Uvariodendron angustifolium (Engl. & Diels) R.E.Fr., Acta Horti Berg. 10: 58 (1930)

Dagallier, Leo-Paul M. J., Mbago, Frank M., Couderc, Marie, Gaudeul, Myriam, Grall, Aurelie, Loup, Caroline, Wieringa, Jan J., Sonke, Bonaventure & Couvreur, Thomas L. P., 2023, Phylogenomic inference of the African tribe Monodoreae (Annonaceae) and taxonomic revision of Dennettia, Uvariodendron and Uvariopsis, PhytoKeys 233, pp. 1-200 : 1

Uvariodendron angustifolium (Engl. & Diels) R.E.Fr., Acta Horti Berg. 10: 58 (1930)

Figs 7E-J , 8

≡ Uvaria angustifolia Engl. & Diels, Notizbl. Königl. Bot. Gart. Berlin 2: 295 (1899); Uva angustifolia (Engler & Diels) Kuntze, Deutsche Bot. Monatsschr. xxi. 173 (1903). Type. Cameroon - South-West Region • A. Staudt 742a (holotype: B! (B 10 0153115)), Johann Albrechts-Höhe; 4°10'N, 9°12'E; alt. 400 m; 20 Mar. 1896.

Description.

Shrub to tree 3-12 m tall, D.B.H. unknown; young branches sparsely pubescent to glabrous, old branches glabrous; plant with strong aromatic smell. Leaves with strong lemon smell when crushed. Petiole 3-7.5 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, pubescent to glabrous. Leaf lamina 100-199 mm long, 30-58 mm wide, length:width ratio 3-4, narrowly elliptic, coriaceous, base acute to cuneate, apex acute to broadly acuminate, acumen 11-14 mm long; surface above glabrous, surface below pubescent to glabrous when young, pubescent at base to glabrous when old; midrib slightly impressed above, raised below, glabrous above, pubescent to glabrous below; secondary veins 8-14 pairs, weakly brochidodromous, slightly impressed above, raised below; tertiary veins reticulate. Inflorescences borne on trunk and branches, composed of 1 (sub)sessile flower. Flower pedicel 0-6 mm long, 2-3 mm in diameter, velutinous. Flowers bisexual, buds globose, sessile to shortly pedicellate, 5-8 mm high, 6-8 mm in diameter, sericeous. Bracts 1 to 6, upper bract 6-11 mm long, 9-15 mm wide, ovate, appressed, enclosing the bud, sericeous outside, glabrous inside. Sepals 3, 9-13 mm long, 9-13 mm wide, fused at base, slightly imbricate at mid-length, sericeous outside, glabrous inside, color unknown. Outer petals 3, 15-25 mm long, 9-15 mm wide, length:width ratio 1.13-1.78, elliptic to oblong, velutinous outside, glabrous inside, yellowish brown outside, crimson with cream margins inside. Inner petals 3, 15-22 mm long, 5-10 mm wide, length:width ratio 1.9-3, obovate, velutinous outside, glabrous inside, yellowish brown outside, crimson with cream margins inside. Stamens 200 to 300, 3-3.5 mm long, 0.1-0.5 mm wide, anthers linear, connective prolongation truncate. Carpels 7 to 30, 3-4.5 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, pubescent, free; stigma 1-2 mm long, 0.8-1.5 mm wide, coiled, pubescent, covered with an exudate at anthesis. Fruiting pedicel ca. 5 mm long, 3.5 mm in diameter, pubescent. Monocarps 2 to 10, 23-40 mm long, 17-30 mm wide, length:width ratio ca 1.3, ellipsoid, smooth, sparsely pubescent to glabrous, yellow, with strong lemon smell; shortly stipitate, stipe 1-3.5 mm long, 1-2.5 mm wide, pubescent. Seeds 9 to 18 per monocarp, biseriate, 21 to 28 mm long, ca. 10 mm wide, 2-4 mm thick, semicircular.

Distribution.

Endemic to Upper Guinean Domain and Lower Guinean Domain of the Guineo-Congolian Region: Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria. This species has also been reported in Benin ( Bada Amouzoun et al. 2019), but no herbarium specimen was associated with this study. Its presence in Benin can thus not be confirmed.

Habitat and ecology.

Lowland mature or secondary rain forests. Altitude: 152-400 m a.s.l.

Phenology.

Flowers collected from February to March and November to December. Fruits collected from January to May.

Vernacular names.

Ghana: 'Esuno Kodu’ or 'Bomborgo Kodu’ in Ashanti (Vigne 1610).

Uses.

The fruits are used to flavour the soup (Jones FHI 3480).

Notes.

This species can be easily distinguished from the other Uvariodendron species by its narrowly elliptic leaves. It also emits a strong citrus scent when fresh, a characteristic shared with other Annonaceae species: Uvariodendron citriodorum (Le Thomas) Dagallier & Couvreur and Uvariopsis citrata Couvreur & Niangadouma.

Preliminary conservation status.

This species is distributed from Cameroon to Ivory Coast. Its EOO is estimated at 186,201 km2 and its AOO at 52 km2. It occurs in ca. 10 locations, but the last collection dates back more than 20 years and two thirds of the collections are older than 50 years, suggesting a decline in the number of locations and in AOO. We thus assign a preliminary conservation status of Vulnerable VU under criterion B2ab(ii,iv).

Additional specimens examined.

Cameroon - Central Region • R.W.J. Keay FHI37524 (FHI, K), between Bafia and Likoko ; 4°21'N, 9°18'E; 05 Feb. 1958 - South-West Region • D.W. Thomas 6087 (MO, YA); Meme, Vicinity of Lake Barombi, Kumba ; 4°39'N, 9°24'E; alt. 300 m; Apr. 1986 • D.W. Thomas 7018 (YA), Cocoa farms along the road between Konye and Bakole ; 4°39'N, 9°25'E; alt. 300 m; 25 May. 1987 - Unknown major area • A. Staudt 642 (BM, G, K), Kumba ; 4°38'N, 9°25'E; 1896 . Ghana - Ashanti Region • C. Vigne 1610 (K, P), Pra River , ashanti; 6°33'54.36"N, 0°57'21.6"E; alt. 152 m; Feb. 1929 - Western Region • N.K. Lovi 3964 (K, P), New Tafo E.P; 6°13'N, 0°22'E; 03 Dec. 1954 . Ivory Coast - Bouaflé • C.C.H. Jongkind 4368 (IAGB, MO, WAG), Parc National de la Marahoue; 7°02'N, 6°06'W; alt. 270 m; 13 Feb. 1998 - Daoukro • A.J.B. Chevalier s.n (P), Morénou: environs du poste de Bangouanou; 6°39'N, 4°12'W; 26 Nov. 1909 . Nigeria - Edo State • B.O. Daramola 94/337 (K, MO), Iyekoriomwon , Edo State, about 35 kilometers from Uyo (Ugo?); 6°05'19.05"N, 6°00'04.46"E; 09 Jan. 1994 - Ondo State • A.P.D. Jones FHI3480 (K); Owo District, Owo forest reserve about 4 miles North of Igbatoro crossing; 5°33'36.36"N, 6°56'06"E; 19 Apr. 1943 • F. Anakwense FHI19702 (K); Akure, Akure Forest Reserve ; 7°19'N, 5°02'E; 11 Dec. 1950 - Oyo State • D. Gledhill 817 (K); Ibadan District, Gambari Forest Reserve ; 7°08'N, 3°50'E; 02 Feb. 1968 .

Figures

Figure 7. Uvariodendron connivens (Benth.) R. E. Fr. A leaf B flower, two outer and one inner petal removed C outer petal inner view D stamen, front view. Uvariodendron angustifolium (Engl. & Diels) R. E. Fr. E leaves F flower, semi top view G flower, bottom view showing bracts H flower, bottom view, bracts removed I outer petal, outer view J stamen, front view K carpel, front view and detail of ovules. A-D from Mann 1159 A-K from Vigne 1610. Drawings by Helene Lamourdedieu, Publications Scientifiques du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris.

Figure 8. Distribution map of Uvariodendron angustifolium. Shades of grey represent elevation, from white (sea level) to darker grey (higher elevation). The inset shows the extent of the map over Africa.