Xylopia torrei N. Robson, Bol. Soc. Brot., Ser . 2, 32: 157-158. 1958.

Johnson, David M. & Murray, Nancy A., 2018, A revision of Xylopia L. (Annonaceae): the species of Tropical Africa, PhytoKeys 97, pp. 1-252 : 113-114

23. Xylopia torrei N. Robson, Bol. Soc. Brot., Ser. 2, 32: 157-158. 1958. Fig. 25M-T

Type.

MOZAMBIQUE. Gaza ["Sul do Save"] Province, Chibuto , 11 Dec 1940, A. R. Torre 2350 (holotype: LISC! [000361]; isotypes: K! [000199051], LMA-photo!) .

Description.

Shrub 2-3 m tall with spreading branches. Twigs brown to reddish brown, sparsely pubescent, the hairs 0.4-0.6 mm long, becoming light brown to light gray, glabrate, with the bark exfoliating; nodes occasionally with two axillary branches. Leaf with larger blades 3.8-5.5 cm long, 1.8-2.5 cm wide, chartaceous, concolorous, elliptic, apex obtuse or rounded, rarely emarginate, base broadly cuneate to rounded, glabrous or with a few scattered hairs adaxially, sparsely pubescent abaxially; midrib plane adaxially, raised abaxially, secondary veins weakly brochidodromous, 7-9 per side, diverging at 50-60° from the midrib, these and higher-order veins slightly raised on both surfaces; petiole 3-3.5 mm long, shallowly canaliculate, pubescent. Inflorescences axillary, 1-3-flowered, pubescent; pedicels arising separately from axil, 4.0-5.4 mm long, 0.5-0.9 mm thick; bracts 2, both attached near pedicel midpoint, caducous, 0.9-1.3 mm long, semicircular to ovate, apex obtuse to rounded; buds linear, apex acute. Sepals spreading at anthesis, 1/4-1/2-connate, 1.8-2.2 mm long, 2.1-2.3 mm wide, chartaceous to coriaceous, broadly ovate to semicircular, apex acute to apiculate, pubescent abaxially. Petals yellow-green in vivo; outer petals loosely spreading at anthesis, 20-30.4 mm long, 2.6-3.1 mm wide at base, 1.2-1.7 mm wide at midpoint, chartaceous, linear, apex acute to obtuse, densely puberulent except for glabrous base adaxially, appressed-pubescent abaxially, faintly ridged or flat abaxially; inner petals curved outward to weakly geniculate at anthesis, 23-28 mm long, 2.0-2.2 mm wide at base, 0.6-0.7 mm wide at midpoint, chartaceous, linear-filiform, apex acute, base with undifferentiated margins, longitudinally ridged on both surfaces, densely puberulent except for glabrous base adaxially, densely puberulent abaxially. Stamens ca. 100; fertile stamens 1.1-1.2 mm long, narrowly oblong, apex of anther connective red in vivo, shieldlike, overhanging anther thecae, anthers 9-10-locellate, filament 0.3-0.4 mm long; outer staminodes 1.1-1.3 mm long, clavate to broadly clavate, apex rounded to truncate; inner staminodes ca. 1.0 mm long, oblong-clavate, apex truncate; staminal cone ca. 1.4 mm in diameter, ca. 0.9 mm high, concealing only the bases of the ovaries, rim laciniate. Carpels ca. 7; ovaries 0.8-0.9 mm long, ovoid to oblong, pubescent; stigmas connivent, ca. 2.7 mm long, linear, glabrous except for an apical tuft of hairs. Torus flat, 1.6-2.2 mm in diameter. Fruit of up to 8 glabrate monocarps borne on a pedicel ca. 6.5 mm long, ca. 3.9 mm thick, glabrate; torus of fruit ca. 6.7 mm in diameter, ca. 6.3 mm high, depressed-globose. Monocarps green with a light green endocarp in vivo, 2.8-3.1 cm long, 1.0-1.1 cm wide, ca. 0.9 cm thick, oblong, irregularly torulose, apex truncate with an oblique beak 0.5-1 mm long, base contracted into a stipe 4.5-6 mm long, 1.8-2.7 mm thick, obliquely wrinkled, minutely verrucose; pericarp 0.2-0.5 mm thick. Seeds up to 4 per monocarp, in a single row, lying oblique to long axis, 10.5-11.5 mm long, ca. 7.5 mm wide, 6.1-6.7 mm thick, ellipsoid, flattened-elliptic in cross-section, obliquely truncate at micropylar end, rounded at chalazal end, brown, smooth, shiny, raphe/antiraphe not evident, micropylar scar 1.7-2.4 mm long, 1.1-1.4 mm wide, ovate to elliptic; sarcotesta red in vivo; aril absent.

Phenology.

Specimens with flowers have been collected in February and December, and with fruits in December.

Distribution

(Fig. 26 ). Endemic to southern Mozambique, on sandy sites near the coast at elevations from sea level up to 60 m.

Additional specimens examined.

MOZAMBIQUE. Gaza ["Sul do Save"]: Chibuto , 11 Feb 1942 (fl), Torre 3944 (LMA-2 sheets, photos) .- Inhambane ["Sul do Save"]: Panda , 25 Feb 1955 (fl), Exell et al. 598 (BM) .- Maputo: Licuati Forest Reserve ca. 20 km W of Bela Vista, 26°20.667'S, 32°28.387'E, 60 m, 8 Dec 2001 (fl, fr), Goyder et al. 5037 (K); Licuati, sand forest, 25°26'S, 32°30'E, 60 m, 5 Dec 2002 (fr), Lötter s. n. (LYD-photo) .

Xylopia torrei superficially resembles X. odoratissima in its small leaves, long petals, and shrub habit. It may be distinguished by the straighter and sparser hairs of the twigs, the smaller sepals, and the outer petals narrower at the base. The tendency for exfoliation of the bark on the twigs may also be diagnostic. The species is only known from a small area in the southernmost part of Mozambique, where it appears to be restricted to coastal sand forest at low elevations, and has the southernmost distribution of any African Xylopia species, remote from the distribution of any other species. We calculated for it an EOO of 7,053 km 2 and an AOO of 12 km 2.

Figures

Figure 25. Xylopia gracilipes and X. torrei. A-L X. gracilipes A Flower, side view B Base of outer petal, adaxial view C Base of inner petal, adaxial view D Flower, side view E Outer staminode, abaxial view F Fertile stamen, abaxial view G Habit H Fruit, side view I Leaf from same specimen as G J Close-up of twig pubescence K Seed, view of micropylar end L Seed, side view M-T X. torrei M Flower, side view N Base of outer petal, adaxial view O Base of inner petal, adaxial view P Habit Q Outer staminode, abaxial view R Fertile stamen, abaxial view S Close-up of twig pubescence T Fruit, side view. A-C, E-J from Torre & Correia 16681 (WAG) D from Renny 253 (PRE) K, L from Fidalgo de Carvalho 685 (MO) M-T from Goyder 5037 (K). Figure originally published in Burrows et al. (2018), reproduced with permission.

Figure 26. Distributions of Xylopia shirensis, X. odoratissima, X. holtzii, X. gracilipes, X. nilotica, and X. torrei. Bolder lines represent country borders, fainter lines lakes and major rivers.