Xylopia dinklagei Engler & Diels, Notizbl. Koenigl . Bot. Gart. Berlin 2: 298. 1899.

Johnson, David M. & Murray, Nancy A., 2018, A revision of Xylopia L. (Annonaceae): the species of Tropical Africa, PhytoKeys 97, pp. 1-252 : 132-134

29. Xylopia dinklagei Engler & Diels, Notizbl. Koenigl. Bot. Gart. Berlin 2: 298. 1899. Fig. 39G-I

Xylopicrum dinklagei (Engler & Diels) Kuntze, Deutsch. Bot. Monatsschr. 21: 173-174. 1903. Type. LIBERIA [ “Oberguinea”]. Grand Bassa County, Grand Bassa, 18 Oct 1896, M. Dinklage 1760 (lectotype, here designated: B! [100249554]; isolectotype: A!; possible isolectotypes (see below): B! [100153126, 100153127]).

Description.

Shrub or low climber. Twigs brown, pubescent, the hairs 0.1-0.3 mm long, eventually glabrate; ultimate branches often thickened at base. Leaf with larger blades 6-9.9 cm long, 1.8-3.3 cm wide, chartaceous to subcoriaceous, concolorous to slightly discolorous, oblong to elliptic, apex acuminate, the acumen 5-11 mm long, base broadly cuneate to rounded, pubescent on the midrib but otherwise glabrous adaxially, finely appressed-pubescent abaxially; midrib plane to slightly impressed adaxially, raised abaxially, secondary veins weakly brochidodromous, 10-11 per side, diverging at 60-70° from the midrib, plane or slightly raised and indistinct adaxially, slightly raised abaxially, higher-order veins indistinct or slightly raised on both surfaces; petiole 2-4.5 mm long, canaliculate, sparsely pubescent to glabrate. Inflorescences axillary, 1-flowered, pubescent; pedicels 2.3-3.3 mm long, 1.2-1.4 mm thick; bracts 3-4, imbricate, persistent, 1.1-1.8 mm long, broadly ovate to semicircular, apex obtuse to rounded; buds lanceolate, apex acute. Sepals slightly spreading at anthesis, 1/4-1/3-connate, 2.3-2.7 mm long, 2.9-3.3 mm wide, coriaceous, broadly triangular to orbicular, apex acute, sericeous abaxially. Petals pale yellow in vivo; outer petals possibly somewhat spreading at anthesis, 10.5-13 mm long, 2.5-3.4 mm wide at base, 1.6-2.0 mm wide at midpoint, coriaceous, narrowly lanceolate, apex obtuse, pubescent, but becoming glabrous in the center toward the base adaxially, sericeous abaxially; inner petals possibly erect or spreading at anthesis, 8.5-10.7 mm long, 2.4-2.7 mm wide at base, 0.8-1.2 mm wide at midpoint, coriaceous, linear-subulate, apex acute, base with undifferentiated margins, pubescent on both surfaces except for the glabrous base. Stamens ca. 120; fertile stamens 1.3-1.5 mm long, narrowly oblong, apex of connective 0.2-0.3 mm long, shieldlike, overhanging anther thecae, glabrous, anthers 9-10-locellate, filament ca. 0.4 mm long; outer staminodes 1.4-1.5 mm long, clavate, apex obtuse to truncate; inner staminodes 0.8-1.0 mm long, quadrate, apex obtuse to truncate; staminal cone 1.7-2.0 mm in diameter, 0.7-1.1 mm high, concealing the ovaries, rim laciniate. Carpels 12-15; ovaries 1.3-1.4 mm long, narrowly oblong, densely pubescent, stigmas connivent, 2.4-2.8 mm long, filiform, apex acute, with tuft of hairs at apex but otherwise glabrous. Torus flat, ca. 2.1 mm in diameter. Fruit of up to 13 glabrate monocarps borne on a pedicel 4.5-5 mm long, 3.2-5.6 mm thick, sparsely pubescent, sometimes with short dead branch attached and bracts and sepals persistent; torus 8-11 mm in diameter, 5-6.3 mm high, depressed-globose. Monocarps with green exterior in vivo, endocarp color unknown, 3.6-7.7 cm long, 1.2-1.5 cm wide, 0.9-1.1 cm thick, narrowly oblong and slightly falciform, torulose, apex with a curved beak 2-4 mm long or occasionally obtuse, base contracted into a flat stipe 6-8 mm long, 2-3 mm thick, longitudinally ridged or wrinkled, verrucose; pericarp ca. 0.4 mm thick. Seeds up to 10 per monocarp, commonly 5-7, in a single row, lying oblique to long axis, 10.5-11.5 mm long, 6.8-7.6 mm wide, 5-6 mm thick, flattened-ellipsoid, oblong to elliptic in cross-section, truncate at micropylar end, rounded at chalazal end, tan, smooth, faintly shiny, raphe/antiraphe not evident, micropylar scar 4.5-5 mm long, 2.5-3.5 mm wide, elliptic; sarcotesta unknown in vivo; aril absent.

Phenology.

Specimens with flowers have been collected in February, April, and May, and with fruits from August to December.

Distribution

(Fig. 34 ). Collected only along the coast of Liberia, in swamps near sea level.

Additional specimens examined.

LIBERIA. Buchanan, 23 Sep 1971 (fr), Adam 26092 (MO); Grand Cape Mount Co., Mecca , 24 Dec 1947 (fr), Baldwin 10805 (K); in fruticetis et ad margines silvarum prope Monrovia et alibi, 20 m, 17 May 1906, Dinklage 1760 bis (B-100153125); Grand Bassa, Dinklage 1840 (A, WU), Grand Bassa, s. d. (st), Dinklage 1858 (A); Grand Bassa, 30 Apr 1898 (fl), Dinklage 1873 (BM, G, P-3 sheets); Grand Bassa, 1 May 1898 (fl), Dinklage either s. n. or 1898 -might be 1858 (K); 5 mi N of Bomi Hills, 18 Nov 1970 (fr), Jansen 2255 (WAG); SW Monrovia, 13 Aug 1909 (fr), Massey 49/27 (NY); Monserrado, Firestone Plantation, division 18, ca. 6°24'N, 10°19'W, 11 Feb 1970 (fl), Stoop-v. d. Kasteele, F. S. C. 140 (WAG); without definite locality, s. d. (fr), Straub 290 ( US).

Xylopia dinklagei is a shrub or low climber of swampy habitats, with a fine twig pubescence made up exclusively of appressed hairs 0.1-0.3 mm long. The leaf base is often rounded or less often broadly cuneate, and the indument on the abaxial surface of the leaf is not readily visible but is dense, fine, and appressed. The outer petals are only 10.5-13 mm long. The monocarps have a single row of seeds oriented obliquely to the long axis of the monocarp, and the monocarps themselves are usually distinctly torulose, with a thin pericarp, only ca. 0.4 mm thick. The stipe of the monocarp is 6-8 mm long and 2-3 mm thick, and the seeds are oblong to elliptic in cross section. Xylopia dinklagei is superficially similar to X. acutiflora and the species overlap slightly in distribution. Xylopia acutiflora , however, is an upland forest tree reaching at least 15 m in height, with coarser twig pubescence including erect hairs over 1 mm long. Its leaves are cuneate to broadly cuneate at the base, with sparser but longer hairs abaxially. The outer petals are 19.6-37 mm long. The monocarps have two rows of seeds oriented perpendicular to the long axis of the monocarp, and the monocarps are oblong and at most weakly torulose, with a fibrous pericarp ca. 1 mm thick. The stipe of the monocarp is proportionally shorter and thicker than in X. dinklagei , 3-7 mm long and 2.9-4.5 mm thick, and the seeds are wedge-shaped in cross-section.

As in a related climbing species, Xylopia piratae , the ultimate branches on specimens of X. dinklagei are often short (4-7 nodes with ca. 1-3 cm long internodes) and emerge at right angles, with the bases thickened just above where they join the supporting branch.

Engler and Diels based the name Xylopia dinklagei on two Dinklage collections, n. 1760 and n. 1858. The sheets of Dinklage 1760 at B, however, bear different information. One of them, B-100153125, was collected in 1906 from a different locality and therefore cannot be type material. Of the remaining sheets, the two with flower buds (B-100153126 and B-100153127) have labels with the type locality printed on them, but no date information. The collection with mature fruits (B-100249554) is dated 18 October 1896 and is chosen as lectotype. Of the second syntype, Dinklage 1858, only a sheet at A has been seen; this specimen was identified as X. oxypetala by Engler and Diels (1901) but it is more similar to the specimens separated here as X. dinklagei .

Figures

Figure 34. Distributions of Xylopia acutiflora, X. dinklagei, X. monticola, X. piratae, X. thomsonii, and X. unguiculata. Bolder lines represent country borders, fainter lines lakes and major rivers.

Figure 39. Xylopia thomsonii, X. monticola, X. talbotii, and X. dinklagei. A-C X. thomsonii A Fruit B Leaf C Flower D-E X. monticola D Flower E Leaf and fruit F X. talbotii, flower, side view G-I X. dinklagei G Leaf H Flower I Fruit. A from de Wilde & de Wilde-Duyfjes 2703 (K) B, C from Talbot & Talbot 3267 (BM) D from Chapman 3755 (K) E from Thomas et al. 7400 (MO) F from Thomas 3204 (MO) G, H from Dinklage 1840 (A) I from Baldwin 10805 (K).