Diospyros retrofracta Bakh.

Meeprom, Nattanon, Duangjai, Sutee, Utteridge, Timothy M. A., Culham, Alastair & Puglisi, Carmen, 2024, Notes on South-East Asian Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae, Ericales): commonly misidentified species in mainland South-East Asia, European Journal of Taxonomy 932, pp. 225-251 : 238-239

Diospyros retrofracta Bakh.

Figs 4E–H , 5 , 6

Gardens’ Bulletin Straits Settlements 7 (2): 183 ( Bakhuizen van den Brink 1933).

– Type: THAILAND • Lower Siam, Pungah [Phang-nga]; 7 Dec. 1918; Haniff & Nur 3984; lectotype: BO [1 sheet without barcode]!, designated by De Kok & Puglisi (2021); isolectotype: K [ K000792535 ]! .

Bakhuizen van den Brink (1938: 361; 1955: pl. 89, fig. 1); Fletcher (1938: 378).

Diospyros bejaudii Lecomte , Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, séries 2 1: 430 ( Lecomte 1929).

Lecomte (1930: 936); Phengklai (1978: 90, fig. 53; 1981: 378, fig. 53); Pham-Hoang (1991: 812; 1999: 643); Nguyen (1996: 63); Gardner et al. (2015: 488, 688); Tagane et al. (2018: 50).

Description

Tree, up to 30 m tall. Twigs white or grey, glabrous. Bark dark grey, scaly, inner bark brown, sapwood creamy white. Leaves ovate, elliptic-ovate, elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, 5–11 × 2.5–5 cm, base rounded, apex acute-obtuse, blade coriaceous, glabrous on both sides; lateral veins 8–11 on each side, arched and sometimes anastomosing near the margin, tertiary veins distinctly reticulate (areolate); petiole 0.5– 1 cm long, glabrous. Male inflorescences axillary or subterminal, few-flowered fascicle. Male flowers subsessile, scented. Calyx campanulate or short-tubular, hairy outside, glabrous inside; lobes 4, divided ⅓ of the way to the base, broadly triangular, valvate, 1–2 mm long, apex acute. Corolla white, tubular when closed, salverform when opened, 0.8–1.5 cm long, sericeous outside, glabrous inside; lobes 4, divided ⅓ of the way to base, ovate, 3–4 mm long, twisted, spreading or revolute. Stamens 12; filaments short, anthers sagittate. Rudimentary ovary present, sericeous. Female flowers axillary or subterminal, solitary, subsessile. Calyx campanulate, hairy on both sides; lobes 4, rarely 5, divided halfway to ⅔ of the way to the base, broadly ovate or heart-shaped, valvate, erect, not spreading or reflexed, 4–5 mm long, apex acute, slightly curved outward, margin sometimes undulate. Corolla tubular when closed, opened corolla not seen, sericeous outside. Ovary ovoid, sericeous. Fruits solitary, subglobose, oblate and depressed at both ends, 1.5–2.5 × 2–3 cm, glabrous, light green when young, covered by brownish or golden hairs. Fruiting calyx brown, accrescent and hardened, 1.5–2.5 cm in diam., hairy on both sides; lobes 4, rarely 5, divided ⅓ of the way to halfway to the base, strongly reflexed. Seeds 4, commonly abortive, 1.2–1.5 × 0.7–0.9 cm; endosperm ruminate.

Distribution

MYANMAR • Tanintharyi [Tagane et al. MY293 ( KYO, RAF, TNS)] ( Tagane et al. 2018).

CAMBODIA • Kampong Cham [Bejaud s.n. ( P ( P04569441 , P04569443 , P04569444 , P04569446 ))], ‘ Tonlap ( Krek )’ [Bejaud, 6 ( P), 26 ( P), 812 ( P)] .

LAOS • Champasak [Tagane et al. L2418 ( KAG)] .

THAILAND • Chonburi [Collins 1267 ( K), Maxwell 93-830 ( BKF), Puudjaa 595 ( BKF)], Krabi [Gardner ST2163 ( BKF), Kerr 19394 ( K)], Mukdahan [Wongprasert 981020 ( BKF)], Nakhon Nayok [Koyoma T-30227 ( BKF)], Nakhon Si Thammarat [Thavorn 275 ( K, P)], Phang-nga [Haniff 3894 ( K), Shimizu T-29213 ( BKF)], Phetchaburi [Kerr 10718 ( K), 11001 ( K), 11093 ( K), Middleton 902 ( BKF, E, K), 911 ( BKF, E, K)], Prachuap Khiri Khan [Larsen 33669 ( BKF, P), 33674 ( P), 33689 ( P), 33708 ( P), 33721 ( BKF, P), Newman 1176 ( BKF, E), Santisuk 555 ( BKF, K)], Ranong [Middleton 3819 ( BKF, E, K)], Rayong [Phonsena 5542 ( BKF)], Saraburi [Maxwell 05-463 ( BKF)], Si Sa Ket [Pooma 6071 ( K)], Surat Thani [Gardner ST1964 ( BKF, K), ST1966 ( BKF), Kerr 11174 ( K), 12697 ( K), 12697A ( K), Middleton 1497 ( E, K), Niyomdham 1276 ( BKF, K, P), Pooma 3553 ( BKF, K)], Trang [Kerr 19108 ( K)] .

VIETNAM • Dong Nai [Pierre 1289 ( P), Poilane 19626 ( K, P), 21337 ( P)] .

PENINSULAR MALAYSIA • Kelantan [Whitmore FRI4233 ( K, KEP, L)], Perak [Ng FRI5841 ( K, KEP, L)] . Fig. 6 .

Additional material

Photographs of D. bejaudii in Gardner et al. (2015) well illustrate the fresh characters of D. retrofracta .

Ecology

Diospyros retrofracta is commonly found on limestone hills, sometimes along streams, at 50–350 m elevations ( Fig. 6 ).

Figures

Fig. 4. A–D. Diospyros bejaudii Lecomte. A. Male flowers. B. Female calyx and corolla. C. Twig with leaves. D. Fruit (Put 3161 K[K001361559]). E–H. D. retrofracta Bakh. E. Male flower (Kerr 10718 K[K001361567]). F. Remaining calyx of female flower (Kerr 12697A K[K001361574]). G. Twigs with leaves and fruits. H. Fruits. Photographed by N. Meeprom and S. Duangjai.

Fig. 5. Isolectotype of D. retrofracta Bakh. (Haniff & Nur 3984 K[K000792535]) (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2022).

Fig. 6. Occurrence of D. bejaudii Lecomte (Z) and D. retrofracta Bakh. (A) in mainland South-East Asia.