Anisophyllea cuneata Li Bing Zhang, Xin Chen & H.He, 2015

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

15. Anisophyllea cuneata Li Bing Zhang, Xin Chen & H.He , sp. nov. ( Figure 29 )

Type:— GABON. Ogooué-Maritime: Doussala , 02°14’00”S 010°24’00”E, 650 m, 09 April 2000, M. S. M . Sosef 1171 (holotype MO-5565116 !) .

Diagnosis:— Anisophyllea cuneata is most similar to A. obanica in having leaves sparsely hirsute abaxially with hairs more than 1 mm long when mature, but the former has small leaves narrowly lanceolate, large leaves broadly cuneate or rounded at base (with two side not extremely different in outline); in contrast, the latter has small leaves deltoid, large leaves strongly oblique at base with different outlines on two sides (auriculate at one side and rounded at another side).

Shrubs (?); young branches densely yellowish or reddish hairy with both patent or ascending stiff hairs (hirsute) up to 3.8 mm long and much shorter appressed hairs to 1 mm long; buds densely hirsute. Leaves dimorphic, internodes between similar types of leaves 2–3 cm, between two adjacent different types of leaves 1.0– 1.5 cm; small leaves caducous, sessile, leaf blade narrowly lanceolate, 8–15 mm long, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, base acute, apex acuminate, nearly glabrous adaxially, hirsute abaxially with hairs to 2 mm long and much denser at blade base and along veins, margins ciliate-like hirsute; large leaves petiolate, petiole to 2.5 mm long, 1.1 mm in diam., densely haired as young branches; leaf blade lanceolate or elliptic, 8–15 cm long, 3.0– 4.5 cm wide, base slightly oblique, broadly cuneate or ±rounded, apex acuminate or caudate, up to 1.5 cm long, margins often slightly revolute, thickly chartaceous, hirsute on both surfaces and along margins when young, glabrescent adaxially and sparsely hirsute abaxially especially along veins with hairs up to 3.5 mm long (elsewhere with hairs less than 1.5 mm long) when mature; main longitudinal veins 6, springing from blade base, one innermost lateral veins usually merged with midrib to 3.5 cm above blade base before separated, inner lateral veins impressed adaxially and distinctly elevated

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CHEN ET AL.

abaxially, outermost two lateral veins rather fine, close to blade margins and often disappearing into blade margins, flat adaxially and prominent abaxially; transverse veins parallel, obscure adaxially and prominent abaxially, at angles of 45–60° with midrib; veinlets reticulate, slightly prominent and tessellate on both surfaces. Flowers and fruits unknown.

Flowering and fruiting: —Unknown.

Habitat and distribution: — Lowland forests; below 300 m?. Cameron ( Central ); Gabon (Ogooué-Maritime) ( Figure 30 ) .

MONOGRAPH OF ANISOPHYLLEACEAE

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Taxonomic notes: —Like Anisophyllea obanica , A. cuneata has up to 3.5 mm long stiff hairs along veins in mature large leaves abaxially, which makes it much different from other known species in this genus. It can be separated from A. obanica by the narrowly lanceolate small leaves, by the broadly acute or rounded base of large leaves, and by the hairs along the veins on mature leaves abaxially much longer than hairs elsewhere on mature leaves. The epithet cuneata stands for the shape of the blade base on most of its large leaves.

Additional specimens examined: — CAMEROON. Central : Ivory Coast, 12 October 1984, L . Ake Assi 16766 ( MO) .

Figures

FIGURE 29. Anisophyllea cuneata Li Bing Zhang, Xin Chen & H.He. Leafy branch (M. S. M. Sosef 1171; holotype, MO-5565116).

FIGURE 30. Geographical distribution of Anisophyllea cuneata Li Bing Zhang, Xin Chen & H.He.