Anisophyllea rhomboidea Baillon (1875: 310)

Chen, Xin, He, Hai & Zhang, Li-Bing, 2015, A monograph of the Anisophylleaceae (Cucurbitales) with description of 18 new species of Anisophyllea, Phytotaxa 229 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

58. Anisophyllea rhomboidea Baillon (1875: 310) ( Figure 114 )

Type:— MALAYSIA. Sarawak: Without locality, 1865–1868, O. Beccari 1514 (lectotype G-00441117!, designated by Wong & Madani (1995: 23), isolectotypes FI-008733!, K-000493119!, P-00641658!) .

Small trees to 7.5 m tall, 10 cm in diam.; young branches graceful, drooping, generally arranged in distant whorls, densely sericeous with appressed hairs rusty, 0.6–1.0 mm long; plagiotropic branches with both small and large distichous leaves; buds densely sericeous as young branches. Leaves dimorphic, internodes between large ones 0.7–1.7 cm (small leaves nearly at middle of large ones); small leaves persistent, falcate, sessile, 0.6–1.4 cm long, 3–8 mm wide, base acute, apex acuminate, margin pilose-ciliate, glabrous; main veins 4, prominent on both surfaces; large leaves sessile to shortly petiolate, petiole to 3 mm long, sericeous; leaf blade oblong-rhomboid, sub-falcate, 5–10 cm long, 2–3.6 cm wide, base strongly oblique, apex acute, margin pilose-ciliate and revolute, subcoriaceous, densely sericeous with brownish hairs when young and sparsely sericeous or nearly glabrescent on both surfaces when mature; main longitudinal veins 6, springing from blade base with one innermost lateral vein from midrib at 0.4–1.8 cm above blade base, inner lateral veins and midrib impressed (outer lateral main veins obscure) and glabrous adaxially, distinctly elevated and sericeous abaxially, outermost two lateral veins almost merged with blade margins and sometimes disappearing into margins below middle of blade, slightly prominent on both surfaces; transverse veins ±parallel, at angles of 55–80° with midrib; veinlets reticulate, scalariform or tessellated, slightly prominent on both surfaces. Inflorescences axillary, with either bisexual or male flowers; inflorescence bearing bisexual flowers a spike, simple or rarely branched at base, rachis 1.5–8(–10) cm long, ca. 0.8 mm in diam., densely pannose (with appressed hairs rusty to pale-brown, to 0.25 mm long) and mixedly pilose (with some ascending hairs up to 0.6 mm long), remotely flowered with floral internodes 2–8 mm distant; bracts narrowly lanceolate, to 1.5 mm long, margins pilose-ciliate, pannose abaxially, each with one axillary flower; inflorescence bearing male flowers a raceme or panicle with short side-branches (as umbels), in serials, rachis to 8.5 cm long, hairy and distance of floral internodes as inflorescence bearing bisexual flowers; bracts larger, to 3.84 mm long, 0.6 mm wide; flower buds subglobose, ca. 1 mm in diam., densely pannose; flowers polygamous, 4-merous; bisexual flowers sessile or sub-sessile; receptacle 1.0– 1.3 mm long, 1.1 mm in diam., pannose with short hairs (ca. 0.16 mm long); sepals ovate, 1.10–1.76 mm long, ca. 1.12 mm wide at base, nearly glabrous, with sparsely protuberant and transparent glands abaxially; petals 1.30–1.76 mm long, lower part entire and obovate, ca. 0.6 mm long, 0.16 mm wide at base, to 0.5 mm wide where lobate starting, irregularly 3-lobed from middle, central one lobe slender and simple, lateral 2 lobes broader, simple or 2 shallowly laciniate; stamens 8, equal in length, filaments 0.8–1.0 mm long, apex incurved, episepalous 4 fertile, anthers subglobose, ca. 0.25 mm long, epipetalous 4 abortive, anthers reduced to small dots (ca. 0.1 mm in diam.); disk deeply lobed, bulged in between stamens; styles 4, free, to 1.1 mm long, base conical, ca. 0.4 mm in diam., distally attenuate, stigma sub-capitate, ca. 0.4 mm in diam.; male flowers much smaller, pedicelled, pedicel 1.0– 2.2 mm long, pannose as rachis; sepals triangular, ca. 1.4 mm long, 0.6 mm wide at the base, base slightly connate; petals 0.8–1.2 mm long similar to bisexual flowers in structure; stamens 8, all fertile; disk as bisexual flowers; pistil rudimentary, styles 4, free, subulate, ca. 0.22 mm long. Fruit a drupe, ellipsoid, 1.5–2.5 cm long, 0.5–1.0 cm in diam., with 6–8 grooves and ridges, hanging singly or in pairs from underside of twigs, sessile, usually several per fruiting inflorescence, bright red when fresh; pericarp hard, 1.0– 1.5 mm thick.

Flowering and fruiting: —Flowering April–August; fruiting?all year round.

MONOGRAPH OF ANISOPHYLLEACEAE

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CHEN ET AL.

Habitat and distribution: —In lowland forests particularly mixed with Dipterocarpus trees; below 700 m. Indonesia (Riau, Riau Islands, West Kalimantan); Malaysia (Sarawak, other area?) ( Figure 115 ).

Vernacular names and local usage: — Mertama; Kajulud in Bidayuh. The hard wood of the main stem is used for making walking sticks and shafts of pikes, spears, and lances. Leaves are used medicinally to cure diarrhoea and dysentery. It was reported that in some places in Borneo the roots were boiled with onion and seed of Nigella sativa Linnaeus as a drink to relieve fatigues; or the leaves were ground with the same ingredients for external usage for similar fatigue relief purpose.

Taxonomic notes: — Anisophyllea rhomboidea is most similar to A. disticha in having obviously distichous rhomboid leaves and persistent small leaves and can be distinguished from the latter, as suggested by Wong & Madani (1995), by its larger leaves, longer infructescence, and more fruits on each infructescence. Our observation showed that the fruit of this species has 6–8 grooves and ridges, a character that is not obvious on fruits of A. disticha . We did not find obvious “ minute white scales ”, as reported by King (1897), on the abaxial leaf surface of all material available to us.

There are several duplicates of Beccari 1514 deposited at G, K, and P. Wong & Madani (1995) designated the one at G as the lectotype.

Additional specimens examined: — INDONESIA. Riau: Bukit Sembawang, 150 km N . E . of Pontianak, 00°52’N 100°26’E, 100 m, 17 June 1989, J . S . Burley, Tukirin et al. 2661 ( L) . West Kalimantan: Malau, July 1890, s.c. 1178 ( K); Landak, no date, Jeysmann 11373, 113721 ( L); Without location, 1992, Jeysmann s.n. ( L); Without location, no date, Jaheri s.n. ( L) . MALAYSIA. Sarawak: Balai Ringin, 1 st Division, 01°02’N 110°45’E, 15 m, 11 May 1962, L . B. & E . C. Abbe, J . A . R. Anderson 10246 ( K, L); Bako National Park, Telok Assam, along Telok Paku trail from camp to South China sea shore; below 100 m, 01°43’N 110°26’E, Thomas B . Croat 53222 ( MO); Datu Permanent Forest, 1 st Division , 16 May 1980, Bernard Lee S . 41849 ( MO); G. Gading, Lundu District , 1 st Div., 680 m, 22 September 1974, James Mamit S . 35115 ( K, L); Kuching, Gunong Selang , 45 m, 10 March 1961, F . R . Hj. Bujang S . 13437 ( L); Kuching, Matang, Ulu Sg. Rayu. Proposed Matang National Park , 600 m, 27 April 1987, Bernard Lee Meng Hock S . 54081 ( MO); Kuching, Mount Matang , 310 m, 1929, J . & M . S. Clemens 7715 ( NY); Kuching (?), Mount Poi , 1929, J . & M . S. Clemens 6707 ( NY); Kuching , Selang F . R., 300 m, 26 July 1957 ,

MONOGRAPH OF ANISOPHYLLEACEAE

Phytotaxa 229 (1) © 2015 Magnolia Press • 151 Elias Pa’ie 8474 ( L); Gunong Lundu , 12 April 1960, B . E . Smythies 12609 ( L); Lundu, G . Pueh , 1 st Div., 580 m, 14 June 1974, James Mamit et al S . 34420 ( L, MO); Lundu , Gunung Putin, 500 m, 17 March 1989, Hj. Othman Ismawi et al S . 57191 ( MO); Lundu , Sg. Boeng, Kg. Rasau, 1 st Division, 11 May 1983, Ilias Paie S . 46112 ( L); Path from Bidi to Bau, opposite base of Gunong Taiton, 09 March 1949, J . Sinclair 38477 ( L, US); Without locality, 06 April 1931, Mondi 261 ( L, NY); 04 May 1954, Miss W . M . A. Brooke 8424 ( L); Without locality, 1959–1860, sine collector, s.n. ( L); Without locality, no date, Native collector 656 ( L, US) .

Figures

FIGURE 114. Anisophyllea rhomboidea Baillon. Flowering branch (O. Beccari 1514; isolectotype, P-00641658).

FIGURE 115. Geographical distribution of Anisophyllea rhomboidea Baillon.