Aspidostemon percoriaceum

Werff, Henk Van Der, 2006, A revision of the Malagasy endemic genus Aspidostemon Rohwer & Richter (Lauraceae), Adansonia (3) 28 (1), pp. 7-44 : 38

23. Aspidostemon percoriaceum

(Kosterm.) Rohwer ( Fig. 14C )

Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 109: 75 (1987) . — Cryptocarya percoriacea Kosterm. , Bulletin du Jardin botanique de l’État 27: 182 (1957). — Type: Madagascar, Antetezana , Foulpointe, [17°47’S, 49°29’E], 21.VI.1950, fr., Service Forestier 1983 (holo-, P; iso-, MO, P).

DESCRIPTION

Tree of unknown size. Twigs terete, glabrous, lenticellate; terminal buds glabrous. Leaves opposite, 7-13 × 2.5-5 cm, elliptic to broadly elliptic, glabrous, coriaceous or firmly chartaceous, the base acute, apex bluntly acuminate, acumen c. 5 mm long, margin flat, the upper surface more or less shiny, reticulation immersed, lower surface with weakly raised reticulation; lateral veins c. 10; petioles 7- 10 mm long, canaliculate. Inflorescences and flowers not known. Old floral remains with short, broad tepals, much shorter than long; stamens 6, much wider than long, locelli apical, large; staminodia III with a large, flattened tip, these fused into a shield; stamens and staminodia papillose. Infructescences 5 mm long, glabrous. Fruits narrowly ellipsoid, 20 × 8 mm, smooth, crowned with floral remnants.

REMARKS

Aspidostemon percoriaceum is best recognized by its rather broad leaves with a blunt acumen. Nearly all mature leaves are at least 4 cm wide. In most species of Aspidostemon the tip of the fruit with the floral remnants is much smaller in diameter than the fruit itself, but in A. percoriaceum the tip of the fruit is c. 5 mm in diameter, not much smaller than the fruit itself. Kostermans (1957) cited a second collection, Service Forestier 10934, under A. percoriaceum . This specimen has densely pubescent terminal buds and belongs to a different species. The only known collection is from the E coast ( Fig. 15 ). Vernacular names and altitudnal distribution have not been recorded.

PHENOLOGY

Fruits: June.

Figures

FIG. 14. — Species of Aspidostemon Rohwer & Richter: A, A. occultum Van der Werff; B, A. parvifolium (Scott-Elliott) Van der Werff; C, A. percoriaceum (Kosterm.) Rohwer; D, A. perrieri (Danguy) Rohwer. A, Service Forestier 28709, MO; B, McPherson 14362, MO; C, Service Forestier 1983, MO; D, Thouvenot 115, MO.

FIG. 15. — Distribution of Aspidostemon Rohwer & Richter in Madagascar: Ϙ, A. microphyllum Van der Werff; Ϙ, A. parvifolium (Scott-Elliott) Van der Werff; ■, A. percoriaceum (Kosterm.) Rohwer; ▲, A. perrieri (Danguy) Rohwer.