Uvariopsis congensis Robyns & Ghesq., Ann. Soc. Sci. Bruxelles, Ser. B liii. 317 (1933)

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

Uvariopsis congensis Robyns & Ghesq., Ann. Soc. Sci. Bruxelles, Ser. B liii. 317 (1933)

Figs 55 , 56 , 85G-M

Type.

Democratic Republic of the Congo - Kasai-Oriental • E. van der Kerkhoven s.n (lectotype, here designated: BR! (BR0000008824318)); Lusambo, Saint-Trudon [=Mombelaye]; 5°04'00.23'S, 23°28'59.88'E; alt. 475 m; 16 Aug. 1913 .

Description.

Shrub to tree 2-15 m tall, D.B.H 3-39 cm; young branches sparsely pubescent to glabrous, old branches glabrous. Petiole 2-5 mm long, 1-2.5 mm wide, glabrous. Leaf lamina 73-177 mm long, 22-77 mm wide, length:width ratio 2.1-4, elliptic to narrowly elliptic to obovate, papyraceous to coriaceous, base acute to decurrent, apex attenuate to acuminate, acumen 5-18 mm long, surface above glabrous, surface below glabrous; midrib impressed above, raised below, glabrous above, glabrous below; secondary veins 7-12 pairs, brochidodromous to weakly brochidodromous, impressed above, raised below; tertiary veins reticulate. Flowers unisexual, male and female flowers similar, on same individuals (plant monoecious). Flower buds globose. Male and female inflorescences borne on old branches or axillary, composed of 1 to 2 flowers. Peduncle inconspicuous. Flower pedicel 3-11 mm long, 0.5-1 mm in diameter, pubescent to glabrous. Bracts 1 to 4 at base and one towards the lower half of pedicel, upper bract ca. 1 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, triangular, pubescent outside, glabrous inside. Sepals 2, 0.7-1.5 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, broadly ovate, free, pubescent outside, glabrous inside, brown. Petals 4, 2.5-8 mm long, 1.5-5 mm wide, length:width ratio 1-1.7, ovate, free, pubescent to glabrate outside, glabrous inside, cream to pale orange outside, cream to yellow inside. Male flowers: stamens 300 to 400, ca. 0.5 mm long, ca. 0.2 mm wide, anthers linear, connective prolongation truncate or absent. Female flowers: carpels 20 to 40, 1.5-2 mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, pubescent, free; stigma 0.2-0.5 mm long, ca. 0.5 mm wide, globose to flat. Fruiting pedicel 5-15 mm long, 1-3 mm in diameter, pubescent to glabrous. Monocarps, 1-15, 13-45 mm long, 7-19 mm wide, length:width ratio 1.3-3.1, cylindrical, smooth to lumpy, strongly constricted between the seeds, apex rounded to slightly acuminate, glabrate to glabrous, green to orange to red when ripe (black when dry), sessile to stipitate; stipe 0-7 mm long, 1-3 mm wide, glabrous. Seeds 2-11 per monocarp, uniseriate to biseriate, 9.5-14 mm long, 7-10 mm wide, ellipsoid.

Distribution.

Element of Lower Guinean Domain and Congolia Domain of the Guineo-Congolian Region and Zambezian Region: Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Republic of the Congo, Uganda.

Habitat and ecology.

Lowland and premontane mature or secondary rain forests, often in periodically inundated forest. Altitude: 18-1000 m asl.

Phenology.

Flowers and fruits collected all year.

Vernacular names.

Central African Republic: ‘Ikuta’ (Tisserant 1504) and ‘Molo-Nzange’ (Tisserant 2136) in Lissongo.

Notes.

This species resembles Up. oligocarpa and Up. zenkeri in having elliptic leaves less than 18 cm long at maximum, with a decurrent base. It differs from Up. oligocarpa and Up. zenkeri in having more carpels (20 to 40 vs. 13 to 20 in Up. oligocarpa and 13 to 22 in Up. zenkeri ) and glabrous monocarps strongly constricted between the seeds (vs. pubescent and not constricted in Up. oligocarpa and tomentose and slightly constricted in Up. zenkeri ) (Table 6 ).

Conservation status.

This species is widespread, distributed from Cameroon to Kenya. It has been previously assessed as Least Concern LC ( Harvey-Brown 2019a).

Figures

Figure 55. Uvariopsis congensis Robyns & Ghesq A leaf, lower side B female flower, all carpels fallen, top view C male flower, stamens on the top of the receptacle fallen, semi-top view D male flower, dry, side view E female flower, three petals removed, side view F fruit, fresh, top view G fruit, dry, side view. A, F Texier 2307 B, C, G Lachenaud 1384 D Wieringa 660 E Tisserant 1363. Photos A, F Nicolas Texier (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) B, C Olivier Lachenaud (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) D, E, G Leo-Paul Dagallier.

Figure 56. Distribution map of Uvariopsis congensis. Shades of grey represent elevation, from white (sea level) to darker grey (higher elevation). The inset shows the extent of the map over Africa.

Figure 85. Uvariopsis zenkeri Engl A leaf, upper side B male flowers on brnch C male flower, one petal removed D stamen E female flower, one petal removed F carpel, front and side view, detail of ovules. Uvariopsis congensis Robyns & Ghesq. G flowering branch with male flower bud H male flower, one petal removed I stamen J flowering branch with female flower K female flower, one petal removed L carpel, side view and detail of ovules M fruit A-E from Zenker 1117 F from Zenker 63 G-L from Tisserant 1363 M from Letouzey 5494. Drawings by Helene Lamourdedieu, Publications Scientifiques du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris.