Phoebe attenuata (Nees) Nees von Esenbeck (1836: 104)

Chakrabarty, Tapas, Kumar, Anand & Ghoshal, Partha Pratim, 2023, A revision of the genus Phoebe (Lauraceae) in the Indo-Burmese region, Phytotaxa 606 (1), pp. 29-42 : 31-32

2. Phoebe attenuata (Nees) Nees von Esenbeck (1836: 104) .

Type:— BANGLADESH. Sylhet, s.d., fl., de Silva in Wallich, Numer. List No. 2600 (lectotype designated here: K001116541 , digital image!; isolectotypes: BM013718292 , G-DC [ G00693568 ], digital images!, LE n.v.) .

Basionym: — Ocotea attenuata Nees von Esenbeck (1831: 71) .

Trees, 8–35 m high; GBH up to 60 cm; bud scale scars in dense rings around twigs; young shoots fulvous tomentose; branchlets densely yellow, rusty or often greyish tomentose when young, glabrescent. Leaves more or less clustered at the ends of the twigs, obovate, oblong-obovate, obovate-elliptic to oblanceolate or sometimes oblong-elliptic, 10–35 × 3–10 cm, cuneate to cuneate-attenuate or acute at base, apiculate or sometimes shortly acuminate (acumen 5–20 mm long, slender) at apex, chartaceous or often membranous, puberulous on midrib (and often lateral veins) to glabrous above, yellow, greyish or rusty tomentellous to pilose on veins beneath, brown or blackish or dark reddish brown above when dry, green to brown or chocolate brown beneath, not glaucous; lateral veins slender, (8–)10–20 pairs, prominent above, raised beneath; tertiary veins obscure to prominent above, prominent beneath, veinlets obscure to faint above, inconspicuous to somewhat prominent beneath, petioles 5–30 × 1–3 mm, tomentellous to scattered puberulous. Panicles few-branched, 8–30 cm long; axis and branches fulvous or sometimes greyish tomentellous to scattered puberulous (in age), glabrescent in fruiting. Flowers: pedicels 1–3 mm long, tomentellous; tepals broadly ovate to ovate-oblong, 3–3.5 × 1.6–2 mm, tomentellous outside, sericeous inside; stamens 2–3.5 mm long; staminodes ca. 2 mm long; ovary subglobose, ca. 1.3 mm in diam.; style ca. 1.5 mm long, stigma trifid. Fruits ellipsoid to ovoidellipsoid, 1.3–2 × 0.8–1.5 cm; fruiting pedicels 1–3 mm long; fruiting tepals 3–5 mm long.

Local names: — Angare (Bengali), Bonsum (Assamese), Sanang (Burmese), Thai-jing-phang (Cachar), Thingbatwang-arong (Mikir).

Phenology: —Flowering in March to July and fruiting in April to February.

Habitat: —Fairly common in tropical to subtropical or evergreen forests between 450–1700 m elevations.

Distribution: — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Uses: —Reported to be a timber tree.

Specimens examined:— BANGLADESH. Type specimen as cited above . BHUTAN. Gaylegphug dist., above Sher camp, 19 km along Tongsa road, 25 May 1982, fl., A.J.C. Grierson & D.G. Long 3999 ( E00168492 ) ; 21.5 km from Shamgong on road to Gaylegphug , 10 May 1984, fl., B. Bartholomew 1639 ( E00168494 ) . Sarbhang dist., near Lao pani , 7 March 1982, fl., A.J.C. Grierson & D.G. Long 3543 ( E00168495 ) . Baksa , 18 April 1915, fl., R.E. Cooper 3708 ( E00168493 ) . Without locality, s.d., fl., W. Griffith, Kew Distrib. No. 4254 (CAL herb. acc. no. 385182, K000778863 , LE, P02009388 ) . INDIA. Arunachal Pradesh: Tiraf dist., Niusa to Wanu , 1 September 1958, fr., G. Panigrahi 15013 (ASSAM, CAL) . Assam: Golaghat , 1891, fl., G. King s.n. (CAL herb. acc. no. 385189, CGE) . Meghalaya: Garo hills, Tura mountain , 17 March 1950, fl., Thakur Rup Chand 2860 (L.1813840) . Sikkim: Godok , 11 April 1908, fl., Ribu 730 ( CAL) ; Without locality, s.d., fl., G.A. Gammie s.n. (CAL herb. acc. no. 384482) ; Without locality, 9 June 1876, fr., G. King s.n. (CAL herb. acc. no. 385173) ; ibid., September 1876, fr., G. King s.n. (CAL herb. acc. nos. 385176, 385177) . Mizoram: Lushai hills, Aizawl, 1 April 1954, fl., Godfrey 594 ( CAL) ; Lushai hills, s.d., fl., Mrs. Parry 32 ( CAL) . West Bengal: Darjeeling dist. , Darjeeling, s.d. [22 May 1923], fr., J.M. Cowan s.n. (BR0000029338689, E01104193, E01104194) ; Pankhabari, 25 May 1884, fr., C.B. Clarke 35488A ( CAL) ; Mungpo, 14 July 1909, fr., H.E. Cooper 770 ( CAL) . Alipurduar dist. , Jaldapara National park , 7 June 2013, fr., K. Karthigeyan 61120 (CAL—2 sheets) . LAOS. Pu Tat , 21 April 1932, fl., A.F.G. Kerr 21184 (P02009178) . MYANMAR. Southern Shan States, Kengtung , August 1909, fl., R.W. MacGregor 212 (E00901898) ; Loimwe , 1909, fl., R.W. MacGregor 212 ( CAL) . Myitkyina dist. , Nga-Maw kha, 19 September 1912, fr., Mg Myaw 51 (E00901899) . Kachin hills, 1897, fr., S. Mokim s.n. (CAL herb. acc. nos. 385267 & 395269) . Tavoy, Heinzechaung headwaters, 21 February 1921, fr., A.T. Gage 10 (CAL—3 sheets) . Kachin hills, Nawli, 24 March 1897, fl., E. Pottinger s.n. (CAL herb. acc. no. 385194) . NEPAL. Without locality, 14 March 1969, J.D.A. Stainton s.n. (BM000888341 n.v.); Without locality, 3 May 1967, J.D.A. Stainton s.n. (BM000888342 n.v.) . THAILAND. Kao Keo Kang, Dan Sai, 10 April 1922, fr., A.F.G. Kerr 5795 (P02009389); Pant Tawn, Chiengmai , 2 May 1931, fr., Put 3867 (P02009390) . VIETNAM. Ninh Binh Province, Cuc Phuong National Park , 19 July 2000, fl., P.K. Loc, D.T. Kien, M.V. Sinh P10390 (P02009068) .

Notes: — Similar to Phoebe bootanica in general appearance but distinct by the smaller flowers with non-articulated pedicels.