Trichoscypha oliveri Engl.

Breteler, F. J., 2004, The genus Trichoscypha (Anacardiaceae) in Lower Guinea and Congolia: A synoptic revision, Adansonia (3) 26 (1), pp. 97-127 : 120-121

14. Trichoscypha oliveri Engl.

Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 1: 425 (1881); Breteler, Adansonia, sér. 3, 23: 259 (2001).

— Type: Mann 1830, Equatorial Guinea /Gabon, River Muni , 1°N, ♀ fl. Sept. (holo-, K!).

Trichoscypha parviflora Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 15: 108 (1892). — Type: Soyaux 115, Gabon, Sibange Farm, ♂ fl. Aug. 1880 (holo- B, delet.; lecto-, designated here, P!; iso-, K!, Z!).

Trichoscypha bipindensis Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 36: 223 (1905). — Type: Zenker 2904, Cameroun, Bipindi, ♂ fl. Mar. 1904 (holo-, B, delet.; lecto-(designated here), K!; iso-, BM!, BR!, G!, GOET!, Z!).

Trichoscypha gabonensis Lecomte, Bull. Soc. Bot. France 52: 650 (1906). — Type: Trilles 26, Gabon, Ngun, ♂ fl. (holo-, P!).

Trichoscypha macrophylla Lecomte, Bull. Soc. Bot. France 52: 654 (1960). — Type: Klaine 2953, Gabon, near Libreville, ♂ fl. July 1902 (lecto- (designated here), P!, iso-, WAG!).

Trichoscypha parvifloroides Pellegr., Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. 28: 315 (1922). — Type: Le Testu 2100, Gabon, Nyanga, ♀ fl. Sep. 1915 (holo-, P!; iso-, A!, BM!, BR!, K!, WAG!).

Trichoscypha platycarpa Van der Veken, Bull. Jard. Bot. État 35: 453 (1966). — Type: Dechamps 219, Congo (Kinshasa), Bena-Longo, fr. Dec. 1959 (holo-, BR!; iso-, K!).

Treelet to tree up to 20(-50?) m tall. Leaves up to c. 1 m long, 3-6(-10?)-jugate. Branches, petiole, rhachis and leaflets beneath puberulous, appressedly or not. Leaflets (sub)opposite to alternate, oblong-lanceolate to ovate-elliptic or oblong- obovate, (8-)15-20(-32) × (3-)4- 8(12) cm, rounded to cuneate at base, apex acuminate, the acumen 1-1.5 cm long, midrib impressed above, main lateral nerves (9-)14-17(- 20) pairs, ± indistinct above, prominent beneath. Inflorescence terminal to axillary, usually widely branched, up to at least 50 cm long. Flowers (Jan.-Mar., June-Oct.) usually dark red to purple, also reported as yellow to orange, 4-5(-6)-merous. Fruits (June-Dec.) red at maturity, distinctly obliquely ovoid, acute to apiculate at apex, slightly laterally compressed, up to 30 × 20 mm, ± appressed-puberulous, sometimes also with a white mold-like indumentum. — Figs 2C ; 12.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION. — Rain forest, from Cameroun to Congo (Kinshasa). Not collected in Congo (Brazzaville). Alt. up to c. 600 m.

SELECTED SPECIMENS. — ANGOLA: Mounteiro & Murta 288, Chiaca, fl. June (COI!). — CAMEROUN: Annet 332, Lolodorf, fr. June (P!) ; Bos 3373, 7.5 km Kribi-Ebolowa, fr. Nov. (K!, P!, WAG! YA) ; Tchouto et al. LIKOX 56, Massif des Mamelles, fl. June (WAG!) ; Tchouto & Elad ONOX 204, Onoyong, fl. Mar. (WAG!) ; Thomas 286, Tissongo Lake, fl. Jan. (K!) ; Zenker 2904, Bipindi, fl. (BM!, BR!, G!, GOET!, K!, Z!). — CONGO (Kinshasa): Dechamps 219, Bena-Longo, fr. Dec. (BR!, K!). — EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Lejoly & Elad 98/161, Ngoma, fl. Aug. (BRLU!) ; Mann 1830, River Muni, juv. fr. Sep. (K!). — GABON: Breteler et al. 12830, Assok, fr. Sep. (WAG!) ; J.J. de Wilde c.s. 11823, Lopé Res., fr. Dec. (WAG!) ; Klaine 2953, near Libreville, fl. July (P!, WAG!) ; Le Testu 1587, Midounga, fl. Aug. (BM!, P!) ; Le Testu 2100, Nyanga, fl. Sep. (A!, BM!, K!, P!, WAG!) ; Le Testu 8409, Poupa, fl. Oct. (BM!, BR!, P!, WAG!) ; Soyaux 115, Sibange Farm, fl. Aug. (K!, P!, Z!) ; Trilles 26, Ngum, fl. (P!).

NOTES. — L ECOMTE (1906: 647) and PELLEGRIN (1922: 316) were well aware of the doubtful status of several of the previously described Trichoscypha species and even of those that they recognized as new. When based on a single male or female flowering specimen, several of these species, LECOMTE (1906) stipulated, were to be reduced to synonymy in a future revision. He placed both his T. gabonensis and T. macrophylla close to T. oliveri but distinguished them on the size of the leaflets and the length of the pedicel, characters that have since proven to be of limited use for specific segregation. PELLEGRIN (1922) distinguished T. parvifloroides with female flowers from the type of T. parviflora with male flowers based on flower size alone, although the types are, in his words, “tout à fait semblable”. In T. oliveri , as in many other species, it has been shown that the best characters for specific distinction are found in the flowers and not or hardly in the vegetative elements.

Figures

FIG. 2. — Flowers of Trichoscypha species, one petal removed: A, T. mannii Hook.f.; B, T oddonii De Wild.; C, T. oliveri Engl.; D, T. patens (Oliv.) Engl.; E, T. pauciflora Van der Veken; F, T. reygaertii De Wild.; G, T. rubicunda Lecomte. A1, Versteegh & Den Outer 739; A2, Talbot 1278; B1, J.J. de Wilde 11197; B2, J.J. de Wilde 11196; C1, Tchouto et al. LIKOX 56; C2, Van Andel et al. 3890; D1, Leeuwenberg 5213; D2, Van Andel et al. 4262; E1, Michelson 895; E2, A. Léonard 5154; F1, Breteler et al. 14501; F2, Reygaert 94; G1, Klaine 1080; G2, Klaine 251. Drawing by H. DE VRIES.

FIG. 12. — Distribution of Trichoscypha oliveri Engl.