Deidamia alata Noronha ex Thouars

Gautier, Laurent & Callmander, Martin W., 2021, A synoptic revision of the genus Deidamia (Passifloraceae), Candollea 76 (2), pp. 293-297 : 294-295

Typus: Deidamia alata Noronha ex Thouars

= Thompsonia R. Br. in Trans. Linn. Soc. London: 13. 221. 1820. Typus: Thompsonia browniana M. Roem. [nom. illeg.] ( Deidamia thompsoniana DC. ).

1. Deidamia alata Thouars, Hist. Vég. Isles Austral. Afriq. : 61, tab. 20. 1805.

– Deidamia noronhiana DC., Prodr. 3: 337. 1828 [nom. illeg.].

Lectotypus (designated here): MADAGASCAR: sine loco, s.d., Noroña s.n. (P-JU no 16699 [ P06975619 ]!; isolecto-: P [ P00137322 fragm. packet]!, P-JU no 16699 [ P06975620 ]!) . Syntypus: MADAGASCAR: Reg. Atsinanana [Prov. Antsiranana]: “Foulpointe”, s.d., Thouars s.n. ( P [ P00137322 excl. fragm. packet]!; P [ P00137323 ]!) .

Distribution and ecology. – Deidamia alata is distributed from sea-level to c. 1400 m, in humid and sub-humid bioclimatic zones, in eastern and northern Madagascar. It is a liana recorded to grow up to 25 m high in lowland to medium altitude moist evergreen forest.

Conservation status. – With an EOO of 11,664 km ² and an AOO of 20 km ² (which could qualify respectively for Vulnerable or for Endangered under criterion B), Deidamia alata is known from five locations with respect to the most plausible threat which is habitat destruction for agriculture. However, although the species has seldom been collected and is probably rare and likely has a severely fragmented distribution, four out of five locations are within the protected area network (COMATSA Nord, Makirovana Tsihomanaomby, Nosy Mangabe and Tsaratanana) and no decline can be inferred. The species is therefore assessed as “Near Threatened” [NT] ( IUCN, 2012).

Notes. – The description of Deidamia alata was based on two collections from Madagascar: Noroña s.n. and Thouars s.n. Thouars collected the fruit in the Foulpointe [Mahavelona] region but was unable to collect flowers (THOUARS, 1805: 62). Back to Paris, he was able to study new collections thanks to Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu (1748–1836), among them several Noroña’s collections from Madagascar (now in P-JU) including the flowers of D. alata (THOUARS, 1805: 63) . Original material in P consists of the flowering collection made by Noroña, which is mounted on a single sheet in P-JU, and of the fruiting collection of Thouars mounted on two sheets in the general collection in P. We designate here Noroña’s flowering material in P-JU [P06975619] as the lectotype of D. alata ; the lose flowers contained in a fragment packet glued to one of Thouars’ specimens in P [P00137322] is considered as an isolectotype.