Barringtonia parkinsonii Thammar., Pornp. & Chantar., 2017

Thammarong, Woranart, Chantaranothai, Pranom & Pornpongrungrueng, Pimwadee, 2017, Three new species of Barringtonia (Lecythidaceae) from Myanmar and Vietnam, Phytotaxa 309 (2), pp. 151-158 : 153

2. Barringtonia parkinsonii Thammar., Pornp. & Chantar. sp. nov. ( Figs. 2 & 4 )

Type: MYANMAR. Amherst: Dawnas, Kawkareik–Myawaddy Road, elev. ca. 480 m, 25 February 1927, C. E. Parkinson 5267 (holotype: K!).

Barringtonia parkinsonii is allied to B. scortechinii King (1901: 138) but differs by its lanceolate leaf blades, longer leaves and shorter erect inflorescence.

Tree up to 15 m high. Leaves with petioles up to 2.5 cm long, glabrous; lamina lanceolate, 20–30 × 5–7 cm, base cuneate or decurrent onto petiole, apex acuminate, margin entire or slightly serrate at upper part, papyraceous, upper and lower surfaces glabrous; secondary veins 12–14 pairs. Inflorescences erect spikes, 6–8 cm long, terminal or axillary, densely flowered with up to 25 flowers; rachis 2–3 mm in diam., glabrous; bracts not seen. Flowers sessile; hypanthium oblong, 5–8 × 4–6 mm, 4-gonous with distinctly winged edges, glabrous; sepals 4, subcircular with minute teeth, 5–6 × 5–6 mm, glabrous, open in bud, pale green; petals 4, oblong or obovate, 15–18 × 9–10 mm, pinkish; stamens 1.5–3 cm long in 2–3 staminal whorls, white below and pink towards to tip, inner whorl staminodia 1; staminal tube 2–3 mm long; anthers subcircular, ca. 0.5 × 0.5 mm; disc ca. 3 mm diam., ca. 1 mm high; ovary 2-locular; ovules 2–5 per locule; style 2–3 cm long; stigma rounded, ca. 0.5 mm in diam. Fruits not seen.

Distribution:—Endemic to Myanmar.

Ecology:—Not indicated on label information.

Phenology:—Flowering in February.

Etymology:—This species is named in honor of Charles Edward Parkinson (1890–1945), a Scottish forest botanist, who collected the type specimens.

Conservation status:—This species is endemic to Myanmar and so far known from a single collection. Further collections are needed to allow complete evaluation of this species. A conservation status of Data Deficient (DD, IUCN 2012) is here merited on the basis of the data above.

Notes:— Barringtonia parkinsonii is closely allied to B. scortechinii but differs in its lanceolate leaf blades, leaves 20–30 cm long and erect inflorescence of 6–8 cm long whereas B. scortechinii has elliptic leaf blades, leaves 8–20 cm long and pendulous inflorescence of 10–30 cm long ( Table 1). The specimen C.E. Parkinson 5267 (K), the holotype of this species, was placed under B. abbreviata Craib (1930: 170) (synonym of B. pauciflora ) by Prance (2012b). However, it differs considerably from B. abbreviata in having a distinctly winged hypanthium whereas B. abbreviata has an unwinged hypanthium.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Barringtonia parkinsonii: A. branchlet; B. inflorescence; C. flower bud; D. flower in cross section; E. petal. Drawn from C.E. Parkinson 5267 (K) by Woranart Thammarong.

FIGURE 4. Distribution of Barringtonia laxiflora (z), B. parkinsonii (*) and B. tomentosa („).