Cheniella glauca (Wall. ex Benth.) R.Clark & Mackinder, 2017

Clark, Ruth P., Mackinder, Barbara A. & Banks, Hannah, 2017, Cheniella gen. nov. (Leguminosae: Cercidoideae) from southern China, Indochina and Malesia, European Journal of Taxonomy 360, pp. 1-37 : 24

10. Cheniella glauca (Wall. ex Benth.) R.Clark & Mackinder comb. nov. urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77165916-1

Basionym: Phanera glauca Wall. ex Benth. , Plantae junghuhnianae 2: 265 (Miquel 1852). – Type: Myanmar, Amherst, 1827, Wallich catalogue no. 5785 (lecto-, here designated: K001122119!; isolecto-: K000760783!).

Description

Leaf bilobed to ⅓ to (usually) more than ½, with mucro 1–2 mm, 3.1–8.0 × 3.6–6.7 cm, upper surface glabrous, or sparsely tomentose with short, whitish, spreading hairs, lower surface sparsely to moderately ferruginous appressed hirsute, with denser tufts at base between veins; secondary veins 8–10. Petiole 1.1–4.2 cm. Stipules 4–6 × 0.5–0.75 mm. Inflorescence a corymb, axis 2.5–4.5 cm. Pedicel 1.0– 1.6 cm. Bracts 5–6 mm. Bracteoles 4–5 mm. Hypanthium 1.0–1.2 [–1.5] cm, glabrous or sometimes with few hairs at base. Petals white to light yellow, 8–10 × 5–7 mm, sparsely pale orange sericeous on outer surface, claw 2–3 mm. Fertile stamens 3, each 8–10 mm. Staminodes 7, of which 2 are inserted individually between the stamens, 5 mounted on a raised fleshy disc that is open on the side where the stamens are inserted, disc 1 × 2 mm, staminodes 2–3 mm. Ovary glabrous. Fruit broadly oblong, truncate to rounded at apex, rounded at base, 17.5–20.5 × 3.9–5.5 cm. Seeds ca 17–19 per fruit.

Distribution

Java, Myanmar, Peninsular Malaysia (Pahang, Perak), Sumatra, Thailand ( Fig. 10 ). The species has been reported from India ( Bandyopadhyay 2001), but that lone report is most probably erroneous.

Ecology

Open roadsides, by the sea, rain forest, in ravines and on slopes, evergreen forest, scrub; elevation to 1,700 m a.s.l.

Preliminary conservation assessment

Extent of Occurrence 920,396.728 km 2 = Least Concern (LC). This species is distributed over a fairly broad range, in several countries, and is represented by numerous herbarium specimens. It is therefore considered to be Least Concern (LC).

Taxonomic notes

The lectotype was selected for being the more complete specimen of the two, with more numerous and better preserved leaves.

Bauhinia tenuiflora , formerly considered to be a subspecies of Bauhinia glauca , is here recognised as a distinct species, the reasons for which are outlined in the text for that taxon.

Figures

Fig. 10. Distribution of Cheniella glauca (Wall. ex Benth.) R.Clark & Mackinder comb. nov. and C. tenuiflora (Watt ex C.B.Clarke) R.Clark & Mackinder comb. nov.