Artabotrys velutinus Scott Elliot, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 30: 71, 1894

Couvreur, Thomas L. P., Dagallier, Leo-Paul M. J., Crozier, Francoise, Ghogue, Jean-Paul, Hoekstra, Paul H., Kamdem, Narcisse G., Johnson, David M., Murray, Nancy A. & Sonke, Bonaventure, 2022, Flora of Cameroon - Annonaceae Vol 45, PhytoKeys 207, pp. 1-532 : 78-81

Artabotrys velutinus Scott Elliot, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 30: 71, 1894

Fig. 15 ; Map 3A

= Artabotrys nigericus Hutch., Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 10: 356, 1921. Type. Nigeria. Jos North, Naraguta, Lely H.V. 541, 17 Aug 1921: holotype: K[K000198866].

= Artabotrys stenopetalus Engl. Notizbl. Königl. Bot. Gart. Berlin 2: 300, 1899. Syn. nov. Type. Cameroon. South Region, Bipindi, Zenker G.A. 1222, 1896: holotype: B[B10 0154052]; isotypes: GOET[GOET005675]; HBG[HBG502541]; K[K000198862]; M[M0107912]; MO[MO-216860]; NY[NY00025832]; P[P00363384, P00363385]; S[S07-13456]; WAG[WAG0053235]; WU[WU0025887, WU0025888].

? Artabotrys stenopetalus var. parviflorus Pellegr., Mém. Soc. Linn. Normandie 26: 7, 1924. Type. Gabon. Nyanga, Tchibanga, Le Testu G.M.P.C. 1964, 6 Jan 1915: lectotype, sheet here designated: P[P00363379]; isotypes: EA[EA000002453, EA000002452]; K[K000198861]; LISC[LISC000375]; P[P00363378, P00363380].

= Artabotrys nitidus auct. Exell Jour. of Bot. 73 Supp. Polypet. Add.: 5, 1935 (non Diels) (specimens Gossweiler 5978 [COI00070298] and 7361 [COI00070297]).

Type.

Sierre Leone: Northern Region ; Falaba, Scott Elliot G.F. 5137, 5 Mar 1892: holotype: K[K000198865]; isotype: B[B 10 0154055] .

Description.

Liana, up to 10 m tall, d.b.h. up to 20 cm. Indumentum of simple hairs; old leafless branches sparsely pubescent, young foliate branches pubescent. Leaves: petiole 3-4 mm long, ca. 1 mm in diameter, pubescent to glabrous, grooved, blade inserted on the side of the petiole; blade 8-13 cm long, 4-5 cm wide, ovate to elliptic, apex acuminate to acute, acumen 1-1.5 cm long, base decurrent to acute, papyraceous, below pubescent to sparsely pubescent when young, glabrous when old, above pubescent when young, sparsely pubescent to glabrous when old, concolorous; midrib impressed, above glabrous when young and old, below densely pubescent to pubescent when young, glabrous to pubescent when old; secondary veins 8 to 12 pairs, glabrous above; tertiary venation reticulate. Individuals bisexual; inflorescences ramiflorous on old leafless branches, leaf opposed. Flowers with 9 perianth parts in 3 whorls, 5 to 15 per inflorescence, hook-shaped peduncle 10-16 mm long; pedicel 2-10 mm long, ca. 1 mm in diameter, pubescent with appressed hairs; in fruit 10-20 mm long, ca. 1 mm in diameter, pubescent with appressed hairs; bracts 2, all basal, ca. 1 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide; sepals 3, valvate, free, 2-3 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, triangular, apex acute, base truncate, densely pubescent outside, glabrous inside, yellow and red at the base, margins flat; petals free, sub equal; outer petals 3, 5-15 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, linear, apex rounded, base broad and concave, margins flat but strongly recurved inwards forming a tube, densely pubescent outside, densely pubescent inside; inner petals 3, valvate, 5-15 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, linear, apex acute, base broad and concave, yellow and red at the base, margins flat but strongly recurved inwards forming a tube, tomentose outside, tomentose with a glabrous at base inside; stamens 15 to 22, in 2 rows, 1-2 mm long, oblong; connective discoid, glabrous; staminodes absent; carpels free, 7 to 12, ovary 1-2 mm long, stigma cylindrical, glabrous. Monocarps sessile, 4 to 9, 10-20 mm long, 10 mm in diameter, ellipsoid to obovoid, apex rounded, glabrous, smooth, faintly ribbed, color when ripe not seen; seeds 1 to 2 per monocarp, 5-7 mm long, 5 mm in diameter, flattened ellipsoid; aril absent.

Distribution.

A west and central African species, from Sierra Leone to Nigeria and Cameroon to the Republic of the Congo and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; in Cameroon known from the Adamaoua, Central, East, North, South, South-West, and West regions.

Habitat.

A fairly common and widespread species; in secondary lowland premontane and montane rain forests, and in gallery forests occurring in the drier regions of the country, it is one of the few Annonaceae species (e.g. Monanthotaxis vulcanica ; Xylopia africana ) occurring above 2000 m in Cameroon. Altitude 400-2200 m a.s.l.

Local and common names known in Cameroon.

None recorded.

IUCN conservation status.

Not evaluated.

Uses in Cameroon.

medicine: water/sap/leaves used for liver, genital stimulant/depressants, pregnancy, antiaborifacients (as A. stenopetalus in Burkill 1985).

Notes.

Artabotrys velutinus is characterized by having leaf bases that are decurrent or acute, pubescent branches and petioles with appressed hairs and densely pubescent petals that are tightly recurved forming a tube. This latter character is also found in A. rufus , but in this species the pubescence is hirsute rather than appressed and the base of the leaves is rounded. Nevertheless, both species are very close morphologically.

Artabotrys velutinus belongs to a large species complex of pubescent species with petals that are tightly recurved forming a tube. We synonymize here the name A. stenopetalus . Another species name that could also be synonym is the east African species A. monteiroae Oliv. (which would be the older name). More studies are needed across the range of these species to better define the limits of these taxa.

The variety A. stenopetalus var. parviflorus is interesting. The type specimen (Le Testu 1964) appears to have a raised and grooved midrib on the upper side of the leaf blades (only seen as a scan on jstor), which is quite uncommon for African Annonaceae ( Couvreur 2009), and the leaves are narrowly elliptic (versus elliptic for the type variety). The flowers however have the characteristic tubular petals. Pellegrin (1924, p. 7) only cites some minor differences such as smaller flowers, an acute leaf base (but this is also the case for the type variety) and petals that are adnate between them. We leave this name as a synonym of A. velutinus but further studies should be done to properly interpret the status of this variety name.

Specimens examined.

Adamaoua Region: Mbibol 40 km W de Ngaoundéré, 7.32°N, 13.58°E, 12 June 1977, Fotius G. 2660 (P,YA); Pres Tekel (60 km NNO de Bagodo), 6.78°N, 13.17°E, 21 July 1966, Letouzey R. 7481 (P,YA); Boko 14 km Sud-Ouest de Ngaoundéré, 7.25°N, 13.5°E, 06 August 1981, van der Zon A.P.M. 1122 (WAG,YA). Central Region : Pentes orientales du mont Yangba (1473 m) près Nyafianga (42 km NNE de Bafia), 5.13°N, 11.35°E, 09 September 1966, Letouzey R. 7826 (K,P,YA). East Region : 27 km ENE de Mopwo (village situé au km 22 route Yokadouma-Batouri), 3.67°N, 15.08°E, 06 June 1963, Letouzey R. 5248 (K,P,YA). North Region : Mango, 8.42°N, 13.25°E, 21 July 1974, Fotius G. 2144 (YA). South Region : Rives du Ntem près du confluent de la Kye 16 km ESE d’Ambam, 2.25°N, 11.34°E, 01 February 1970, Letouzey R. 10040 (P); Bipindi, 3.08°N, 10.42°E, 3 April 1897, Zenker G.A. 1222 (B,P,WAG); Bipindi, 3.08°N, 10.42°E, 01 January 1913, Zenker G.A. 231 (P,U,WAG). South-West Region : Edip village to lake edip 2-3 km, 4.96°N, 9.65°E, 11 February 1998, Cheek M. 9143 (K,WAG,YA); Kodmin, 5°N, 9.7°E, 16 November 1998, Gosline W.G. 149 (K,YA); Bank of river Chide, 4.95°N, 9.72°E, 04 February 1998, Onana J.M. 523 (K,P,WAG,YA). West Region: Massif du Nkogam (2263 m) 25 km W de Foumban, 5.73°N, 10.67°E, 12 December 1974, Letouzey R. 13501 (P,YA) .

Figures

Map 3. A Artabotrys velutinus B Brieya fasciculata C Cleistopholis glauca D Cleistopholis myristiciflora E Cleistopholis patens F Cleistopholis staudtii G Dennettia tripetala H Duguetia barteri I Duguetia confinis. White borders represent region limits in Cameroon; green patches represent protected areas (see methods and Suppl. material 1: Fig. S 1).

Figure 15. Artabotrys jacquesfelicis A flowering branch B outer petal, inner view C inter petal, inner view D floral receptacle, petals removed E stamens, front and back view F carpel with detail on ovules G fruiting branch H seed, section latitudinal section I seed, longitudinal section. Artabotrys velutinus J flowering branch K flower receptacle, outer petals removed L outer petal, inner view M inner petal, inner view N flowering receptical, petals removed O stamen P carpel, side view, detail of ovules A-F from Jacques Felix 2490 G-I from Tisserant 2405 J-P from Zenker 1222. Drawings by Helene Lamourdedieu, Publications Scientifiques du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris.