Canarium madagascariense Engl.

Daly, Douglas C., Raharimampionona, Jeannie & Federman, Sarah, 2015, A revision of Canarium L. (Burseraceae) in Madagascar, Adansonia 37 (2), pp. 277-345 : 318-320

Canarium madagascariense Engl.

( Fig. 1)

In A.DC. & C.DC., Monographiae Phanerogamarum Prodromi 4: 111, 112 (1883). — Typus: Madagascar, Nossi-Bé [Nosy Be], 1840, J. M. C. Richard 340 (lecto-, P[P00048610]!, annotated by Leenhouts July 1955; isolecto-, P[P00048611, P000048612]!). MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Madagascar. Antsiranana, Hell-ville , Réserve Naturelle Intégrale Lokobe & Nosy Be, 30 m, 13°25’S, 48°18’E, 15.I.1992, C. Birkinshaw 93 ( MO); Nosy Be , Diana , Réserve Naturelle Intégrale Lokobe , 5-100 m, 13°24’51”S, 48°18’20”E, 07.II.2006, D. C. Daly, J. Raharimampionona & R. Ranaivojaona 13091 ( NY, TEF) .

DISTRIBUTION AND ECOLOGY. — Despite the voluminous literature on forest inventory and ecology and on frugivorous lemurs, in which C. madagascariense has been reported from various habitats in various parts of the country (e.g., Drew & Wright 1998 from SE Madagascar), it is in fact one of the rarest and most restricted species of the genus in Madagascar; to date we can confirm only two collections of this species, both from the island of Nosy Be in Antsiranana, where it is found in littoral forest and in moist forest on steep rocky terrain, at 5-100 m elevation. Fruiting Jan.

DESCRIPTION

Trees, reproductive height 25 m or more. Outer bark gray. Resin white. Leaves 27-54.5 cm long, 7-10-jugate; petiole 4-10 cm long, petiole and rachis subglabrous except on young leaves with scattered fine, erect golden hairs to 0.4 (0.8) mm long; stipules 0-2 mm from petiole insertion, 7-17 mm long, oblong-ovate to oblong-orbicular, base on distal side truncate, on proximal side broad and cordate, abaxial surface subglabrous, adaxial surface with scattered to dense (especially distally) appressed golden hairs to 0.6 mm long, sometimes also with sparse capitate glands, the margin densely ciliate with flexuous hairs to 0.4 mm long, the scar 3-6 mm long, usually raised; basal petiolules 4-12 mm long, other laterals 6-16 mm long, terminal one 11-22 mm long, petiolules not canaliculate, lateral pulvinuli somewhat conspicuous; basal leaflets 5.5-8.9 × 3-5 cm, (broadly) ovate, other laterals 6.5-18 × 2.5-5.4 cm (oblong)ovate, terminal one 7-16 × 2.4-5.8 cm, (oblong-)elliptic to lanceolate; leaflet apex gradually and narrowly long-acuminate, the acumen (3) 6-17 mm long; lateral leaflet base subsymmetrical to slightly oblique, slightly cordate or less often truncate (on basals sometimes obtuse); margin flat; leaflets chartaceous to somewhat coriaceous, drying dark brown, somewhat glossy; leaflet secondary vein framework brochidodromous but looping at margin, secondaries in 10-14 pairs, almost straight, spacing slightly decreasing toward apex and base, angle slightly increasing near base, sometimes slightly discolorous adaxially, 1-2 perpendicular epimedial tertiaries present per pair of secondaries, costal tertiaries alternate-percurrent, sometimes irregular-reticulate, quaternaries regular-polygonal; on abaxial side all veins narrowly prominent, the surface glabrous but finely papillate; on adaxial side all veins narrowly prominent but midvein sunk in a groove, the surface glabrous. Staminate inflorescences c. 13 cm long, secondary axes to c. 4.5 cm long, axes with dense, flexuous, ferrugineous hairs to 0.3 mm long but mostly glabrescent, also with sparse to scattered capitate glands; bracts on primary and secondary axes to 3.5 mm long or more, fleshy, ovate and acuminate; bracteoles subtending flowers to 3 mm long, lanceolate to linear. Flowers known only from mature staminate buds. Infructescences up to 18 cm long, fruiting pedicel 7-8 mm long, subcylindrical, sparsely raised-lenticellate, fruiting calyx c. 12 mm long, cupular, the lobes slightly distinct, sparsely raised-lenticellate, remainder of surface with appressed, ferrugineous hairs. Fruits c. 5 × 2.3-2.5 cm, ellipsoid-ovoid to narrowly ovoid, olive-green or dark brown or reddish brown, the apex slightly acuminate and base acute, the surface lenticels dense, small, linear, flat, whitish, forming long lines.

NOTES

Canarium madagascariense belongs to a group of 10 species that all have relatively large leaflets with truncate to slightly cordate base; of these, the following also have the apex gradually acuminate and the secondary veins nearly perpendicular to the midvein and usually relatively straight: C. compressum , sp. nov., C. longistipulatum , sp. nov., C. multiflorum , and C. multinervis , sp. nov. Canarium madagascariense differs from them by the greater number of leaflet pairs (7-10 vs maximum 6 in the others) and the stipules inserted on or almost at the petiole base (vs (2) 5-22 mm from insertion; in C. bullatum , comb. et stat. nov. also close to base but leaflets bullate).