Kermadecia elliptica Brongn. & Gris

Hopkins, Helen C. F. & Pillon, Yohan, 2019, Kermadecia brinoniae (Proteaceae: Macadamieae), a new species from New Caledonia previously confused with K. elliptica, Candollea 74 (1), pp. 85-92 : 90-91

Kermadecia elliptica Brongn. & Gris in Bull. Soc. Bot. France 10: 228

( Fig. 1L–M ).

Lectotypus (designated here): NEW CALEDONIA. Prov. Nord: “ Balade ”, 1855–1860, Vieillard 1104 ( P [ P00607467 ]! ; isolecto-: P [ P00607468 ]!).

Trees to 10 m tall, trunk to 40 cm diameter. Young twigs 4–6 mm diameter, with a dense covering of minute, light ferruginous trichomes (turning straw-coloured when old), these also present on very young adult leaves, quickly or slowly glabrescent. Older twigs 5–7 mm diameter, glabrous, bearing pale lenticels and somewhat prominent heart-shaped to circular leaf scars. Bark light brown and somewhat rough (MacKee 17744). Leaves in seedlings unknown. Leaves in more advanced juvenile stages (based on Vieillard 1104 p.p.) imparipinnate, petiolate; petiole to 8–12 cm long, 2–3 mm in diameter near the base, slender, finely hairy to glabrous. Lateral leaflets 4–6, opposite or alternate, shortly petiolulate (petiolule ≤ 5 mm) to subsessile; blades oblong-elliptic, increasing in size distally along the rachis from 4 × 1.8 cm to 11.5 × 4 cm, base asymmetric, usually oblique, apex acute to obtuse, margins entire, glabrous on both surfaces, ± coriaceous. Terminal leaflet ovate or markedly asymmetric with a large lobe prefiguring a lateral leaflet, symmetric leaflets c. 15 × 8.5 cm. Leaves in adult plants simple, petiolate; petioles 3–8 cm long, pulvinate at the base, terete above, with longitudinal striations, either glabrous or with a dense indumentum of minute, light ferruginous to straw-coloured, curled trichomes especially towards the base, glabrescent; blades elliptic, 6.5–12.5(– 16) × 3.7– 7(– 8.5) cm, rounded or broadly obtuse at the base and often somewhat unequal, rounded or obtuse towards the apex (sometimes damaged), apex minutely retuse, margins somewhat irregular, sinuate (or sometimes coarsely toothed); secondary veins 5–6(– 9) on either side of midrib, sometimes a few less well developed than others, angle to midrib 40–50° in mid-part of leaf; venation brochidodromous; abaxial surface said to be light green when fresh but commonly drying light brown, glabrous throughout, midrib prominent especially towards the base, secondary veins slightly prominent, tertiary and higher order veins flat or almost so in dried material; adaxial surface said to be dark shiny green when fresh, drying mid-green, sometimes with blotches of yellow-green, glabrous throughout, midrib, secondary and other venation ± flat, areoles usually clearly visible in dried material. Inflorescence: axes proximal to the leaves, arising singly or in pairs on woody stems 1–1.5 cm diameter, each axis 18–25 cm long × 4 mm diameter just above the basal attachment (which is broader), somewhat ridged longitudinally, unbranched, erect or somewhat spreading, the flowers either all opening simultaneously or the basal flowers opening first; pairs of free pedicels or their scars ± evenly spaced along the entire length of the axis, almost to its base; pedicels 8–9 mm long (– 13 mm soon after flowering) × 1 mm diameter, terete, arising in collateral pairs (rarely singly or pedicels fused in pairs), each pedicel subtended by a small bract, or bracts fused in pairs; pedicels oblique at their distal end, c. 2.5 mm longer on one side than the other; axis and pedicels covered by a dense indumentum of minute, curled, light ferruginous trichomes. Flowers: buds on the point of opening 15–18 mm long, unequal and expanded at the base especially on one side, then forming a narrow tube above (10–12 × 1.5 mm), and distal part globose (4 × 4 mm); apical lobes of tepals thick, each bearing a single anther with 2 thecae on the inner surface; outer surface of tepals covered by a dense indumentum of minute, ferruginous or straw-coloured, curled trichomes, inner surface glabrous except along margins and drying reddish black except for the lobes which have a paler, granular surface; post anthesis, tepals splitting apart to the base of the flower, spoon-shaped, all reflexed and/or somewhat curled; anthers c. 2 × 1 mm, thecae dehiscing longitudinally, connective minutely prolonged at one or both ends; disc semi-circular or crescent-shaped around the base of the ovary, well developed on the side of the flower where the pedicel is shorter, lacking on the side where the pedicel is longer, glabrous, drying almost black; ovary cylindrical-conical, 4.5 × 1.5 mm, gradually tapering into the style, outer surface with a dense indumentum of ferruginous trichomes, somewhat less curled than on the outer surface of the tepals; style 12–14 mm long, furrowed longitudinally when dry, hairy towards the base and glabrous above, drying almost black, straight or slightly curved, distal 2 mm forming a ± clavate, densely hairy pollen presenter. Fruits (based on Pillon 1171): epicarp smooth; fruit c. 4.7 × 2.8 cm, obovate and inequilateral in lateral view, evenly curved along the ventral line, more markedly curved along the dorsal line and slightly angled distally; base cuneate with attachment scar oblique; blunt towards the apex with a small mucro (remnant of the style-base) located towards the ventral margin; shape in cross-section not determined.

Distribution, habitat and phenology. – Kermadecia elliptica is endemic to Grande Terre, New Caledonia and occurs in the north-east and central parts of the island ( Fig. 2 ), in forest on non-ultramafic substrates.

Buds have been collected in December, flowers in August and September, and mature fruits in March, but further collections are needed with the precise date of collection.

Notes. – VIROT (1968) remarked on the similarity between Kermadecia “ elliptica ” (including K. brinoniae ) and K. rotundifolia , and the need to have specimens with inflorescences and mature flowers in order to distinguish between them. Both K. elliptica and K. rotundifolia have glabrous or almost glabrous leaves in which the tertiary and quaternary venation are scarcely raised to ± flat on the abaxial surface and the leaf bases are rounded or obtuse to slightly cordate (rarely distinctly cordate in K. rotundifolia ). Kermadecia elliptica is distinguished from K. rotundifolia , with which it is sympatric, by the main inflorescence axes, which are usually branched (i.e. a panicle of racemes of flower-pairs) in K. rotundifolia and unbranched (a simple raceme of flower-pairs) in K. elliptica . However, the field notes of McPherson 2977 from Mt Panié state that both branched and unbranched inflorescences can occur on the same plant. Although VIROT (1968: 80) mentioned a few other small differences between these two species, we may eventually find that they are insufficient to retain the two as distinct.

The field notes of MacKee 17744 record the colour of the flowers in Kermadecia elliptica as very pale brown.

In the protologue of Kermadecia elliptica , BRONGNIART & GRIS (1863) gave the following information: “ Arbor; crescit in silvis montium Novae Caledoniae prope Balade (Vieillard, no 1104) ”. It is well known that Vieillard used numbers to indicate material that he considered all belonged to a single species, rather than to refer to individual gatherings, and that label data were repeatedly copied for duplicate specimens, leading to the possibility of errors and omissions.

Several sheets at P and elsewhere bear the collector’s name and number Vieillard 1104 and all those we have seen are sufficiently alike to be conspecific. However, not all are part of the type. Only material of Vieillard 1104 from Balade dated “1855– 60” can be considered as types because those specimens with labels showing they were collected in the period “1861–67” would not have been in Paris in 1863 at the time the name was published. The lectotype and isolectotype indicated above, with the locality Balade and the date 1855–1860, both have adult leaves and racemes of flowers either at anthesis or with the perianth fallen and they are sufficiently similar to each other to be considered part of the same collection.

Sheet P00607471 (ex Caen) also indicates the locality “Balade” but has no date and gives the number as “1104 = 1106”. It has adult leaves but the flowers are in bud so it is not certain that it is part of the same collection as the lectotype and thus it is excluded from being an isolectotype. Sheets P00607470 and P00607469 both consist of pinnate juvenile or regrowth leaves and old flowers. Sheets at HBG and MPU both give the locality of “Wagap” and the date “1861–67”; they have adult leaves and flowers in bud, as does a sheet at BM. These last five sheets, with the locality Wagap or without a locality, are excluded from being part of the type material.

Material of Vieillard 1106 is conspecific with 1104 but does not form part of the type. At P, this material comprises three sheets with different localities and phenology. Other sheets of Vieillard 1106 are present at G, K, and L (see additional material examined).

Additional material examined. – NEW CALEDONIA. Prov. Nord: Haute Koné , Plateau de Tango , 350 m, 17.X.1967, buds, MacKee 17744 ( K, P [2 sheets]) ; Haute Temala, Poami , 700 m, 26.VIII.1976, fl., MacKee [leg. Cherrier] 31855 ( P [2 sheets]) ; Wagap, collines de Torio , 1861 –1867, juv. lvs & fl., Vieillard 1104 ( P [ P00607470 ]) ; sine loco, s.d., juv. lvs & fl., Vieillard 1104 ( P [ P00607469 ]) ; Wagap , 1861 –1867, buds, Vieillard 1104 ( HBG [ HBG508307 ], MPU [ MPU108875 ]) ; Ad Wagap , s.d., buds & y.fr., Vieillard 1104 ( BM) ; Balade, s.d., buds, Vieillard 1104 = 1106 ( P [ P00607471 ]) ; Ad montes prope Wagap , 1864, fl., Vieillard 1106 ( P [ P00607479 ]) ; ibid. loco, 1861 –1867, old fl., Vieillard 1106 ( G, P [ P00607478 ]) ; ibid. loco, s.d., st., Vieillard 1106 ( L [ L0039609 ]) ; ibid. loco, s.d., buds, fl. & juv. lvs, Vieillard 1106 ( K [ K000736961 ]) ; Montagne de Diaue , 1855 –1860, buds, Vieillard 1106 ( P [ P00607477 ]) ; sine loco, s.d., juv. lvs & old fl., Vieillard 1106 ( K) . Prov. Sud: Col d’Amieu, Mé Aravera , 18.IX.1989, fl., MacKee [leg. Harbulot] 44619 ( NOU, P [2 sheets]) ; Col d’Amieu, 21°34'21"S 165°49'39"E, 28.III.2008, fr., Pillon et al. 1171 ( NOU).

Figures

Fig. 1. – Kermadecia brinoniae H.C. Hopkins & Pillon (A–K) and K. elliptica Brongn. & Gris (L–M). A. Vegetative shoot; B. Detail of leaf, abaxial surface, all veins raised except the finest branches, these shown as dotted lines; C. Inflorescence (total length 21.5 cm), showing flowers in pairs; D. Pair of flowers from C, each flower on a free pedicel (apex of axis to the left); E–F. Lateral and ventral view of opened flower with only one tepal remaining, to show the disc; G. Inner face of distal portion of tepal, showing a stamen; H–I. Apical and lateral views of mature fruit; J–K. L.S. and T.S. of mature fruit (black shading = very dense endocarp); L. Leaf, adaxial surface; M. Detail of L, abaxial surface, midrib and secondary veins raised, note numerous small areoles. [A–G: McPherson 1945, P; H–K: MacKee 16339, P; L–M: Vieillard 1106, K] [Drawing: Andrew Brown]

Fig. 2. – Map showing the distribution of Kermadecia brinoniae H.C. Hopkins & Pillon (open squares) and K. elliptica Brongn. & Gris (solid circles, omitting collections by Vieillard as the localities are imprecise). Areas with ultramafic substrates are shown in grey.