Cyrtandra kjellbergii R.Bone & H.J.Atkins

Atkins, H. J. & Kartonegoro, A., 2021, A TAXONOMIC REVISION OF CYRTANDRA (GESNERIACEAE) IN SULAWESI, INDONESIA, Edinburgh Journal of Botany 78 (364), pp. 1-122 : 64-66

19. Cyrtandra kjellbergii R.Bone & H.J.Atkins , Edinburgh J. Bot. 70(3): 460 (2013)

– Type: Indonesia, Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, B. Poka Pinjang , 27 v 1929, Kjellberg 1459 (holotype BO, isotype S). Figure 33 .

Shrub (height not recorded). Stems glabrescent, densely hairy when young. Leaves usually strongly anisophyllous but occasionally with both members of a pair well developed but somewhat unequal in size; petiole 4–6 mm long, sparsely hairy; blades of larger leaf, 4–6 × 2–3 cm, elliptic to narrow obovate, base acute, margin serrate with c.3–7 serrations along each side, sparsely ciliate, apex acuminate; 4 or 5 pairs of lateral veins, upper surface very sparsely hairy, lower surface sparsely hairy on primary and secondary veins, glabrescent between veins. Inflorescences sessile in leaf axils or at the base of plant, 1- or 2-flowered; bracts c. 2 mm long, often caducous, elliptic to ligulate, hairy; pedicels 5–10 mm long, sparsely hairy. Calyx 6–11 mm long; lobes caudate, 2–5 mm long, hairy externally. Corolla yellow, c. 28 mm long, tube narrow, more or less parallel-sided, widening slightly towards mouth, lobes oblong, 5 × 3–4.5 mm, hairy on outer surface, glabrous on inner surface with some glandular hairs at base of lobes. Stamens with filaments 9–10 mm long, attached c. 17 mm from base of corolla, glabrous; anthers 1–1.5 mm long; staminodes 3, lateral staminodes c. 3 mm long, central one highly reduced, glabrous. Gynoecium 16–20 mm long; disc cupular, undulate, c. 1 mm long, glabrous externally; ovary densely hairy; style glabrescent to sparsely glandular hairy; stigma capitate, c. 1 mm across, papillose. Fruits ovoid, 12–13 × 4–5 mm, sparsely hairy, calyx and base of style persistent.

Distribution. South Sulawesi, Latimojong Range (see Figure 35 ).

Habitat and ecology. Montane forest at an altitude of 2300 m.

Etymology. This species is named after Gunnar Konstantin Kjellberg (1885–1943) who made an important botanical investigation of Sulawesi in 1929 ( Bone & Atkins, 2013).

Proposed IUCN conservation category. Cyrtandra kjellbergii is known only from one location, so it has not been possible to calculate an EOO but it has an AOO of 4 km 2, based on a 2 × 2 km grid cell size, under the B criteria ( Bachman et al., 2011). The species is known only from the type location, from where it was collected in 1929 at 2300 m a.s.l. The collection locality is in neither a protected area nor a national park (UNEP-WCMC & IUCN, 2019); however, the collection is from montane forest, which is one of the least threatened forest types on the island ( Cannon et al., 2007). A category of Least Concern (LC) is assigned for this species because there is no evidence of threat, but the importance of further collecting in this area is emphasised.

Cyrtandra kjellbergii is known only from the type collection. This species is similar in overall appearance to Cyrtandra balgooyi from Central Sulawesi. It can be distinguished by its leaf margin (serrate but with only c.4–7 deep serrations along leaf margin versus serrate with many serrations along leaf margin), corolla size (28 mm versus 20 mm long) and style indumentum (glabrescent to sparsely glandular hairy versus densely eglandular hairy). It is also currently known only from the Latimojong Mountains, whereas Cyrtandra balgooyi is restricted to the environs of the Lore Lindu National Park in Central Sulawesi.

Figures

Figure 33. Cyrtandra kjellbergii. a, Habit; b, fruits on stem; c, fruit and calyx; d, opened calyx, showing inner surface; e, opened corolla, showing position of stamens and staminodes; f, gynoecium and disc. Drawn by Claire Banks from Kjellberg 1459. Reproduced from Bone & Atkins (2013) with the permission of the Trustees of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Figure 35. Distribution of Cyrtandra kjellbergii (bright red circle), C. kinhoi (black triangles), C. longirostris (white circles) and C. longistamina (dark red circles).