Vitex thyrsiflora Baker

Meerts, Pierre, 2018, Synopsis of the genus Vitex (Lamiaceae) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Plant Ecology and Evolution 151 (3), pp. 380-392 : 389

17. Vitex thyrsiflora Baker

( Baker 1895: 152; 1900: 319); Pieper (1928: 54); Moldenke (1958a: 152); Huber et al. (1963: 446); Lebrun & Stork (1997: 526).

– Type: Nigeria, Interior of western Lagos, 1893, Rowland s.n. (lecto-: K barcode K 000192742, designated here) .

A liana. Twigs strongly quadrangular, hollow, myrmecophilous. Leaves 5-foliolate, petiolule 8–10 mm, lamina with a fine acumen, 7–8 pairs of secondary veins, upper surface scabrid, lower surface almost glabrous, with many yellow glands. Inflorescence of thyrses in the axils of leaves and grouped in a terminal panicle; calyx truncate, 2–3 mm, corolla whitish, 4–6 mm; fruit globose, c. 7 mm, orange to blackish, subtended by patelliform calyx.

Distribution – Wtropical Africa, from Guinea to D.R. Congo.

Note – Lectotypification of Vitex thyrsiflora Baker. Baker (1895) cites two specimens: Harrison s.n. (K barcode K000192741), and Rowland s.n. (Kbarcode K000192742). Both match the protologue. The latter is a better preserved specimen and is therefore chosen as the lectotype.