtellous branches and leaves and from P. chrysanthus var. deverdensis and var. micrantheoides by its hirtellous leaves with acute apex. The leaves of P. tararae are larger than those of P. chrysanthus var. deverdensis and narrower than those of P. chrysanthus var. micrantheoides .

2. Only two specimens were seen, both from Papua New Guinea. No other comparable specimens with similar leaves and pubescence were found .

Figures

Map 12 Distribution of Phyllanthus tararae Verwijs (●) and P. womersleyi Airy Shaw & G.L.Webster (▲) in Papua New Guinea.