Entada rangei (Harms) S.A. O'Donnell & G.P. Lewis, 2022

O'Donnell, Shawn A., Ringelberg, Jens J. & Lewis, Gwilym P., 2022, Re-circumscription of the mimosoid genus Entada including new combinations for all species of the phylogenetically nested Elephantorrhiza (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, mimosoid clade), PhytoKeys 205, pp. 99-145 : 99

Entada rangei (Harms) S.A. O'Donnell & G.P. Lewis comb. nov.

= Elephantorrhiza suffruticosa Schinz, Mém. Herb. Boissier 8: 117. 1900, non Entada suffruticosa Vatke. 1881 [= Mimosa suffruticosa (Vatke) Drake]. Type: ANGOLA. Huila District, "Kilevi am Kunene", south of Humbe, Schinz 2071 (lectotype: Z, designated by J.H. Ross in Fl. Southern Afr. 16(1): 148. 1975).

Type.

NAMIBIA. Keetmanshoop District , Naute, near Keetmanshoop, P. Range 455 (holotype: B†; drawing: BM [BM000842180]; isotypes: BOL, NBG [SAM0073417-1, SAM0073417-2], SAM) .

Basionym.

Elephantorrhiza rangei Harms, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 49(3-4): 420. 1913.

Description.

Shrub or small tree, 1-6 m tall (Fig. 20A ). Leaves: petiole (0.6-)1.5-3.5 cm long; rachis (0.5-)10-17(-25.4) cm; pinnae (2-)15-27(-42) pairs per leaf, (1.4-)2-3.5(-6.8) cm long, with (17-)27-40(-50) pairs of leaflets; leaflets 3-7.5 × 0.4-1.2 mm, linear-oblong to linear, apex obtuse to acute, asymmetric and often mucronate, base oblique with proximal margin rounded, mid-rib marginal throughout or more rarely running from the distal corner of the leaflet base to the apex centre, lamina glabrous (Fig. 20B, C ). Inflorescence: an axillary spiciform raceme, (4-)6-14(-18) cm long, 1-3 per axil or borne on short lateral shoots, rachis pubescent or sometimes glabrous (Fig. 20C ). Flowers: yellowish-white, golden yellow or cream-coloured; pedicels 1 mm long, articulated near the middle, with minute reddish, reddish-brown or pale yellow glands at the base of the pedicels; calyx cupular, 1 mm long, shallowly toothed, glabrous; petals 3-3.75 mm long; stamen filaments 5 mm long. Fruit: a laterally compressed, straight to slightly curved craspedium, 8.5-30.5 × 1.8-2.25 cm, transverse veins usually prominent, lacking transverse septa between seeds, thus leaving the valves to separate from the replum intact upon ripening, the epicarp of both valves peeling away from the endocarp; umbonate over seeds (Fig. 20D ). Seeds: ellipsoid, 13-15 × 9-12 mm.

Distribution.

Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique.

Habitat and ecology.

Woodland and grassland, often in rocky areas; 1050-2130 m alt.

Note.

Elephantorrhiza rangei Harms was treated as a distinct species by Ross (1975a), although with some hesitation because the species was known only from the type locality and displays considerable variation in leaflet size, even on a single branch. Ross also noted that it "bears a superficial resemblance to Elephantorrhiza suffruticosa Schinz." Plants of the World Online (POWO) places Elephantorrhiza rangei as a synonym of Elephantorrhiza suffruticosa Schinz, but when transferred to the genus Entada , the epithet Entada suffruticosa cannot be used because the name Entada suffruticosa Vatke (1881, p. 108), for a Madagascan species (a synonym of Mimosa suffruticosa (Vatke) Drake), already exists.

Figures

Figure 20. Entada rangei habit, vegetative and reproductive structures. A erect shrub, Namibia (photo: A Dreyer, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) B short shoot and adaxial view of mature leaves, Namibia (photo: A Dreyer, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) C spiciform racemes of open flowers amongst young leaves, Namibia (photo: A Dreyer, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) D mature pods, Namibia (photo: A Dreyer, Dressler et al. (2014 a)).