Uvaria scabrida Oliv., Fl. Trop. Afr. 1: 21, 1868

Couvreur, Thomas L. P., Dagallier, Leo-Paul M. J., Crozier, Francoise, Ghogue, Jean-Paul, Hoekstra, Paul H., Kamdem, Narcisse G., Johnson, David M., Murray, Nancy A. & Sonke, Bonaventure, 2022, Flora of Cameroon - Annonaceae Vol 45, PhytoKeys 207, pp. 1-532 : 369-373

Uvaria scabrida Oliv., Fl. Trop. Afr. 1: 21, 1868

Figs 114 , 116 ; Map 14G

= Uvaria corynocarpa Diels, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 53: 436, 1915. Type. Cameroon. East Region, Lomié, Mildbraed G.W.J. 5300, 20 May 1911: lectotype, sheet here designated: B[B 10 0153076]; isotypes: B[B 10 0153075]; HBG[HBG502488].

Uvaria scabrida parviflora = Uvaria scabrida var. parviflora Pellegr., Fl. Mayombe 1: 12, 1920. Type. Gabon. Nyanga, Mavoundi, Le Testu G.M.P.C. 1516, 12 Dec 1908: lectotype, here designated: BM[BM000554040]; isolectotype: LISC[LISC000400].

= Pachypodanthium gossweileri Exell & Mendonça, Journ. Bot 74 (Suppl. Polypet.): 14, 1936. Type. Angola. Uige, Maquela do Zombo, Rio Vogi, Zadi - Inquissi, Gossweiler J. 10417, 29 Oct 1935: holotype: LISC[LISC000303]; isotypes: BM[BM000554042]; C[C10000168]; K[K000198774].

= Uvaria glomerulata A. Chev.; Sudania i: 192, No. 11086, 1911. nom. nud.

Type.

Cameroon. Littoral Region; Cameroons River, Mann G. 1433, 1862: lectotype, here designated: K[K000105336] .

Description.

Liana, 2-20 m tall, d.b.h. unknown. Indumentum of minute stellate or simple hairs; old leafless branches pubescent to glabrescent, young foliate branches densely pubescent. Leaves: petiole 2-3 mm long, ca. 1 mm in diameter, pubescent, grooved, blade inserted on top of the petiole; blade 6-23 cm long, 2.5-10 cm wide, elliptic to oblong, apex acuminate to obtuse, acumen 1-1.2 cm long, base rounded to subcordate, papyraceous to coriaceous, below densely pubescent covered with minute stipitate stellate hairs when young and old, above pubescent with short simple scabrid hairs (or glabrous besides veins) when young and old; midrib sunken or flat, above densely pubescent when young and old, below densely pubescent when young and old; secondary veins 9 to 16 pairs, densely pubescent above; tertiary venation percurrent. Individuals bisexual; inflorescences ramiflorous on young foliate branches, leaf opposed or extra axillary. Flowers with 9 perianth parts in 3 whorls, 1 to 2 per inflorescence; pedicel 10-25 mm long, 1-2 mm in diameter, densely pubescent to tomentose; in fruit 20-40 mm long, 6 mm in diameter, pubescent; bracts 2, soon falling, one basal and one towards the upper half of pedicel, basal bract 10-15 mm long, 7-10 mm wide; upper bract not seen; sepals 3, valvate, basally fused, 15-20 mm long, 7-13 mm wide, ovate, apex acute to obtuse, base truncate, yellow brown, densely pubescent outside, pubescent inside, margins flat; petals free, sub equal; outer petals 3, 18-30 mm long, 13-20 mm wide, elliptic to ovate, apex attenuate, base truncate, yellow-brown, margins flat, densely pubescent outside, pubescent inside; inner petals 3, imbricate, 15-25 mm long, 12-19 mm wide, ovate, apex obtuse, base truncate, yellow brown, margins flat, pubescent outside, sparsely pubescent to glabrous inside; stamens 180 to 200, in 9 to 10 rows, ovary 1-2 mm long, linear; connective discoid, glabrous, cream to yellow; staminodes absent; carpels free, 45 to 70, ca. 3 mm long, stigma coiled, pubescent. Monocarps sessile, 20 to 35 tightly packed together, 15-20 mm long, 10-13 mm in diameter, pyramidal or four-sided, apex rounded to shortly apiculate, tomentose, verrucose to shortly echinate, not ribbed or 1-ribbed, green when ripe; seeds 4 to 6 per monocarp, 8-12 mm long, 4-6 mm in diameter, flattened; aril absent.

Distribution.

A widespread species in west and central Africa, in Liberia and Nigeria and in Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola; in Cameroon known in the Central, East, Littoral, South and South-West regions.

Habitat.

A fairly common species in Cameroon; in lowland secondary or primary rain forests, gallery forests, growing along forest openings. Altitude 0-800 m a.s.l.

Local and common names known in Cameroon.

None recorded.

IUCN conservation status.

Not evaluated.

Uses in Cameroon.

None reported.

Notes.

Uvaria scabrida is distinguished by its leaves covered below with uniform stellate hairs, and above with minute scabrid simple hairs, as well as by its sessile, densely tomentose monocarps. Together with U. obanensis , it is the only species of Uvaria in Cameroon with sessile monocarps. Vegetatively, it resembles U. osmantha , but the latter has shorter (10-15 mm long) and stipitate monocarps, and its leaf blades are strongly discolorous with their lower surface completely obscured by the stellate indumentum, while in U. scabrida it is visible between the hairs.

A few collections from Cameroon (Bos 3164, 3353, 5011, 5508) and Gabon (Wieringa 4387) have glabrous leaves above apart from the veins, and therefore are not scabrid. Nevertheless, they have the characteristic monocarps and thus match U. scabrida , possibly being a variety (Lachenaud, pers. comm.).

Specimens examined.

Central Region: Village Nkolbisson 7 km West of Yaoundé, 3.88°N, 11.45°E, 04 May 1962, Breteler F.J. 2880 (U,WAG); Nkolbison, 3.88°N, 11.45°E, 10 November 1963, de Wilde W.J.J.O 1199 (WAG); Etuk Ebé ( Yaoundé), 3.87°N, 11.52°E, 04 May 1971, Mpom B. 544 (P). East Region : Ngoko (Moloundou), 1.67°N, 16.04°E, 04 April 1971, Letouzey R. 10599 (P,YA). Littoral Region : Tonde (Douala), 4.22°N, 9.84°E, 09 May 1976, Letouzey R. 14884 (P,WAG,YA). South Region : 65 km S of Kribi Gr Batanga road, 2.89°N, 9.905°E, 28 October 1968, Bos J.J. 3164 (WAG,YA); 75 km from Kribi Ebolowa road, 2.89°N, 9.957°E, 13 May 1969, Bos J.J. 4518 (WAG,YA); 15 km from Kribi Ebolowa road Bidou II, 2.85°N, 10°E, 04 July 1969, Bos J.J. 5011 (BR,P,WAG,YA); 13 km from Kribi Ebolowa road, 2.85°N, 10.9°E, 16 October 1969, Bos J.J. 5508 (BR,C,K,LD,P,WAG,YA); Ndengue (Ebolowa), 2.78°N, 11.12°E, 26 March 1970, Letouzey R. 10251 (P,WAG,YA); Sangméli 2.93°N, 11.98°E, 26 March 1981, Meijer D. 15270 (MO,WAG); 6 km W de Nyabessan, 2.4°N, 10.4°E, 26 November 1982, Nkongmeneck B.A. 348 (P,YA); Campo-Ma’an area Medjivini, 2.29°N, 10.34°E, 31 March 2000, Tchouto Mbatchou G.P. 2721 (KRIBI,WAG,YA); Efoulan, 2.74°N, 10.54°E, 24 April 2000, Tchouto Mbatchou G.P. 2819 (KRIBI,WAG,YA). South-West Region : on top of hill near Small Ekombe village 3 km after Kumba on road to Ekondo Titi town, 4.62°N, 9.376°E, 13 January 2016, Couvreur T.L.P. 982 (WAG,YA); Manja village Mundemba, 4.98°N, 8.916°E, 06 May 1996, Etuge M. 1888 (K) .

Figures

Map 14. A Uvaria klaineana B Uvaria mollis C Uvaria muricata var. yalingensis D Uvaria obanensis E Uvaria osmantha F Uvaria poggei G Uvaria scabrida H Uvariastrum insculptum I Uvariastrum pierreanum. White borders represent region limits in Cameroon; green patches represent protected areas (see methods and Suppl. material 1: Fig. S 1).

Figure 114. Uvaria scabrida A flowering branch B detail of pubescence on leaf blade, lower side C detail of pubescence of leaf blade, upper side D detail of one stellate hair E flowering pedicel and flower, side view F longitudinal section of receptacle G stamen, side and front views H carpel, front and side views, detail of ovules I fruit branch J longitudinal section of fruit and monocarps, showing sessile monocarps K seed A-D from Le Testu 9356 E-H from Pobeguin 142 I-K from Halle & Le Thomas 30. Drawings by Helene Lamourdedieu, Publications Scientifiques du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris; modified from Le Thomas (1969 b, pl. 13, p. 77).

Figure 116. Uvaria scabrida A flowering branch B detail of lower leaf side C flower, top view D flower, basal view E fruits, note sessile monocarps. Uvaria versicolor F flower G fruit, note subsessile monocarps cylindrical in shape A-E Couvreur 849, Gabon F Couvreur 897, Gabon G Faye 33, Republic of the Congo. Photos A-F Thomas L. P. Couvreur G Adama Faye.