Anisophyllea biokoensis Li Bing Zhang, Xin Chen & H.He, 2015

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

4. Anisophyllea biokoensis Li Bing Zhang, Xin Chen & H.He , sp. nov. ( Figure 8 )

Type. EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Bioko Sur: Malabo-Luba , km 38–39, 20 m, 10 October 1989, M. F. Carvalho & J. F. Casas 4135 (holotype K-H2008/00218159!, isotype K-H2008/00218160!) .

Diagnosis:— Anisophyllea biokoensis is most similar to A. myriosticta in having flowers glandular or granular abaxially, but the former is distinguishable from the latter by having receptacles with beef-red glands and farinas outside (vs. with only red-brown granules outside in A. myriosticta ); petals to 1.6 mm long (vs. 2.5–3.0 mm long in A. myriosticta ); young branches concurringly pannose and pilose with hairs to 0.8 mm long (vs. hirsute with hairs to 1.3 mm in A. myriosticta ).

Trees to 20 m tall, 50 cm in diam.; young branches longitudinally striate, covered with dimorphic hairs, i.e., densely pannose with brown hairs ca. 0.16 mm long and sparsely pilose with hairs to 0.8 mm long; buds pannose with brownish hairs to 0.3 mm long. Leaves dimorphic, internodes between similar types of leaves 1.2–2.0 cm long, between two adjacent different types of leaves 1–5 mm long; small leaves caducous, sessile, deltoid, 3–5 mm long, 3.5 mm wide, base rounded, apex obtuse, main veins 5–7, glabrous adaxially and sparsely pilose abaxially; large leaves shortly petiolate, petiole 2–3 mm long, ca. 0.13 mm in diam., pannose; leaf blade elliptic or ovate-elliptic, 4.5–7.5 cm long, 2.3–3.7 cm wide, bases slightly oblique, obtuse or rounded, rarely acute, apex acute or acuminate, margins often slightly revolute, coriaceous, pilose on main veins abaxially and elsewhere glabrous; main longitudinal veins 6–7, springing from blade base, or 2–3 inner lateral veins merged with midrib to 1.0(–1.5) cm above blade base before separated, inner veins impressed adaxially and raised abaxially, outer 2–3 lateral veins very fine and close to blade margins, outermost two veins slightly prominent on both surfaces and often disappearing into blade margins if 7 main veins present; transverse veins parallel, at angles of 60–70° with midrib; veinlets reticulate, obscure adaxially and slightly prominent abaxially. Inflorescence a supra-axillary spike, solitary, simple or branched at base; rachis to 7 cm long, densely pannose with brown hairs ca. 0.1 mm long and sparsely pilose with hairs to 0.6 mm long, and covered with beef-red glands and farinas, with rather remotely spaced flowers (floral internodes 1–4 mm long, adjacent flowers on opposite sides); bracts deltoid, ca. 0.6 mm long, 0.25 mm wide at base, pilose and with beef-red glands, margins ciliate; flowers bisexual, 4-merous, sessile; receptacle cylindric,

MONOGRAPH OF ANISOPHYLLEACEAE

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CHEN ET AL.

±quadrangular, ca. 0.8 mm long, 1.1 mm in diam., sparsely pubescent with hairs ca. 0.1 mm long, with beef-red glands and farinas outside; sepals deltoid, ca. 1.44 mm long, glabrous adaxially, with indumentum as receptacles abaxially, margins ciliate; petals ca. 1.6 mm long, 5-laciniate with threadlike laciniae slightly tortuous distally, separate from different position of petal (middle lacinia from ca. 0.16 mm above petal base, lateral laciniae from up to 0.6 mm above petal base); stamens 8, equal in length, to 1.3 mm long, filaments thickened and compressed at base to 0.16 mm wide, anthers subglobose, ca. 0.25 mm long; disk 8-lobed, crenulate; styles 4, free, ca. 1.1 mm long, base conical, ca. 0.45 mm wide, pubescent with brownish hairs ca. 0.13 mm long, distally attenuate. Fruits unknown.

Flowering and fruiting: —Flowering in October; fruiting time unknown.

Habitat and distribution: — Rain forests; below 100 m. Equatorial Guinea (Bioko Sur); Gabon (Estuaire) ( Figure 9 ) .

Taxonomic notes: — Anisophyllea biokoensis is close to A. myriosticta from which it differs in the quite obviously beef-red glands on rachis, bracts (especially on abaxial surface) and outside receptacles, its bisexual flowers with relatively shorter petals (less than 1.6 mm long versus 2.5–3.0 mm long), and its young branches with shorter mixture of hairs (less than 0.8 mm long versus to 1.3 mm long). In addition, this new species has buds pannose rather than glabrous and oily, and has leaves usually less than 7.5 cm long and 4 cm wide (vs. to 14.5 cm long and more than 6 cm wide). However, we examine neither bisexual or female flowers of A. myriosticta nor bisexual flowers of A. biokoensis . The comparison in the key for bisexual flowers in A. biokoensis versus polygamous or unisexual flowers in A. myriosticta is only temporary and open for further investigations. The epithet is from the name of the province Bioko Sur, where the type specimens were collected, with Latin suffix ending – ensis.

Additional specimens examined: — GABON. Estuaire: Crystal Mountain , 00°32’N, 10°25’E, 03 May 2001, C. M . Wilks AP 3432 ( MO) .

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Figures

FIGURE 8. Anisophyllea biokoensis Li Bing Zhang, Xin Chen & H.He (Carvalho & Casas 4135; isotype, K-H2008/00218160). —A. Flowering branch. —B. Flower. —C. Petal. —D. Stamen. —E. Styles and disk (B–E drawn by Fang Cui).

FIGURE 9. Geographical distribution of Anisophyllea biokoensis Li Bing Zhang, Xin Chen & H.He.