Anisophyllea guianensis Sandwith (1952: 305)

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

31. Anisophyllea guianensis Sandwith (1952: 305) ( Figure 60 )

Type:— GUIANA. Potaro-Siparuni: Mahdia River , 107–108 miles Bartica-Potaro Road, 15 January 1943, D. B. Fanshawe 3760 (lectotype K-000485196!, here designated, isolectotype K-000485197!) .

MONOGRAPH OF ANISOPHYLLEACEAE

Phytotaxa 229 (1) © 2015 Magnolia Press • 85 Trees to 20 m tall, 20 cm in diam.; branches terete, glabrous or ±pubescent, usually with lenticels and pulvini; buds pubescent with brownish hairs ca. 0.13 mm long. Leaves dimorphic, internodes between similar types of leaves 2–5 cm long, between two adjacent different types of leaves 4–17 mm long; small leaves caducous, only leaving scars on young branches; large leaves petiolate, petiole short, 2–4 mm long, 1.3–1.9 mm in diam., glabrous; leaf blade strongly asymmetry, ovate, ovate-oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 8–17 cm long, 2.8–7.0 cm wide, base oblique, acute or rounded, apex conspicuously acute or acuminate, coriaceous, glabrous and lustrous on both surfaces, yellowolive, olive or brown-grey when dry; main longitudinal veins 5–7, springing from blade base, or 1–2 inner lateral veins merged with midrib to 1.5 cm above blade base before separated, impressed adaxially and distinctly raised abaxially, outermost two veins very fine, almost confluent with blade margins or most often with one disappearing into blade margin in strongly asymmetric leaves, slightly prominent on both surfaces; transverse veins numerous, sub-parallel, at angles of 50–75° with midrib; veinlets reticulate, prominent and tessellate abaxially, blackish when dry. Inflorescences supra-axillary (5–8 mm above axil) or terminal, base adnate to twigs, distally spreading; inflorescences with bisexual flowers solitary, robust, rachis to 8 cm long, sparsely pubescent with brownish appressed or ascending hairs ca. 0.25 mm long, or glabrescent, a dense line of hairs distinctive between bracts and their supra-axillary flowers, flowers remotely spaced with floral internodes 3–13 mm distant; bracts narrowly deltoid-lanceolate or ovate, 0.5–1.5(–3.0) mm long, glabrous or margins minutely ciliate; inflorescences with male flowers of branched raceme, tenuous and curved, to 15 cm long, nature of indumentum and bracts as inflorescence with bisexual flowers; flowers polygamous, (3–)4-merous, shortly pedicelled, pedicel densely pubescent; bisexual flowers receptacle ovoid-ellipsoid, 2–3 mm long, 1.5–2.0 mm in diam., outside densely papillose and pubescent with yellowish hairs ca. 0.16 mm long; sepals ovate, 1.5–2.0 mm long, 1.3–1.5 mm wide, apex acute or acuminate, fleshy, papillose and pubescent on both surfaces; petals white, 5–6 mm long, lower part narrowly linear, ca. 0.3 mm wide, papillose and pubescent, 3 - laciniate to middle with tortuous laciniae to 3 mm long, papillose adaxially; stamens (6–)8, sterile, glabrous, 0.50–0.75 mm long, episepalous (3–)4 free, epipetalous (3–)4 connate with petals at base; disk sinuate; styles 3–4, 0.5–0.75 mm long, base conical and slightly connate ca. 0.2 mm in diam., papillose and puberulent with hairs ca. 0.16 mm long, distally attenuate, free, papillose, apex ±recurved; ovules 3–4; male flowers sepals ovate, 1.3–1.5 mm long, 1.0– 1.2 mm wide, apex acute, papillose and pubescent; petals to

86 • Phytotaxa 229 (1) © 2015 Magnolia Press

CHEN ET AL.

4.5 mm long, lower part entire, ca. 0.3 mm wide, margins ciliate, 3-laciniate to middle with threadlike laciniae tortuous; stamens (6–)8, glabrous, ca. 0.5 mm long, episepalous (3–)4 free, epipetalous (3–)4 connate with petals at base, anthers ca. 0.2 mm long, 0.3 mm thick, disk sinuate; pistil rudimentary, styles densely pubescent. Fruit a drupe, obliquely ovoid, pericarp thin.

Flowering and fruiting: —Flowering January–August; fruiting before August and/or later?

Habitat and distribution: — In lowland forests; below? 100 m. Guiana (Potaro-Siparuni); Brazil ( Amazonas ) ( Figure 61 ) .

Taxonomic notes: — Anisophyllea guianensis is the first known species of the genus in America. It has petals much longer than sepals and dissected from middle with three linear and tortuous laciniae, which makes it quite different from any Old World species. Though Sandwith (1952) described it as having large leaves only, the scars of early falling small leaves could be detected on young branches on herbarium specimens especially the type specimens.

The holotype was not specified in the protologue. There are two sheets of D. B. Fanshawe 3760 at Kew. Here we designate one of them as the lectotype.

Additional specimens examined: — BRAZIL. Amazonas : Antarctica Guarana Plantation , ca. 20 km E of Maues, munic Maues, 03°23’00”S 57°43’00”W, 23 July 1983, Steven R . Hill et al. 13139 ( MO, NY) .

Figures

FIGURE 60. Anisophyllea guianensis Sandwith. Leafy branch and fruits (S. R. Hill et al. 13139; MO-5196041).

FIGURE 61. Geographical distribution of Anisophyllea guianensis Sandwith.