Virectaria angustifolia (Hiern) Bremek., Verh. Kon. Ned. Akad. Wetensch, Afd. Natuurk., Sect. 2. 48(2): 21 (1952)

Kuetegue, Felix, Sonke, Bonaventure & Ameka, Gabriel K., 2019, A checklist of rheophytes of Cameroon, PhytoKeys 121, pp. 81-131 : 81

Virectaria angustifolia (Hiern) Bremek., Verh. Kon. Ned. Akad. Wetensch, Afd. Natuurk., Sect. 2. 48(2): 21 (1952)

Virecta angustifolia Hiern, Fl. Trop. Afr. 3: 48 (1877)

Virecta heteromera K.Schum., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 23(3): 422 (1896)

Virectaria heteromera (K.Schum.) Bremek., Verh. Kon. Ned. Akad. Wetensch., Afd. Natauurk., Sect. 2, 48(2): 21 (1952).

Type.

Gabon, Mounts of Cristal, July 1862, G. Mann 1686 (holotype: K).

Description.

Erect herb, up to 30 cm tall; leaves linear to oblanceolate 5-15 × 1-2 mm; flowers white.

Specimens examined.

50 km southeast of Kribi, 2°42'N, 10°12'E, 14 Mar 1968, R. Letouzey 9011 (YA); bank of Mana River at Ndian, 4°58'N, 8°51'E, 09 Dec 1983, D. W. Thomas 50588 (YA); Ndian River northwest of Mundemba, 00 Oct 1986, Stephen D. Manning 894 (YA); Ntale, bank and bed of Mbier and Essembe River, 23 Dec 2010, F. Kuetegue 319 (YA).

Habitat.

Rocks of riverbeds and inundated banks, up to flood level of streams and rivers, submerged during rainy season.

Distribution.

Cameroon (Fig. 21 ), Gabon, Ghana and Nigeria.

Conservation status in Cameroon.

Virectaria angustifolia is not listed on http://www.iucnredlist.org, nor assessed by Onana and Cheek (2011). The taxon is currently known from more than 7 localities. The extent of occurrence of the species is about 66,500 km2, and its area of occupancy is about 28 km2. Timber exploitation and plantation development are in progress at the collecting localities. Based on these threats and the continuous decline of vegetation cover in the area, extent and /or quality of habitat V. angustifolia is here assessed as Vulnerable. IUCN Red List Category: Vulnerable VB1+2ab (ii, iii).

Figures

Figures 20 - 25. 20 Ixora inundata Hiern 21 Virectaria angustifolia (Hiern) Bremek 22 Virectaria salicoides (C. H. Wright) Bremek 23 Deinbollia angustifolia D. W. Thomas 24 Deinbollia saligna Keay 25 Podostemaceae distribution.