Scaphochlamys johorensis Y.Y.Sam, 2015

Sam, Yen Yen, Ibrahim, Halijah & Saw, Leng Guan, 2015, Four new species of Scaphochlamys (Zingiberaceae) from Peninsular Malaysia, Phytotaxa 221 (1), pp. 21-34 : 27-30

3. Scaphochlamys johorensis Y.Y.Sam , sp. nov. ( Figs. 5–6 )

Scaphochlamys johorensis is similar to S. burkillii but differs in the number of leaves in each leafy shoot; S. johorensis is unifoliate whereas S. burkillii has 3–4 leaves in each shoot.

Type:— PENINSULAR MALAYSIA. Johor: Kluang Forest Reserve, Gunung Belumut , 23 July 2009, S . Syahida-Emiza FRI 66566 (holotype: KEP!, isotypes: KLU!, SING!) .

Rhizomatous herb, 30–50 cm tall. Rhizome 4–7 mm diameter, creeping horizontally near ground surface. Successive shoots clustering and forming loose clumps of 2–5 leafy shoots, usually less than 1.5 cm apart. Bladeless sheath 1–2, largest 6.5–9 cm long, covered densely with long fine hairs, light purple red when young, turning to green, persistent till flowering, enclosing the young inflorescence and leaf petiole. Leaf 1 per shoot, rarely 2; sheath 2.5–4 cm long, broad to 5 mm width, membranous, hairy; ligule ca. 5 mm long, triangular, membranous, hairy; petiole plus sheath 6.5–21 cm long, channelled, densely covered with bronze woolly hairs especially when young; lamina 14.3–22 (26–32) × 6.8–8.5 (10.5–12.5) cm, elliptic to broadly elliptic, thickly coriaceous, held horizontally, base cuneate or long attenuate, apex acute, adaxial surface glossy dark green or green with 2 white bands along the edges, glabrous, abaxial surface pale green, some tinged purple when young, densely covered with long fine appressed hairs especially along midrib. Inflorescence 7.5–16.5 cm long, hairy throughout; peduncle 2–3(7.5–10.5) cm long; rachis 5.5–6.5 cm long, axis visible, floral bracts 4–7(–10), lax. Floral bract 23–25 mm long, boat-shaped with margin inflexed but not overlapped, stiff, coriaceous, green or purple red, densely covered with woolly hairs, apex acute and pointed upright. First bracteole 12–13 mm long, near triangular when flattened, 2-keeled, margin inflexed but not overlapped, densely woolly hairy, apex acute; subsequent bracteoles 5–6 × 3–4 mm, about half the length of first bracteole, broadly triangular when flattened, 2-keeled, hairy. Flowers 43–45 mm long, white, except labellum; at least 12 flowers in each cincinnus. Calyx ca. 10 mm long, tubular, hairy, split ca. 4 mm unilaterally from apex. Floral tube ca. 24 mm long; dorsal corolla lobe 14–18 × ca. 4 mm, linear, margin inflexed, apex hooded and ending with ca. 2 mm pointed tip that bent forward, lateral corolla lobes 12–15 × ca. 4 mm, linear, apex acute and hooded, ending with short pointed tip. Staminodes ca. 12 × 4 mm, oblanceolate, apex obtuse, adaxial surface covered by glandular hairs. Labellum 17–20 × 15–16 mm, obovate, apex bilobed, cleft ca. 7 mm from apex, abaxial surface covered with glandular hairs, yellow median band with violet streaks at the base. Stamen ca. 7 mm long, covered by glandular hairs on abaxial surface; filament less than 1 mm long; pollen sacs ca. 3 mm long, basal spurred, dehiscing longitudinally; anther-crest ca. 2 × 4 mm, extended and trilobed, midlobe largest. Stigma ca. 1 × 1 mm, funnel-shaped, hairy. Ovary ca. 2 × 2 mm, hairy, unilocular. Epigynous glands filiform, two, ca. 3 mm long.

Etymology:—The epithet refers to the state where the plants are found.

Distribution and habitat:—Endemic in Johor, Peninsular Malaysia. Lowland to upper hill dipterocarp forest, 100–946 m elevation, riverbanks, in shaded areas.

Conservation status:—Endangered, EN B2ab(iii). The species has an area of occupancy of 12 km 2 and it is recorded from only 3 locations. Furthermore, the continuing decline arising from timber harvesting in Lenggor Forest Reserve is projected to affect the quality of the habitat. The population on Gunung Belumut occurs near the trail to the summit which is frequently used by climbers. Based on the criteria in IUCN (2012), the species is justified to be listed as Endangered.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes):—PENINSULAR MALAYSIA. Johor: Kluang, Kluang Forest Reserve, Gunung Belumut , 25 July 1939, F . Walker FMS 33828 ( KEP!), path to Gunung Belumut, 23 September 1970, M. N . Mohd. Shah & A . Sanusi MS 2164 ( SING!); Lenggor Forest Reserve, Bukit Tinggi , P. T . Ong FRI 70839 ( KEP!) .

Discussion:— Scaphochlamys johorensis resembles S. burkillii Holttum (1950: 102) in having dense hairs on most parts of the plant. In addition, both have green, boat-shaped floral bracts with involute edges. However, they can be distinguished by the number of leaves on each leafy shoot. Scaphochlamys johorensis has only one leaf in each shoot while S. burkillii has 3–4 leaves. Scaphochlamys burkillii has a very long distinct leaf sheath, sometimes almost reaching the lamina base, a characteristic not observed in S. johorensis .

The inflorescence structure of S. johorensis also differs from S. burkillii . Scaphochlamys johorensis has a very compact rachis consisting of 8–22 floral bracts which closely overlap and completely hiding the axis. On the contrary, S. burkillii has a lax rachis and fewer floral bracts (4–7) which are spaced apart showing the axis. The floral bracts of S. johorensis are smaller (23–25 versus 33–39 mm) but it consists of more flowers (more than 12 versus 4–7) in each cincinnus compared to S. burkilli .

Both S. johorensis and S. burkillii are found on the East Coast Range of Peninsular Malaysia but their distribution is not sympatric. Scaphochlamys johorensis is recorded from the south of Peninsular Malaysia but S. burkillii is distributed northerly in Pahang, separated by large swamps ( Raj, 2009) in between them.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Scaphochlamys johorensis. A. Habit. B. Flower. Photos by S. Syahida-Emiza.

FIGURE 6. Scaphochlamys johorensis. A. Habit. B. Hairs on midrib on abaxial surface. C: Floral bract. D. First bracteole. E. Second bracteole. F. Ovary and calyx. G. Lateral corolla lobe. H. Dorsal corolla lobe. I. Staminode. J. Labellum. K. Stamen front view (K’), back view (K’’), back view (K’’’). L. Stigma front view. A–L from S. Syahida-Emiza FRI 66566 (KEP).