Ampelocissus asekii J. Wen, R. Kiapranis & M. Lovave, 2013

Wen, Jun, Kiapranis, Robert & Lovave, Michael, 2013, Ampelocissus asekii J. Wen, R. Kiapranis & M. Lovave, a new species of Vitaceae from Papua New Guinea, PhytoKeys 21, pp. 1-6 : 2-4

Ampelocissus asekii J. Wen, R. Kiapranis & M. Lovave sp. nov. Figs 1 -3

Type.

Papua New Guinea. Morobe Province: near Haumga, Aseki Patrol area, steep gully in secondary lower montane forest, alt. 4600 ft, liana, leaves glossy mid green above, brownish below, buds dark brown, 6 Apr 1966, L. A. Craven & R. Schodde 1219 (holotype: LAE!, accession number 143956; isotypes: A, CANB, K, L).

Description.

Liana. Young stems with dense light-brown woolly hairs. Leaves trifoliate; stipules narrowly triangular, 3-5 mm long, 2-3.5 mm wide; leaflets chartaceous, woolly pubescent with white hairs above, densely rusty woolly pubescent below, base of lateral leaflet strongly oblique, that of terminal leaflet acute, but slightly oblique, apex acute, margin sinuate-spinulose with 3-10 teeth on each side; petiole 9.5-10.5 cm long, densely woolly pubescent; blade of terminal leaflets obovate, blade of lateral leaflets unequally ovate, 13-15 cm long, 6-8 cm wide; lateral veins 5-7 on each side; petiolule 2-3 cm long, densely woolly pubescent. Tendril simple. Inflorescence ca. 35 cm long, a narrow panicle of spikes with all but one branch aggregated on the top 1/3 of the inflorescence primary axis, primary branches ca. 35, each 1-2.8 cm long, light rusty woolly pubescent, each with 6-25 flowers; peduncle ca. 10 cm long. Flowers sessile, 4 to rarely 5-merous; calyx saucer-shaped, glabrous, 0.2-0.3 mm long, 0.5-0.6 mm wide; petals oblong to ovate-oblong, glabrous, 1.0-1.3 mm long, 0.5-0.7 mm wide; floral disc adnate to ovary, grooved; stamens with filaments 0.5-0.6 mm long and ovate-oblong anthers; ovary 2-locular, styles short, 0.2-0.3 mm long. Fruits not seen.

Distribution.

The new species is only known from its type locality in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.

Ecology.

Mid montane forests. Fl. Apr; elevation at ca. 1500 m.

Etymology.

This species is named after the type locality, the Aseki Patrol area in Morobe Province.

The new species is closely related to Ampelocissus muelleriana , another endemic from New Guinea. They differ in the highly distinctive brown woolly hairs on the lower leaflet surface, the acute leaflet apex and the chartaceous leaflet texture in the new species (vs. with tufts of rusty hairs in the axils of veins on the lower surface, acuminate leaflet apex, and thin chartaceous to membranaceous leaflet texture in Ampelocissus muelleriana ). The new species occurs in the mid montane zone, whereas Ampelocissus muelleriana grows in the lowland rain forests in East Sepik, Madang and Morobe of Papua New Guinea as well as in West Papua of Indonesia.

Below we provide a key to all four Ampelocissus species in New Guinea

1a	Leaves simple or pedately compound, inflorescence a thyrse with pedicellate flowers	2
2a	Leaves simple	Ampelocissus arachnoidea
2 b	Leaves pedate with (5-) 7-9 (-11) leaflets	Ampelocissus acetosa
1b	Leaves trifoliate, inflorescence a panicle with spicate inflorescence units (sessile or nearly sessile flowers)	3
3a	Lower leaflet surface densely rusty woolly pubescent, leaflet chartaceous in texture, in mid montane habitat	Ampelocissus asekii
3b	Lower leaflet surface with rusty hairs at the leaflet vein axils, leaflet thin chartaceous or membranaceous; in lowland rain forest habitat	Ampelocissus muelleriana
Ampelocissus arachnoidea is tentatively included in the key.

Figures

Figure 1. Image of the holotype of Ampelocissus asekii J. Wen, R. Kiapranis & M. Lovave.

Figure 3. Micromorphology of Ampelocissus asekii J. Wen, R. Kiapranis & M. Lovave. A Floral bud showing sepals and petals B An opening floral bud C Trichomes on adaxial leaflet surface near a veinlet D Cuticle on adaxial leaflet surface E Trichomes on abaxial leaflet surface F Cuticle and a stoma on abaxial leaflet surface.