Capurodendron schatzii L. Gaut. & Naciri, 2018

Gautier, Laurent & Naciri, Yamama, 2018, Three Critically Endangered new species of Capurodendron (Sapotaceae) from Madagascar, Candollea 73 (1), pp. 121-129 : 122-124

Capurodendron schatzii L. Gaut. & Naciri , spec. nova ( Fig. 1 , 2 ).

Holotypus: MADAGASCAR. Prov. Antsiranana: Reg. SAVA, Remnant forest c. 1.5 km W of Cap Est, 15°16’26”S 50°27’27”E, 30 m, 23.I.1999, fl., Schatz et al. 3786 ( G [ G00418686 ]! ; iso-: MO [ MO-2163813 ], P [ P04570980 ] image seen, TAN, S!).

Capurodendron schatzii L. Gaut. & Naciri differs from C. antongiliense Aubrév. by its flat leaf blades (vs bullate), its 8-10 pairs of secondary veins merely proeminent below (vs 12-16, strongly raised below), presence of intersecondaries, 6 mm long staminodes (vs 3 mm) and 3 mm long anthers (vs 2 mm).

Tree, 15-20 m tall, 45 cm DBH, with white latex; ultimate twigs 8 mm in diam., brown-villous and rugose, with numerous scars of fallen leaves and pedicels, with red slash. Leaves coriaceous and persistent, alternate, spirally arranged at the end of the shoots; petiole 25-30 × 2.2-2.8 mm, rusty pubescent; blade ovate to obovate, base cuneate, apex obtuse to rounded, 12-20 × 4.8-9.5 cm, upper side glossy dark green when fresh, drying brown-grey, glabrous except for the brownish-pubescent midrib; lower side lighter green when fresh, drying rusty brown, glabrous except for midrib and secondaries; primary vein prominent below, level above, rusty-brown pubescent; 8-10 pairs of brochidodromous secondaries, ascending with an angle of c. 70°, and arching, forking at ¾ of the distance to margin and anastomosing with previous and following secondaries; intersecondaries present; tertiary venation laxly reticulate. Flowers clustered below the leaves; flowering pedicels 12 × 1.2 mm, densely brown-villous. Sepals 5, quincuncial, broader then long, apex obtuse; the two outer ones 9 × 12 mm, convex, glabrous inside and densely brown-villous outside, the three inner ones 8 × 8 mm, slightly keeled, glabrous inside and densely brown-villous outside except for a glabrous 1 mm margin, ciliolate on the edge. Corolla gamopetalous with 5 lobes, glabrous, tube 3.8 mm long, lobes lanceolate, 7.0 × 2.3 mm, contorted in bud, spreading at anthesis. Stamens 5, filaments 2.2 mm long, attached to the top of the corolla tube; anthers pair medifixed, extrorse to latrorse, 3.0 × 1.4 mm at the broadest, connective prolonged in a short 0.3 mm mucro. Staminodes 5, alternate with respect to petals and stamens, 6 × 1.5 mm, densely villous with golden trichomes, carnose, connivent and concealing the ovary. Ovary 5-lobed, 2.0 mm high x 3.5 mm broad, densely hirsute with brownish trichomes, with 5 ovules, style 10-11 mm long, 0.6 mm diameter, glabrous, slightly 5-fluted, stigma faintly 5-lobed. Fruiting pedicels 20-25 × 1.8 mm, densely brown-villous, with a persistent calyx. Fruit at immature stage ovoid, 20-25 × 10-13 mm, mostly glabrous but with a pubescent apex with a 1.5-2 mm persistent style base; apparently only one seed develops.

Etymology. – This species is dedicated to George Schatz from the Missouri Botanical Garden who collected the type specimen, in acknowledgement of his tremendous dedication to the knowledge of the flora of Madagascar.

Distribution, ecology and phenology. – Capurodendron schatzii is only known from two collections in the Eastern part of the Masoala Peninsula, region SAVA, Madagascar ( Fig. 3 ), in the Eastern Phytogeographic Domain ( HUMBERT, 1955). It is a medium to large tree growing in primary lowland moist evergreen forest and in the littoral forest. The flowering specimen was collected in January and the fruiting one in September.

Conservation status. – With only two locations known and an AOO of 8 km 2, one outside of the protected area network in a locality where the Lowland Evergreen Forest has been widely converted to agriculture, the other in the Masoala National Park in which forest has been widely damaged by hurricanes Hudah (2000) and Ihary (2002) and where we were not able to recover the species after the damage, C. schatzii is assigned a preliminary IUCN conservation status of “Critically Endangered” [CR B1ab(i,ii,iii)+2ab(i,ii,iii)].

Notes. – Within the large-leaved species of Capurodendron inhabiting the lowland rainforests of the Eastern Domain, C. schatzii is clearly vegetatively distinct from C. antongiliense by its leaf blades that are not bullate, by its less-numerous brochidodromous secondary veins, with intersecondaries, and its reticulate tertiary venation (vs distinctly oblique). It also differs by its larger flowers. Both species share however the same rufous pubescence on nerves, pedicels and calyx. Compared with C. apollonioides Aubrév. , the new species has much thicker terminal twigs, and its leaf blades have less numerous secondaries and have intersecondaries. Its flowers are also much larger. Capurodendron pseudoterminalia Aubrév. is a species only known by its type collection. Although its leaves may look similar to the ones of the new species, they are not coriaceous, and its flowers are much smaller and borne on long and delicate pedicels.

Paratypus. – MADAGASCAR. Prov. Antsiranana: Reg. SAVA, presqu’île Masoala, Fiv. Antalaha , Fir. Ambohitralanana , aux env. de Sahafary, à 12 km env. à l’W d’Ambohitralanana et Cap-Est, 15°17’S 50°22’E, 10.IX.1997, fr., Randrianaivo & Bernard 123 ( G, MO, P, TAN).

Figures

Fig. 1. - Capurodendron schatzii L. Gaut. & Naciri. A. Longitudinal section of flower; B. Stamen; C. Corolla opened seen from inside; D. Flowering branch; E. Transverse section of ovary; F. Young fruit; G. Flower. [Drawings: G. Loza]

Fig. 2. - Field photograph of the type collection of Capurodendron schatzii L. Gaut. & Naciri. [Photo: G.E. Schatz]

Fig. 3. - Known distribution of (A-B) Capurodendron sahafariense L. Gaut. & Naciri (green), (A, C) C. schatzii L. Gaut. & Naciri (pink), and (A, D) C. nanophyllum L. Gaut. & Naciri (blue). Limits of protected areas in yellow. [Google Earth Images. Copyright 2018 DigitalGlobe. Reproduced per attribution guidelines]