Piptostigma fugax A. Chev. ex Hutch. & Dalziel, Fl. W. trop. Afr. 1: 52, 1927

Couvreur, Thomas L. P., Dagallier, Leo-Paul M. J., Crozier, Francoise, Ghogue, Jean-Paul, Hoekstra, Paul H., Kamdem, Narcisse G., Johnson, David M., Murray, Nancy A. & Sonke, Bonaventure, 2022, Flora of Cameroon - Annonaceae Vol 45, PhytoKeys 207, pp. 1-532 : 282-284

Piptostigma fugax A. Chev. ex Hutch. & Dalziel, Fl. W. trop. Afr. 1: 52, 1927

Fig. 86 ; Map 10I

Type.

Ivory Coast: Bas-Sassandra; Cavally basin, Tepos country: Grabo and surrounding villages, at the foot of Mount Cope , Chevallier A.J.B. 19620, 26-28 Jun 1907: lectotype, designated by Ghogue et al. (2017), p. 190: P[P00363296]; isolectotype: P[P00363297] .

Description.

Tree to shrub, 1-10 m tall, d.b.h. 6-7 cm; stilt roots or buttresses absent. Indumentum of simple hairs; old leafless branches glabrous, young foliate branches densely pubescent. Leaves: petiole 2-4 mm long, 1-2 mm in diameter, densely pubescent, cylindrical, blade inserted on top of the petiole; blade 7-24 cm long, 3-6.5 cm wide, obovate, apex acuminate to acute, acumen 0.3-0.7 cm long, base obtuse to acute, papyraceous, below pubescent when young, glabrous when old, above glabrous when young and old, discolorous, whitish below; midrib impressed, above pubescent when young and old, below densely pubescent when young, densely pubescent when old; secondary veins 15 to 23 pairs, glabrous above; tertiary venation percurrent. Individuals bisexual; inflorescence cauliflorous, axillary, peduncle-like base not apparent, axial internodes absent, compact in aspect, sympodial rachis 5-20 mm long. Flowers with 9 perianth parts in 3 whorls; 1 per inflorescence; pedicel 4-6 mm long, ca. 2 mm in diameter, densely pubescent; in fruit 11-13 mm long, ca. 3 mm in diameter, tomentose; basal bract ca. 3 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide; upper bract ca. 3 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide; sepals 3, valvate, free, ca. 5 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide, ovate, apex acute, base truncate, brown, pubescent outside, glabrous inside, margins flat; petals free, outer petals shorter than inner; outer petals 3, ca. 11 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm wide, ovate, apex acute, base truncate, light yellow, margins flat, pubescent outside, glabrous inside; inner petals 3, valvate, 20-40 mm long, 4-10 mm wide, ovate, apex acute, base truncate, margins wavy, pubescent outside, sparsely pubescent to glabrous inside; stamens 100 to 120, in 6 to 7 rows, 1 mm long, broad; connective discoid, glabrous, red; staminodes absent; carpels free, 1 to 4, ovary ca. 2 mm long, stigma globose, sparsely pubescent. Monocarps sessile, 1 to 3, ca. 45 mm long, ca. 20 mm in diameter, ellipsoid to ovoid, apex cuspidate, pubescent, smooth, fleshy, white when ripe; seeds 5 per monocarp, ca. 13 mm long, ca. 5 mm in diameter, ellipsoid; aril absent.

Distribution.

A mainly West African species from Liberia to Togo and Nigeria; in Cameroon known from the South and South-West regions.

Habitat.

In the understory of primary and secondary rain forests on granitic and clay soils. Altitude 100-700(-1300) m a.s.l.

Local and common names known in Cameroon.

None recorded.

IUCN conservation status.

Least Concern (LC) ( Cosiaux et al. 2019a g).

Uses in Cameroon.

None reported.

Notes.

Piptostigma fugax resembles P. oyemense in having a single-flowered inflorescence and flowers with 1 to 3(4) carpels, a unique combination of characters in Piptostigma . However, P. fugax has obovate leaf blades, while P. oyemense has elliptic leaf blades.

Specimens examined.

South Region: Campo Ma'an National Park 11 km on trail from Ebinanemeyong village on road 7 km from Nyabessan to Campo town , 2.52°N, 10.32°E, 11 February 2015, Couvreur T.L.P. 681 (WAG,YA); Campo Ma'an National Park 11 km on trail from Ebinanemeyong village on road 7 km from Nyabessan to Campo town , 2.49°N, 10.34°E, 12 February 2015, Couvreur T.L.P. 693 (WAG,YA). South-West Region: Ekundu Kundu to Erat ca 25 km, 5.13°N, 8.869°E, 26 April 1996, Cheek M. 8198 (K,WAG,YA); Edensueh forest, 5.25°N, 9.576°E, 30 November 2000, Etuge M. 4853 (K,YA) .

Figures

Map 10. A Monodora myristica B Monodora tenuifolia C Monodora undulata D Monodora zenkeri E Neostenanthera myristicifolia F Neostenanthera neurosericea G Neostenanthera robsonii H Piptostigma calophyllum I Piptostigma fugax. White borders represent region limits in Cameroon; green patches represent protected areas (see methods and Suppl. material 1: Fig. S 1).

Figure 86. Piptostigma calophyllum A habit B base of leaf blade, lower side, note numerous secondary veins C base of leaf blade, upper side D base of leaf blade, lower side E flowering branch F detail of receptacle, note numerous carpels G detail of lower part of flower. Piptostigma fugax H habit I flower, note single flowered inflorescence A-G Couvreur 1167 b, Mapubi, Cameroon H, I Couvreur 681, Campo Ma'an, Cameroon. Photos Thomas L. P. Couvreur.