Palisota, Bidault & Burg, 2019

Bidault, Ehoarn & Burg, Willem Joost van der, 2019, Novitates Gabonenses 90: Palisota (Commelinaceae) revisited: description of eight new species from Central Africa and notes on the identity of P. satabiei and P. bogneri, Candollea 74 (2), pp. 169-202 : 175-176

Key to the species of Palisota in Atlantic Central Africa

1. Plants creeping, decumbent, or forming a rosette ........ 2

1a. Plants with an erect stem at least 50 cm tall ................ 3

2. Plants generally rosettes (solitary or multiple aggregated), occasionnally with a stem up to 10(–30) cm long, sometimes horizontal on older individuals .......................... 9

2a. Plants strictly creeping or decumbent ....................... 16

Species erect, stem at least 50 cm high

3. Climbing herb up to 15 m, branched; sheaths generally with stiff, rusty trichomes; inflorescences lax, up to 30 cm long; flowers white or pale violet; fruits at first white, then waxy, blue, violet to black when ripe ............ P. thollonii

3a. Herbs not climbing, in general not taller than 4 m ..... 4

4. Inflorescences lax ......................................................... 5

4a. Inflorescences subglobose to spadiciform .................... 7

5. Inflorescences comprising swollen cincinni, generally erect when fruiting; fruits white with apical purple stripes, turning completely dark purple at maturity, waxy, narrowly obovoid ............................................ P. ambigua

5a. Inflorescences with spreading and unswollen cincinni; fruits spherical, not purple at maturity ........................ 6

6. Inflorescences more than 1 per terminal verticil, cylindrical, elongated, up to (12–) 20–40 cm long, comprising 50–100 cincinni; sepals white, petals white with pink to purple spots; fruits purple tinted with red, turning dark blue to black at maturity, waxy (Guineo-Congolian) ...... ........................................................................ P. hirsuta

6a. Inflorescence solitary at the terminal verticil, spiciform, conical, up to 18(–25) cm long, comprising 20– 30 cincinni; sepals and petals white to pale violet, flowers all erect on pedicels 1(–2) cm long, each cincinnus forming a unilateral raceme; fruits white turning orange to red at maturity ( São Tomé, Annobón) ................. P. pedicellata

7. Inflorescence more or less subglobose to slightly longer then wide, up to 3.5 cm long, generally 1 per verticil; cincinni erect and swollen; fruits bright red when mature ... ............................................................... P. brachythyrsa

7a. Inflorescence spadiciform ............................................ 8

8. Inflorescence 20–30 × 3–4(–5.5) cm ... P. schweinfurthii

8a. Inflorescences generally smaller, 10–20 × 2–4 cm .......... ................................................................... P. alopecurus

Species in rosette or basal composed rosettes

9. Inflorescences flagelliform, occasionally stoloniferous, up to 2 m long, comprising one to several erect thyrsi, each with one opposed bract and a single sessile cincinnus ( Cameroon) ............................................. P. flagelliflora

9a. Inflorescences not flagelliform, comprising a single thyrse bearing multiple cincinni ........................................... 10

10. Inflorescences covered by abundant white grayish woolly pubescence; fruits carmine red, densely rusty to brown pubescent ....................................................... P. lagopus

10a. Inflorescences lacking white grayish woolly pubescence; fruits glabrous or with a few sparse trichomes ........... 11

11. Inflorescences spadiciform .............................. P. mannii

11a. Inflorescences subglobose to oblong .......................... 12

12. Inflorescences with a persistent oval, leafy bract 5–15 mm wide, at least as long as the flowers, subtending each cincinnus, evident, enclosing the inflorescence .................... ..................................................................... P. bracteosa

12a. Bracts less than 4 mm wide, shorter than the flowers, barely visible at anthesis, not enclosing the inflorescence ................................................................................... 13

13. Inflorescences terminal (located centrally in the rosette), erect ................................................................ P. barteri

13a. Inflorescences axillary, decumbent ............................. 14

14. Leaves to 12 –15 cm long, with patent-pilose indument on the upper surface of the blade; inflorescences 1.5–7 cm long, lower stamen bearded; fruits dull yellow-brown, hidden below the leaf litter ................................... P. ebo

14a. Leaves 15– 40 cm long, glabrous on the upper surface of the blade; inflorescences 4–14 cm long, lower stamen unbearded; fruits red, borne above the leaf litter ........ 15

15. Flowers white, with 3 subequal, yellow stamens; leaves to ± 20 cm long .................................................. P. bogneri

15a. Flowers pink to purple or violet, with 3 unequal stamens, the upper 2 yellow, the lower one white, more robust; leaves to 40 cm long ............................ 2. P. alboanthera

Species strictly creeping or decumbent

16. Inflorescences terminal .............................................. 17

16a. Inflorescences axillary ................................................ 20

17. Inflorescences subglobose, cincinni erect in fruit ............ .................................................................... 4. P. fadenii

17a. Inflorescences spadiciform, cincinni not erect in fruit .... ................................................................................... 18

18. Inflorescences forming a lax elongated thyrse, white woolly pubescent throughout, bracts white, longer than the flowers ................................................ 8. P. stevartii

18a. Inflorescences robust, lacking white woolly pubescence, bracts shorter than the flowers .................................. 19

19. Nodes covered by grayish pubescence, leaves glabrous except along the midrib; inflorescences with non-glandular trichomes, flowers mostly white ( Cameroon, Bioko) .................................................................. P. preussiana

19a. Nodes covered with rusty pubescence, leaves with erect pubescence; inflorescences covered by short glandular trichomes; flowers purple ( Gabon) ..................................... .......................................... [sp. nov. Faden] (cf. p. 200)

20. Inflorescences mostly erect, rarely pendulous, even in fruit ................................................................................... 21

20a. Inflorescences decumbent, never erect ....................... 23

21. Plant covered on most parts with rusty to ginger-color, simple, erect trichomes .......................... 3. P. cristalensis

21a. Plant not covered by rusty to ginger-color, simple, erect trichomes ................................................................... 22

22. L eaves plicate, obovate to spathulate, 16 – 31 × (3.5–) 5.5–10 cm, the base long-decurrent .... 6. P. plicata

22a. Leaves not plicate, narrowly obovate to obovate-elliptic, 7–13 × 3.5–4.5 cm, the base cuneate ....... 5. P. leewhitei

23. Creeping herbs to 2 m long; leaves regularly inserted all along the creeping, sometimes branched stem ................ ..................................................................... 7. P. repens

23a. Creeping herb never exceeding 40 cm long, apical portion of stems erect; leaves borne in pseudowhorls on the aerial portion of the stem .................................................... 24

24. Inflorescences branched, decumbent, with 1 cincinnus per branch ( Cameroon) ....................................... P. satabiei

24a. Inflorescences decumbent, never branched, forming a thyrse with multiple cincinni ..................................... 25

25. Creeping herb never exceeding 40 cm long, apical portion of stems erect, to 20 cm tall; inflorescences inserted on the aerial portion of the stem, flowers with 3 unequal stamens, the lower one more robust, becoming green after dehiscence of the pollen sacs ....................... 1. P. akouangoui

25a. Plant generally forming a rosette, without an erect stem, or stem occasionally elongated and horizontal on the older plants; inflorescences inserted at ground level, flowers with 3 subequal, yellow stamens ........ P. bogneri