Cryptocarya conduplicata Munzinger & McPherson

Munzinger, Jérôme & McPHERSON, Gordon, 2021, Novitates neocaledonicae XII: Two additional new species of Cryptocarya R. Br. from New Caledonia, Adansonia (3) 43 (13), pp. 151-161 : 152-157

Cryptocarya conduplicata Munzinger & McPherson , sp. nov.

( Figs 1 ; 2 )

From Cryptocarya aristata , which it resembles in its typically numerous lenticels and oblate fruit, C. conduplicata , sp. nov. differs most noticeably in its leaf blades often at least partly folded longitudinally [vs blades flat], its lenticels no higher than 0.5 mm (vs 1-3 mm), and its smaller fruits (22-25 mm wide, 13-15 mm high, 10 mm thick vs 25-45 mm wide, 20-30 mm high, 20-30 mm thick); as well, its flowers are slightly smaller (tepals 1.3-1.8 mm vs 1.5-2.0 mm long, and its hypanthium distally is 1.3 mm in diameter vs 1.4-1.8 mm).

TYPUS. — New Caledonia. Province Nord, Haute Tchamba , [c. 500 m], 21°0’23”S, 165°14’35”E, fl, 16.II.2011, J. Munzinger, P. Lowry, S. Buerki, M. Callmander, I. & D. Létocart, C. Davidson & S. Christoph 6545 (holo-, P! [ P00819240 ]!, iso-, MO![6642455, 6642456], MPU! [MPU091689], NOU! [NOU052192]).

PHENOLOGY. — Flowers have been collected in November, December, and February; fruits are known from October to March (black = ripe in November, March). The flowers are noted as very fragrant (MacKee 26524).

ETYMOLOGY. — The specific epithet refers to the often somewhat folded leaves.

HABITAT. — The species grows in « forêts denses humides de basse et moyenne altitudes sur roches volcano-sédimentaires » sensu Jaffré et al. (2012), at 10-950 m.

DISTRIBUTION. — The species grows on the east side of the main island “Grande Terre”; the southernmost locality is Nakada, and the northernmost is Mandjélia ( Fig. 3 ).

CONSERVATION STATUS. — The plant is known from fourteen subpopulations, three of them in protected areas: “ Réserve de nature sauvage du massif de l’Aoupinié ” and “ Réserve de nature sauvage du mont Panié ” in the North Province, and “ Parc des Grandes Fougères ” in the South Province. The calculated EOO is 3715 km 2 and the AOO is 68 km 2. Although some subpopulations may be threatened by bushfires and/or introduced browsers, we assign Cryptocarya conduplicata , sp. nov. a preliminary status of Least Concern (LC).

VERNACULAR NAME. — Chêne gris (Sarlin 282).

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL EXAMINED. — New Caledonia. Province Nord, Diahoué, 750 m, 20°27’39.5”S, 164°40’37.58”E, fr., 14.III.2014, Butin 87 (NOU[NOU083731]); Bwe Salada, Pouébo, 580 m, 20°21’41”S, 164°31’39”E, 27.VII.2019, green fr., Fleurot 607 (MPU[MPU312701], NOU[NOU090493, NOU106704 (alc.)]); Hienghène, [20°41’29”S, 164°56’27”E], st., sin. dat. [1973], Gaillard 72 (P[P02116863]); Ponérihouen, Mont Aoupinié, 700 m, [21°10’45”S, 165°18’11”E], st, 7.IV.1981, MacKee 38927 (NOU[NOU016196], P[P02032987]); Ponérihouen, Mont Aoupinié, 700 m, [21°10’45”S, 165°18’11”E], st, 18.VIII.1981, MacKee 39466 (NOU[NOU016195], P[P02003051]); Mont Aoupinié, 500 m, [21°9’24”S, 165°19’0”E], fr., 7.X.1982, MacKee (leg. J.-F. Cherrier) 40861 (NOU[NOU016193]); Mont Colnett, forested eastern slopes, 800-925 m, 20°30’13”S, 164°42’52”E, green fr., 1.XI.2003, McPherson 19131 (MO[MO-398160], P[P02033187]); Parcelle Dawenia 1, 608 m, 20°32’26”S, 164°40’41”E, fl, 12.XI.2010, Munzinger 6263 (NOU[NOU063442], P[P06837396]); La Guen, chemin vers le plateau, parcelle 5, 700 m, [20°37’27”S, 164°46’56”E], fl, 25.XI.2010, Munzinger et al. 6481 (NOU[NOU063661], P[P06801581, P06801582]); Tchamba, 426 m, 21°0’17”S, 165°15’0”E, fl, 15.II.2011, Munzinger et al. 6534 (NOU[NOU063676], P[P00819221, P06801580]); Tchamba, 410 m, 21°0’19”S, 165°14’17”E, st, 3.X.2009, Munzinger et al. 5872 (NOU[NOU051491], WAIK); Tchamba, 500 m, 21°0’25”S, 165°14’35”E, fr, 3.X.2009, Munzinger et al. 5874 (G, MO, NSW, NOU[NOU051483, NOU054786], P[P01962723], WAIK); Tchamba, 420 m, 21°0’19”S, 165°14’57”E, st, 3.X.2009, Munzinger et al. 5882 (NOU[NOU054591], P[P00806963]); Mandjélia, 650 m, 20°24’7”S, 164°31’21”E, fr, 25.XI.2019, Munzinger et al. 8101 (MPU[MPU312601], P[P00864945]); Chutes de Tao, c. 10 m, [20°33’51”S, 164°48’10”E], fl, 14.XII.1965, Veillon 553 (MPU[MPU091624], NOU[NOU016369], P[P02006307]). — Province Sud, Col d’Amieu, Mé Ongué, 600 m, [21°36’56”S, 165°48’11”E], fl, 10.IV.1973, MacKee 26524 (MPU[MPU091634], NOU[NOU016191], P[P01961826]); Mt Nakada , c. 600 m, [21°38’47”S, 166°2’45”E], fr, 13.XI.1979, Veillon 4230 (NOU[NOU016484], P[P00555340]); Col d’Amieu, [21°36’41”S, 165°48’36”E], st, XII, Sarlin 282 (P[P05469250]). — Sin. loc., 186X [1876/1877], Lécard 162 (P[P01979814]) .

DESCRIPTION

Tree (2-) 5-30 m; diameter 20-55 cm; bark brown to pale grey, nearly smooth to somewhat rough, slightly aromatic, slash reddish ( Fig. 2A ). Terminal bud acute, appressed-pubescent with straight hairs; young stems densely pubescent with appressed, sub-persistent, straight hairs, soon roughened by the emerging lenticels; older stems abundantly lenticellate, the lenticels usually 1-3 mm long and 0.5-1 mm wide, up to 0.5 mm high. Petioles 7-15(-20) mm long, diameter 1-1.5 mm, appressed-pubescent while young, glabrescent. Blade ovate to elliptic, occasionally flat but mostly folded lengthwise at least in part (i.e. conduplicate) and drying folded or twisted, sometimes only near the apex, new leaves often appearing with the flowers, 3.5-8.8 cm long 1.7-5.1 cm wide, base broadly acute to obtuse, slightly attenuate, apex rounded or more usually slightly acuminate, the acumen typically 3-5 mm long; mature blades somewhat discolorous, often lustrous adaxially, matte and occasionally somewhat glaucous abaxially; venation pinnate, the veins 3-6(-7) per side ascending, the loops rising to within 2-3 mm of the margin; midrib flush adaxially near base, slightly sunken distally, the secondary veins visible but scarcely raised, midrib somewhat raised abaxially, the secondaries and minor veins slightly raised; young blades pubescent with minute, appressed hairs, especially abaxially, mature blades sparsely pubescent abaxially to glabrous.

Inflorescences axillary, up to 3.5 cm long, branching from or near the base, few-flowered, the axis c. 0.8 mm in diameter, pubescent with appressed to sub-ascending hairs; bracts and bracteoles minute, pubescent, deciduous; lateral flowers subsessile, central flowers obscurely pedicellate, the pedicel c. 0.5 mm long, appressed-pubescent.Flowers green-white, 2.5- 2.8 mm long, c. 2 mm in diameter when tepals erect, 4 mm when tepals spread; hypanthium 1.5 mm long, c. 1.3 mm in diameter distally, pubescent abaxially with appressed straight or slightly bent hairs, pubescent inside with long hairs toward the apex; tepals subequal, 1.3-1.8 mm × 0.6-0.8 mm, concave, ovate, apex acute to rounded, pubescent on both sides with appressed straight or slightly bent hairs; stamens in 3 whorls, those of whorls I and II introrse, those of whorl III lateral-extrorse, c. 1 mm long, filaments 0.4 mm, pubescent, anthers ovate, 0.6 mm, sparsely pubescent abaxially, connectives slightly prolonged beyond the sporangia, tip acute to rounded, glands attached to the base of the filaments of whorl III, subglobose, 0.4 mm in diameter, borne on a pubescent stalk 0.3 mm long, the staminodes triangular-ovate, flattened, long-acuminate, 0.5 mm long, subglabrous adaxially, densely pubescent abaxially, sessile; gynoecium immersed in the hypanthium, 2.8 mm long, glabrous, the ovary gradually merging into the style with small discoid stigma.

Fruit oblate-compressed, 22-25 mm wide, 13-15 mm long, 10 mm thick, black at maturity, essentially smooth, purple in cross-section.

NOTE

The species was first collected nearly a century and a half ago (a depauperate specimen, Lécard 162, dates from 1876/1877) and adequate flowering material has been available since 1965 (Veillon 553). The illustrator of the treatment in the Flore, R. Fouilloy, who was acknowledged by Kostermans for his “useful additional morphological observations”, apparently noticed that Veillon’s specimen was different from the others, as he made a complete drawing of a dissected flower (see P02006307). However, in 1976 Fouilloy finally identified the specimen as C. odorata , even though his drawing reveals some obvious differences when compared to the plate of C. odorata provided in the Flore ( Kostermans 1974); plate 9, page 49). Specimens of C. conduplicata , sp. nov. and C. aristata in the herbarium can seem quite similar, and molecular data indicate that the plants are closely related (C. Gemmill pers. comm.), but field observations, in addition to the morphological differences outlined in the diagnosis, confirm that the two entities are distinct, C. aristata tending to have uniformly erect leaves, while C. conduplicata , sp. nov. typically bears leaves diverging at wider angles. The two species can grow side by side ( Fig. 4 ), but C. conduplicata , sp. nov. is restricted to non-ultramafic substrates, while C. aristata can be found on both ultramafic and nonultramafic substrates.

This species was cited as [ Cryptocarya sp. “ aff. aristata ” (Munzinger 5874)] in ( Munzinger 2013; Munzinger et al. 2018).

Figures

FIG. 1. — Cryptocara conduplicata Munzinger & McPherson, sp. nov.: A, flowering branch; B, lenticels on young twigs; C, leaf in lateral view; D, abaxial face; E, flower from above; F, flower in lateral view; G, external tepal, adaxial face;H, external tepal,abaxial face (Munzinger et al. 6545); I, stamen of whorl I; J, stamen of whorl III with glands; K, isolated gland; L, staminode, abaxial face; M, staminode, adaxial face; N, gynoecium; O, schematic view of the longitudinal section of the hypanthium and ovary; P, young fruit; Q, ripe fruit in herb.; R, mature fresh fruit; S, fruit in transversal section; T, ripe fruit. Photos: A, from photograph in the field of Munzinger et al. 6481; B, McPherson 19131; C, Veillon 555; D, from photograph in the field of Munzinger et al. 6534; E, from photograph in the field of Munzinger et al. 6545; F-O, Munzinger et al. 6545; P, Munzinger et al. 5874; Q, Veillon 4230; R, after a field photograph not vouchered; S, T, from photograph in the field of Munzinger et al. 8101. Drawings: Laurence Ramon. Scale bars: A-D, 1 cm; E, F, M, N, 1 mm; M, N, 1 mm; G-I, K, L, O, 0.5 mm; P-T, 1 cm.

FIG. 2. — Field pictures of Cryptocarya conduplicata Munzinger & McPherson, sp. nov.: A, trunk and slash; B, flushing and flowering branch;C, flower;D, branch with young fruits; E, F, branch with nearly mature fruits; G, mature fruit in cross-section; A, D, Munzinger et al. 5874; B, Munzinger et al. 6545; C, Munzinger et al. 6481; E, Butin 87; F, G, Munzinger et al. 8101. Photographs: A-E, P. Lowry; F, G, D. Fleurot.

FIG. 3. — Distribution of Cryptocarya conduplicata Munzinger & McPherson, sp. nov. () and Cryptocarya ovoidea Munzinger & McPherson, sp. nov. (). Full circles or squares are herbarium specimens, empty circles are observations (no voucher) from the NC-PIPPN network (Ibanez et al. 2014) and botanical expeditions (Munzinger 2013; Munzinger et al. 2018). Abbreviation: T, indicates Type specimen. Grey represents ultramafic substrates, slanting lines represent low elevation dense humid forest (Jaffré et al. 2012).

FIG. 4. — Comparison of general aspect, angle of leaf presentation, and lenticels aspect between C. aristata (to the left in A and B, to the right in C) and C. conduplicata Munzinger & McPherson, sp. nov. (Munzinger et al. 6545, to the right in A and B, to the left C). Photographs: A, J. Munzinger; B, C, P. Lowry.