Xylopia elliotii Pierre ex Engl. & Diels, Monogr. Afrik. Pflanzen.-Fam. 6: 65, 1901

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 : 457-458

Xylopia elliotii Pierre ex Engl. & Diels, Monogr. Afrik. Pflanzen.-Fam. 6: 65, 1901

Map 17G

Type.

Guinea. Farana Region ; Farana, Scott Elliot G.F. 5325, Mar 1924: lectotype, designated by Johnson and Murray (2018), p. 165: B[B100153142]; isolectotypes: BM[BM000510796, lower half of sheet]; GH; K[K000199071]; P[P00169156]

Description.

Tree, 10-18 m tall, d.b.h. unknown; stilt roots and buttresses absent. Old branches glabrous, young branches densely pubescent with erect reddish brown hairs 0.2-0.8 mm long. Leaves: petiole 4-6 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, pubescent, slightly grooved, blade inserted on the side of the petiole; blade 4.5-9.5 cm long, 1.8-5.6 cm wide, lanceolate-ovate to elliptic, oblong, or oblong-lanceolate, apex obtuse, emarginate, or acute, rarely with an acumen ca. 0.5 cm long, base cuneate to rounded, subcoriaceous, below finely appressed-pubescent when young, sparsely pubescent to glabrous when old, above glabrous when young and old, discolorous; midrib sunken, above pubescent when young and old, below pubescent when young and old; secondary veins 10 to 16 pairs, glabrous above; tertiary venation reticulate. Individuals bisexual; inflorescences ramiflorous on young foliate branches, axillary, peduncle absent. Flowers with 9 perianth parts in 3 whorls, 1 to 2 per inflorescence; pedicel 3-6 mm long, 1 mm in diameter, pubescent; in fruit 10-12 mm long, 1-6 mm in diameter, glabrous; bracts 2, towards the middle of pedicel, 2-3 mm long, 2-3 mm wide; sepals 3, valvate, basally fused, 2-5 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, ovate, apex acute to apiculate, base truncate, sericeous outside, glabrous inside; petals free, subequal; outer petals 3, 12.6-32 mm long, 1.2-2.5 mm wide at base, linear, apex obtuse, base broad and concave, white, tinged purple at base, densely pubescent outside, pubescent inside; inner petals 3, valvate, 16-24 mm long, 2.3-3.9 mm wide at base, linear, apex acute, base broad and concave, white, tinged with purple at the base, pubescent, base glabrous outside, pubescent and glabrous towards base inside; stamens ca. 120, in 7 to 8 rows, 1-2 mm long, clavate to oblong; connective apex shield-like, glabrous; carpels 9 to 10, ovary 1-2 mm long, stigmas connivent, lanceolate, 1.3-2.3 mm long, pubescent to glabrous. Monocarps usually sessile or stipitate, stipe 3-6 mm long, 2-3 mm in diameter; monocarps 3 to 8, 20-38 mm long, 9-13 mm wide, obovoid to oblong, apex rounded, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, verrucose, slightly wrinkled when dried, red to purple tinged outside, endocarp red; seeds up to 9 per monocarp, in two rows, 9-12 mm long, 7-8 mm wide, flattened ellipsoid to oblong; sarcotesta present, color in vivo unknown; aril absent.

Distribution.

A widespread species with a disjunct distribution in West and Central Africa, from Guinea-Bissau to Togo and from Cameroon to Central African Republic; in Cameroon known from Adamaoua and West regions.

Habitat.

A species from the drier forests, in gallery forests along streams and rivers and occasionally extending into drier uplands. Altitude 1100-1400 m a.s.l.

Local and common names known in Cameroon.

ké (Westphal 10047, 10048, 10049, 10172).

IUCN conservation status.

Least Concern (LC) ( Harvey-Brown 2019j).

Uses in Cameroon.

Food: fruits and seeds used as pepper substitute.

Notes.

Xylopia elliotii most closely resembles X. monticola and X. thomsonii among Cameroon Xylopia species, but has obtuse to acute rather than acuminate leaf apices, young branches densely covered with erect reddish brown hairs of even length, pedicels with only 2 rather than 3-6 bracts. The monocarps of Xylopia elliotii are sessile to short-stipitate (3-6 mm) with seeds in two rows, in contrast to distinctly stipitate (8-13 mm long, rarely shorter) with seeds in a single row in X. monticola and X. thomsonii .

Collections from the area of Bayangam (Westphal 10047, 10048, 10049, 10172) document that the plant has been kept around houses and the fruits are used as a condiment. This is the only known report of the use of a Xylopia species in Africa other than X. aethiopica .

Specimens examined.

Adamaoua Region: Falls in the Vina river ca 15 km SE of Ngaoundéré, 7.2°N, 13.71°E, 01 December 1964, de Wilde W.J.J.O 4447 (K,WAG); Mbalang- 16 km E Ngaoundéré, 7.32°N, 13.58°E, 27 January 1978, Fotius G. 2984 (YA); Tchabal-Mbabo, 7.05°N, 12.25°E, 16 March 1978, Fotius G. 3108 (YA); Ngaou Loumou (1700 m), 7.52°N, 13.85°E, 20 October 1967, Jacques-Félix H. 8724 (YA); Mayo Darle, 6.47°N, 11.55°E, 10 November 1967, Jacques-Félix H. 9110 (YA); Sadolkoulay (36 km E Ngaoundéré), 7.31°N, 13.87°E, 05 December 1964, Raynal J. 12228 (P,YA); Près Katil-Foulbe 50 km SE Ngaoundéré, 7.02°N, 13.94°E, 20 October 1983, Satabié B. 687 (P). West Region: Ndop Plain road to French Map ref No 23, 5.97°N, 10.40°E, 30 March 1962, Brunt M.A. 261 (K); Bayangam, 5.3°N, 10.45°E, 01 January 1939, Jacques-Félix H. 2965 (P); Kontchankap, 5.58°N, 10.80°E, 01 February 1939, Jacques-Félix H. 3039 (P); a 20 km E de Foumbot, 5.56°N, 10.8°E, 26 October 1974, Satabié B. 15 (MO,P); Bayangam, 5.3°N, 10.45°E, 17 May 1978, Westphal E. 10047 (P,WAG); Bayangam, 5.3°N, 10.45°E, 17 May 1978, Westphal E. 10048 (WAG,YA); Bayangam, 5.3°N, 10.45°E, 17 May 1978, Westphal E. 10049 (K,WAG,YA); Plants collected in the region of Bayangam, 5.3°N, 10.45°E, 17 December 1978, Westphal E. 10172 (WAG) .

Figures

Map 17. A Uvariopsis zenkeri B Xylopia aethiopica C Xylopia africana D Xylopia aurantiiodora E Xylopia calva F Xylopia cupularis G Xylopia elliotii H Xylopia gilbertii I Xylopia hypolampra. White borders represent region limits in Cameroon; green patches represent protected areas (see methods and Suppl. material 1: Fig. S 1).