Xylopia flamignii Boutique, Bull. Jard. Bot. Etat 21: 110. 1951.

Johnson, David M. & Murray, Nancy A., 2018, A revision of Xylopia L. (Annonaceae): the species of Tropical Africa, PhytoKeys 97, pp. 1-252 : 89-91

14. Xylopia flamignii Boutique, Bull. Jard. Bot. Etat 21: 110. 1951. Fig. 23A-E

Xylopia lenombe Paiva, Mem. Soc. Brot. 19: 76 + pl. 12. 1966. Type. ANGOLA. Cabinda Province, Cabinda na Chiaca, 10 Jun 1960, R. Monteiro & F. C. Murta 227 (holotype: LUAI; isotypes: BM! [0005109030], LUA, PRE! [0774857]).

Type.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO ["Belgian Congo "]. Maï-Ndombe Province, Nioki , May 1941, A. Flamigni 9026 ter (holotype: BR! [0000008824745]; isotypes: BM! [000511044], BR! [0000008824745], K! [000199057], P! [00169149]) .

Description.

Tree up to 30 m tall. Twigs dark brown to gray brown, eventually light brown or gray, initially appressed-pubescent, the hairs 0.1-0.2 mm long, soon glabrate; nodes occasionally with two axillary branches. Leaf with larger blades 5.2-7.9 cm long, 1.3-2.7 cm wide, chartaceous, discolorous and shiny black adaxially, brown and dull adaxially, lanceolate to lanceolate-oblong, apex attenuate to short-acuminate with an acumen 7-8 mm long, base broadly and obliquely cuneate, glabrous or occasionally with a few hairs on the midrib adaxially, finely appressed-pubescent abaxially; midrib plane adaxially, raised abaxially, secondary veins indistinctly brochidodromous, 13-17 per side, diverging at 45-65° from the midrib, strongly raised adaxially, raised abaxially, higher-order veins strongly raised to form a conspicuous reticulum adaxially, slightly raised abaxially; petiole 3-5 mm long, somewhat flattened, semi-terete to shallowly canaliculate, sparsely pubescent. Inflorescences axillary, 1-2-flowered, sparsely pubescent; pedicels not pedunculate, 2.5-5 mm long, 0.7-1.1 mm thick; bracts 2-3, evenly spaced on pedicel, caducous or uppermost sometimes persistent, 1.4-2 mm long, ovate, sometimes bilobed, apex obtuse to rounded; buds broadly ovoid, apex obtuse to short-acuminate. Sepals spreading at anthesis, connate at base, 1.8-2.7 mm long, 2.7-3.3 mm wide, thickly coriaceous, almost fleshy, broadly ovate to semicircular, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded, sparsely pubescent abaxially. Petals yellowish white or red in vivo; outer petals slightly spreading at anthesis, 5.5-7.3 mm long, 3.5-4.3 mm wide at base, 2.5-2.8 mm wide at midpoint, fleshy, ovate, apex acuminate, densely pubescent on upper half, glabrous in lower half adaxially, sericeous abaxially; inner petals slightly spreading at anthesis, 4.7-6.0 mm long, 3.0-4.0 mm wide at base, 1.9-2.5 mm wide at midpoint, fleshy but thinner than outer petals, rhombic to sagittate, apex acute, base with margin differentiated into two circular corrugated glands 1-1.5 mm in diameter just above and to either side of the claw, the glands and claw glabrous, petal otherwise densely pubescent. Stamens ca. 100; fertile stamens 1.1-1.4 mm long, narrowly oblong-clavate, apex of connective 0.2-0.3 mm long, depressed-globose, overhanging the anther thecae, minutely papillate, anthers 9-11-locellate, filament 0.2-0.3 mm long; outer staminodes 1.2-1.4 mm long, obovate, narrowly oblong, or clavate, apex obtuse, rounded, or obliquely truncate; inner staminodes 1.1-1.3 mm long, oblong, apex obtuse; staminal cone 1.7-1.9 mm in diameter, 0.5-0.8 mm high, concealing only the bases of the ovaries, rim laciniate. Carpels 10-17; ovaries 1.2-1.5 mm long, linear-oblong, pubescent, stigmas loosely connivent, 0.9-1.5 mm long, trowel-shaped, glabrous or with a few orange hairs at apex. Torus flat, 1.7-2.1 mm in diameter. Fruit of up to 22 glabrate monocarps borne on a pedicel ca. 6 mm long, 2.0-2.8 mm thick, glabrate; torus 6-6.7 mm in diameter, ca. 4.5 mm high, depressed-globose. Monocarps with green exterior in vivo, endocarp color unknown, 3.7-4.8 cm long, 0.7-0.8 cm wide, 0.6-0.7 cm thick, narrowly oblong and slightly falciform, torulose, apex rounded or with a oblique blunt beak 1-2 mm long, base gradually contracted into a stipe 7-11 mm long, 1.8-3.2 mm thick, longitudinally wrinkled and striate; pericarp 0.2-0.4 mm thick. Seeds 3-5 per monocarp, in a single row, oblique to long axis, 7-7.6 mm long, 4.3-4.8 mm wide, 3.8-4.1 mm thick, ellipsoid, elliptic in cross-section, obliquely truncate at the micropylar end, rounded and sometimes flattened from the adjacent seed at the chalazal end, light brown, smooth, not shiny, raphe/antiraphe not evident, micropylar scar 1.7-1.8 mm long, 0.8-1.0 mm wide, oblong or elliptic; sarcotesta red in vivo; aril absent.

Phenology.

Specimens with flowers have been collected in May, June, October, and December, and with fruits in June (immature) and July.

Distribution

(Fig. 24 ). Occurs from eastern Gabon to the western Democratic Republic of the Congo and south to the Cabinda Province of Angola. One collection is from upland forest, one from forest edge, one from mature riverine forest/savanna edge, and one from secondary forest; the only reported elevation is 430 m.

Local names.

Itomba (Loutumbe, Gilbert 14335), itumba (Cauwe/Service Forestier S.F./66), lucanga Xylopia lenombe (Monteiro & Murta 227).

Additional specimens examined.

GABON. Haut-Ogooué: ca. 1 km S of Gorilla Research Station, across Mpassa River on savanna-primary riverine forest border, 02°07'15"S, 014°04'40"E, 430 m, 1 Dec 2001 (fl), Bradley et al. 1136 (MO, OWU) . REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. Village Abala, terre Okouésé, Sous-Prefecture de Boundji , 20 Jun 1965 (st), Bouquet 1447 (P); Plateau Batéké, piste km 46 Maluku-Tréchot, forêt de Mandiélé, 12 Oct 1968 (fl), Sita 2737 (P) . DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. Kinshasa: Kimuenza , 23 Jun 1959 (st), Pauwels 3391 (BR).- Maï-Ndombe: Ipeke, Lac Mai-Ndombe [" Lac Léopold II "], Jun 1950 (st), Cauwe/ Service Forestier S.F. /66 (BR); Lac Mai-Ndombe [" Lac Leo II "], Panza, 3 Jul 1953 (fr, old fl), Gilbert 14335 (BR) . ANGOLA. Cabinda, na Reserva da Chiaca , 6 Jun 1960 (st), Monteiro & Murta 181 (PRE) .

This species stands out from other African xylopias by the combination of narrow leaves with a pronounced vein reticulum on the adaxial surface, short broad flowers on short pedicels, and the basal margins of the inner petals marked by corrugated circular glands. In the latter character, it resembles X. gilbertii and X. toussaintii , but, unlike those species, the leaves are shiny and glabrous on the adaxial surface rather than dull and pubescent. The plant has a greater resemblance to X. wilwerthii , but differs from that species in the short pedicels, the short and broad petals, and leaves that are attenuate to short-acuminate; X. wilwerthii , in contrast, has pedicels 8.5-21.5 mm long, petals 14-31 mm long, and long-acuminate to caudate leaves.

Only two specimen labels gave notes regarding flower color: one described the petals as yellowish white, the other as red. The label of Bradley et al. 1163 notes a mild cinnamon odor to the flowers.

With an EOO of 108,538 km 2 and an AOO of only 32 km 2, Xylopia flamignii belongs to the group of species that occupy a relatively wide range but are either undercollected or rare (Table 1 ). It was given a conservation assessment of Vulnerable (D2) by Onana and Cheek (2011).

The isotype of Xylopia lenombe at BM was received on loan already annotated as Xylopia flamignii , and corresponds well with the type specimen of the latter in its flowers and leaves. This specimen, bearing both flowers and fruits, helped to confirm the identity of specimens of X. flamignii with fruits only.

Figures

Figure 23. Xylopia flamignii and X. gilbertii. A-E X. flamignii A Flower, side view B Close-up of adaxial leaf surface, showing raised venation C Leaves D Inner petal, adaxial view E Outer petal, adaxial view F-J X. gilbertii F Flower, side view G Inner petal, adaxial view H Outer petal, adaxial view I, J Leaves. A-E from Bradley 1136 (OWU) F-I from Louis 6777 (MO) J from Letouzey 10707 (P).

Figure 24. Distributions of Xylopia gilbertii, X. toussaintii, and X. flamignii. Bolder lines represent country borders, fainter lines lakes and major rivers.