Xylopia villosa Chipp, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew: 183, 1923

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 : 495-497

Xylopia villosa Chipp, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew: 183, 1923

Fig. 153 ; Map 1E

≡ Xylopiastrum villosum (Chipp) Aubrév., Flor. For. Côte d’Ivoire, ed. 2, 1: 140, 1959.

Type.

Nigeria. Lagos State; Ibadan Forest Reserve , Lagos, Punch C. 119, Dec 1913: lectotype, designated by Johnson and Murray (2018), p. 215: K[000199069] .

Description.

Tree, up to 30 m tall, d.b.h. up to 90 cm; buttresses narrowly concave ca. 1 m high. Old branches sparsely pubescent to glabrous, young branches densely villous, with erect orange or reddish brown hairs 0.5-1.3 mm long. Leaves: petiole 2-4 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide, pubescent, grooved, blade inserted on top of the petiole; blade 8.6-12.6 cm long, 2.6-4.1 cm wide, lanceolate to lanceolate-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, apex acuminate to acute, acumen 0.4-1.3 cm long, base cuneate to rounded, subcoriaceous, below golden-sericeous when young, sparsely golden-sericeous to golden-sericeous when old, above glabrous when young and old, discolorous; midrib impressed, above pubescent when young, glabrous to pubescent when old, below glabrous to pubescent when young, pubescent when old; secondary veins 10 to 15 pairs, glabrous above; tertiary venation reticulate. Individuals bisexual; inflorescences ramiflorous on young foliate branches, axillary, peduncle 8.5-17 mm. Flowers with 9 perianth parts in 3 whorls, 1 to 8 per inflorescence; pedicel 2-5 mm long, ca. 2 mm in diameter, densely pubescent; in fruit 6-42 mm long, 7-11 mm in diameter, glabrous; bracts 2 to 4, evenly spaced, 3-4 mm long, 3-4 mm wide; sepals 3, valvate, basally to ½ fused, forming a cup, 4-6 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, ovate, apex acute, base truncate, densely pubescent outside, glabrous inside; petals free, subequal; outer petals 3, 22-34 mm long, 3.5-3.9 mm wide at base, linear, apex acute to obtuse, base broad and concave, light yellow, pubescent, base glabrous outside, pubescent, base glabrous inside; inner petals 3, valvate, 17.4-23 mm long, 2.5-3.6 mm wide at base, linear, apex acute, base broad and concave, light yellow, pubescent with glabrous base outside, pubescent towards base to pubescent and glabrous towards center inside; stamens ca. 200, in 4 to 6 rows, 1-2 mm long, oblong; connective apex shield-like, glabrous; carpels 10 to 12, ovary 1-2 mm long, stigmas connivent with tips free, linear, 2.5-4 mm long, pubescent to sparsely pubescent. Monocarps stipitate, stipe ca. 3 mm long, ca. 9 mm in diameter; monocarps 1 to 10, ca. 46 mm long, ca. 23 mm wide, oblongoid, apex rounded, sparsely pubescent, verrucose and wrinkled when dried, green outside, endocarp color unknown; seeds unknown (sarcotesta blue?).

Distribution.

A widespread species in West Africa from Liberia to Ghana, and in Central Africa from southern Nigeria to Cameroon; in Cameroon known from East, South, Central and South-West regions. Given the past confusion with X. letestui , it is difficult to state the full distribution of X. villosa precisely.

Habitat.

A large tree species not commonly collected, although locally common westward (O. Lachenaud, personal communication); in evergreen or semi-deciduous rain forests of Sterculiaceae and Ulmaceae , and old secondary forest with Lophira alata , Coula edulis , and Sacoglottis gabonensis . Altitude 0-100 m a.s.l.

Local and common names known in Cameroon.

oyakwi (Letouzey 9524, Yaoundé).

IUCN conservation status.

Least Concern (LC) (Botanic Gardens Conservation International and IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group 2019h).

Uses in Cameroon.

None reported.

Notes.

Xylopia villosa and X. letestui share thick pubescent leaves but the former differs in the broadly cuneate to rounded rather than truncate leaf bases, the longer petioles (2-4 versus 1-1.8 mm), and the longer outer petals (22-34 versus 16.5-19.1 mm). Xylopia villosa also lacks the marginal hair tufts toward the base of the inner petals. The specimen Thomas 7703, which consists of fallen fruits containing seeds, reported the seeds to be "blue, “blue,” suggesting the presence of a sarcotesta.

Specimens examined.

Central Region: près Nkomeyo 10 km d’Esse, 4.07°N, 11.97°E, 07 November 1969, Letouzey R. 9524 (P,YA). East Region : 65 km south of Yokadouma 30 km after Ngato 15 km after river ALPICAM 'base de vie’ then 40 km on forestry road starting 4 km before Masea village , 3.08°N, 14.67°E, 08 March 2019, Couvreur T.L.P. 1227 (MPU,WAG,YA). South Region : Campo Ma'an National Park 11 km on trail from Ebinanemeyong village on road 7 km from Nyabessan to Campo town , 2.49°N, 10.34°E, 12 February 2015, Couvreur T.L.P. 686 (WAG,YA); 3 km E of km 58 of road Edéa-Kribi, 3.72°N, 10.3°E, 05 October 1965, Leeuwenberg A.J.M. 6815 (BR,K,MO,P,WAG,YA). South-West Region: Korup National Park, 5.26°N, 9.2°E, 08 April 1988, Thomas D.W. 7703 (MO) .

Unresolved names

Uvaria busgenii Unwin (non Diels), West African Forests & Forestry: 263, 1920

This species was published by Unwin in his West African Forests & Forestry book ( Unwin 1920) suggesting it grows in the region of Johann-Albrechtshöhe (now Kumba, South-West region). Unwin states (p. 263) it is a common "large tree" and wood is used to make "European “European” houses in the Calabar region of Nigeria. The name is accompanied by the description of the plant (mainly the wood) and its uses. However, no specimen is listed. The species is presumably named in honor of the German collector Moritz Büsgen (1858-1921), who collected in SW Cameroon in 1908. It is possible that Unwin could have seen a specimen collected by Büsgen. Specimens of Büsgen are deposited in Berlin (B) and four collections of Annonaceae species are available online. Only one refers to an Uvaria collected in Johann-Albrechtshöhe [B 10 0153104, Büsgen 191]. This specimen is however the holotype (and only specimen) of Uvaria marginata Diels (now synonym of U. obanensis ) and does not correspond to a tree as stated in the description.

Uvaria species are generally scrambling shrubs or lianas. However, several tree genera were initially included in Uvaria based on flower characters, such as Uvariodendron ("section Uvariodendron " within Uvaria in Engel and Diels (1901)) or Hexalobus ( Botermans et al. 2011). These were generally erected to genus status afterwards ( Candolle 1832, in the case of Hexalobus , Fries 1930, in the case of Uvariodendron ). Thus, Uvaria busgenii certainly refers to a species in a different genus than Uvaria , possibly Uvariodendron . However, without further material it will be hard to confirm this.

Uvaria busgenii Diels (non Unwin), nom. nud.

This name was first (?) published in Gilg (1909) page 124, although it doesn’t appear to be the description of a species per se. Only a local name is provided and the indication that it occurs in North Cameroon, and represents a tree. The name has also been used in various other publications (e.g. Wiesner 1918, pages 558, 762). We were however unable to find the original publication describing this name, nor does it appear on IPNI. This name does not refer to the same species as Unwin (see above) as it occurs in North Cameroon. It is probably a manuscript name that was never published, although we have not found any herbarium sheets with this name marked on it yet. Northern Cameroon harbors very few Annonaceae species, and it is hard to see what species or even genus Gilg is referring too here. The common name is "bongele “bongele”, but this name is attributed to Eribroma oblongum (Mast.). Pierre ex A.Chev.) now a synonym of Sterculia oblonga Mast. ( Malvaceae ).

Figures

Map 1. A Afroguatteria discostigma B Annickia affinis C Annickia chlorantha D Annickia letestui E Annickia polycarpa F Annona senegalensis G Annona senegalensis subsp. oulotricha H Anonidium brieyi I Anonidium mannii. White borders represent region limits in Cameroon; green patches represent protected areas (see methods and Suppl. material 1: Fig. S 1).

Figure 153. Xylopia thomsonii A base of leaf blade, upper side B base of leaf blade, lower side C fruit. Xylopia villosa (cf, young sterile individual) D leaf, upper side E base of leaf blade, upper side F base of leaf blade, lower side A-C Couvreur. 520, Gabon D, E Couvreur 1227, Masea, Cameroon. Photos Thomas L. P. Couvreur.