Anisophyllea purpurascens Hutchinson & Dalziel (1927: 228)

Chen, Xin, He, Hai & Zhang, Li-Bing, 2015, A monograph of the Anisophylleaceae (Cucurbitales) with description of 18 new species of Anisophyllea, Phytotaxa 229 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

54. Anisophyllea purpurascens Hutchinson & Dalziel (1927: 228) ( Figure 106 )

Type:— NIGERIA. Cross River: Oban district , 1911, Mr. and Mrs. Talbot, P. A. s.n. (lectotype K-000075947!, here designated, isolectotypes K-000075948!, K-000075949!) .

Trees to 20 m tall; young branches purple and with dense mixture of lustrous hairs (coarse and stiff ones to 1.3 mm long, reddish-brown, ascending or erect, while soft and shorter ones ca. 0.2 mm long), and turning pubescent or glabrescent when mature. Leaves dimorphic, small ones nearly opposite with large ones, internodes between similar

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types of leaves 1.2–1.8 cm, between two adjacent different types of leaves 2–5 mm; small leaves caducous, shortly petiolate, petiole hirsute; leaf blade deltoid, 3.0– 6.5 mm long, 2.5–3.0 mm wide, base obtuse to rounded, or cordate, apex acute, sparsely hirsute with hairs to 0.6 mm long, or glabrous; main veins 7, obscure; large leaves petiolate, petiole to 3 mm long, 0.8–1.3 mm in diam., pilose and granulose when young and glabrescent when mature; leaf blade ovate-oblong, 6–10 cm long, 2.5–3.0 cm wide, apex acute or long-acuminate, base usually oblique, cordate, margins often slightly revolute, thickly chartaceous, granulate with granules yellowish-brown, slightly protuberant, 0.03–0.06 mm in diam., and sparsely pilose with silky hairs reddish-purple when young, dark green and glabrous when mature; main longitudinal veins 7, springing from base, or with two inner lateral veins merged with midrib at lower part to ca. 1 cm above blade base before separated, impressed adaxially and distinctly prominent abaxially, outer 2–4 lateral veins rather fine, outmost veins nearly merged with margins and often disappearing into margins, slightly prominent on both surfaces; transverse veins ±parallel, almost perpendicularly with midrib at base and apex, at angles of 50–65° with midrib elsewhere; veinlets reticulate, barely visible or obscure adaxially, much clear and slightly prominent abaxially. Inflorescence a supra-axillary spike, tenuous and ascending; rachis 0.5–2.0 cm long, ca. 0.3 mm in diam., densely granulose, and pubescent with tortuous hairs to 0.5 mm long (but mostly shorter than 0.2 mm), unevenly 3–7 flowered with floral internodes 1–4 mm distant; bracts narrowly lanceolate, 1.3–2.5 mm long, 0.4–1.0 mm wide, granulose on both surfaces, sparsely pubescent as on rachis abaxially, early deciduous, each with one axillary flower; flower buds broadly ovoid, 1.3–1.5 mm in diam., sparsely pubescent with hairs to 0.3 mm long, and densely granulose; flowers bisexual, 4-merous, sessile, densely granulose outside; receptacle 0.6–1.1 mm long, 0.5–0.8 mm wide; sepals 1.3 mm long; petals to 1.12 mm long, lower part entire, obovate, ca. 0.5 mm long, 0.25 mm wide at base and ca. 0.38 mm wide where laciniae starting, laciniate from middle or much lower with 5 glabrous threadlike laciniae; stamens 8, free, slightly shorter than petals, filaments 0.8–1.0 mm long, base clavate and dilated, anther sub-globose, 0.25–0.30 mm long; disk sinuate and pubescent with hairs ca. 0.06 mm long; styles 4, to 1.1 mm long, base free, clavate 0.2 mm in diam., pubescent with yellowish hairs to 0.16 mm long, distally attenuate and twisted. Fruit a drupe, ovoid, 2–3 cm long, 1–2 cm in diam., both ends attenuate, with persistent floral parts at apex.

Flowering and fruiting: —Unknown.

Habitat and distribution: — In forests; below 700 m. Cameroon (Littoral, South, Southwest ), Republic of the Congo ( Lékoumou ), Gabon (Estuaire, Moyen-Ogooué, Ngounié, Ogooué-Ivindo, Woleu-Ntem), Nigeria (Cross River) ( Figure 107 ) .

Taxonomic notes: — Anisophyllea purpurascens is the only species in western Africa bearing large leaves with cordate base and yellow-brown granules. Its leaves show a reddish-purple color when young, to which its specific epithet might refer. It was published based on specimens without fruit collected in Oban in southern Nigeria by Talbot without field number ( Hutchinson & Dalziel, 1927). There are three sheets of the specimens collected by the Talbots that correspond to this species and we select one of them as the lectotype.

Additional specimens examined: — CAMEROON. Littoral: 23 km NE . of Douala, along road to Edéa, 50 m, 12 August 1965, A . J . M. Leeuwenberg 6326 ( MO). S Cameroon: 15 km N . of Kribi, riverine forest of Mpolongwe R ., 03°01’00”N 009°58’00”E, 23 January 1969, J . J . Bos 3732 ( MO); 17 km N . of Kribi, high forest on low hill, 03°02’00”N 009°58’00”E, 24 April 1970, J . J . Bos 6837 ( MO). SW Cameroon: 04°58’00”N 008°55’00”E, 150 m, 31 May 1984, D. W . Thomas 3494 ( K, MO); Korup National Park, Footpath between Ikenge and Bajo villages, 3–6 kms NE of Ikenge, 05°18’N 009°08’E, 150 m, 07 April 1988, D. W . Thomas & F . Namata 7676 ( MO); Mebeta , 80 m, 04 November 1997, Tchouto P . 1785 ( MO); Mundemba Fabe Road, Ndian Division , 05°02’00”N 008°57’00”E, 100 m, 07 February 1988, J . Nemba & P . Mambo 724 ( MO, US) ; near Mundemba, 04°58’00”N 008°55’00”E, 100 m, 16–25 January 1985, D. W . Thomas 4198 ( MO); Secondary forest near Mundemba town , 04°58’N 008°55’E, 150 m, 12 May 1986, D. W . Thomas 6120 ( MO) . REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. Lékoumou: 02°42’53”S 013°35’50”E, 670 m, 28 May 2010, M’Boungou, R . 160 ( MO). GABON. Estuaire: Crystal Mountains , Forest exploitation Leroy. 20 km NW of Asok, 00°53’00”N 010°12’00”E, ± 550 m, 26 January 1983, J . J. F . E. de Wilde, J . C . Arends, A . M . Louis F . Bouman et J . J . Karper 235 ( MO); Libreville, Sibange Arboretum , 30 m, 00°25’N 009°30’E, 08 July 1986, D. W . Thomas & Chris Wilks 6330 ( MO); Libreville, Okala, Jardin , 00°29’00”N 009°25’00”E, 05 June1987, J . J . Dibata 172 ( MO); National park of Pongara, lane between checks-point of Ouingombé and the camp of Kenguéré, 00°18’29”N 09°18’46”E, 20 March 2007, G . Dauby GD 20 3 ( MO). Moyen-Ogooué: Mabounié, forest area north of camp. Old secondary forest, 00°43’46”S 010°33’38”E, 71 m, 04 May 2012, Ehoarn Bidault, G . Dauby, Eric Akouangou, T . Nzabi, Davy Ikabanga , John Kaparidi & Archange

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Phytotaxa 229 (1) © 2015 Magnolia Press • 141 Boupoya 429 ( MO); 00°42’49”S 010°35’08”E, 148 m, 09 May 2102, Ehoarn Bidault, G . Dauby, Eric Akouangou, T . Nzabi, Davy Ikabanga, John Kaparidi & Archange Boupoya 528 ( MO). Ngounié: Massif du Chaillu, Waka National Park, eastern slope canyon. Colluvial slope of narrow valley, 01°09’34”S 011°02’45”E, 500 m, 07 March 2005, Miguel E . Leal, D. Nguema, E . Mounoum oulossi & P . Bissiemou 388 ( MO). Ogooué-Ivindo: Lopé Reserve , 00°15’00”S 011°40’00”E, 08 April 1994, Lee White 1129 ( MO). Woleu-Ntem: 48 km S . W . of Medouneu, 600 m, 27 Jul 7 1957, J . N . Davies & C . Jeffrey 125 ( K); Mbe National Park, Monts de Cristal, Tchimbele Dam area . South-facing slope (3–5º incline), 00°37’02”N 010°24’49”E, plot 1, 400 m, April 2004, Simab 010918 ( MO) .

Figures

FIGURE 106. Anisophyllea purpurascens Hutchinson & Dalziel. Flowering and leafy branches (Mr. and Mrs. Talbot, P. A. s.n.; lectotype, K-000075947).

FIGURE 107. Geographical distribution of Anisophyllea purpurascens Hutchinson & Dalziel.