Marantochloa grandiflora A. C. Ley, 2012

Ley, Alexandra C. & Classen-Bockhoff, Regine, 2012, Five new species of Marantaceae endemic to Gabon, Adansonia (3) 34 (1), pp. 37-52 : 41-42

Marantochloa grandiflora A. C. Ley , sp. nov.

( Figs 1 ; 4 )

Ab omnibus aliis speciebus generis Marantochloae foliis lamina grande, oblonga angustaque, inflorescentia prope solum, ad primum nodum prolatum, bracteis roseis, floribus grandibus, albis praecipue differt.

T YPUS. — Gabon. Monts de Cristal , Tchimbele, in swampy area of creek north of storage lake, 0°37’30.8”N, 10°24’16.7”E, 10.XII.2005, A. C. Ley 204 (holo- WAG!; iso- LBV!) .

PARATYPI. — Gabon. Monts de Cristal , Tchimbele, in the closed forest below the hydroelectrical station near the esplanade, 0°36.855’N, 10°24.159’E, 10.XII.2005, A. C. Ley 190, 194, 195, 205 ( LBV, WAG) . — Tchimbele , forest below airstrip towards the river, 0°37’30.6”N, 10°23’51.8”E, 11.XII.2006, A. C. Ley 207, 212 ( LBV, WAG) . — Tchimbele , in primary forest north of storage lake, 0°37’30.8”N, 10°24’16.7”E, 15.XII.2005, A. C. Ley 235 ( LBV, WAG) . — NNW of Ndjolé , 150 m, 0°04’S, 10°47’E, 1994, Breteler 12914 ( LBV, WAG) . — Kingele , near upper barrage, 0°27.457’N, 10°17.394’E, 18.XII.2008, A. C. Ley 580, ( WAG, LBV) . — Lonmin , 0°27.097’N, 10°10.768’E, 17.XII.2008, A. C. Ley 569 ( BRLU, LBV) . HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION. — Primary forest in relatively shaded locations, additionally along streams and in swamps at an altitude of about 500 m in Monts de Cristal in Gabon (Fig. 3) .

DESCRIPTION

Rhizomatous herb, up to 1.50 m tall, forming clusters of up to 20 aerial shoots; one leaf per shoot; shoot base with up to five sheaths of up to 20 cm in length, pubescent, slightly rose when young. Leaf lamina lanceolate asymmetric 25-80 × 5-10 cm, upper side green with midrib either light green in younger leaves or dark green in older leaves, glabrous on both sides; lamina on the lower side slightly pale green with a broad (2 cm) reddish border along the side of the curved leaf margin, lamina base hardly pointed, apically ending in a long tip, 10-20 mm. Inflorescence erect, 6 cm long arising only a few centimetres above ground from a sheath 2.5 cm long; sheath heavily pubescent; peduncle 8 cm long, brown, pubescent; nodes of inflorescence axis red, pubescent; internodes green or rose c. 1 cm long, pubescent; fertile bracts 3-5 distichous, all bracts ± similar, 15-20 × 3-4 mm, lanceolate, rose at the base with a few white hairs towards the tip; 1-2 flower pairs per bract; axis of flower pair 17 mm long, white-rose, glabrous; pedicels 3 and 11 mm long, longer one glabrous and red, shorter one pubescent and white. Flowers white, 20 mm long; sepals 16× 5 mm semi-transparent,sometimes with a broad rose midrib or completely rose/red; petals 28 × 10 mm, folded backwards; outer staminodes about 30 mm long with petaloid lobe up to 25 × 20 mm; cucullate staminode about 18 mm long with yellow margin at the tip; callose staminode up to 20 mm long with violet front margin; stamen 3 mm with a petaloid appendage of about 24 mm in length with a yellow tip, enfolding the cucullate staminode; style about 23 mm long;ovary 2.0 × 1.5 mm, red/brownish, pubescent. Fruit round, red, pubescent, 8 × 8 mm. Seeds white, 5 mm long.

REMARKS

Marantochloa grandiflora A. C. Ley , sp. nov. differs from all other species in the genus in the form and size of the leaves, the position and size of the inflorescence, the colour of the bracts and the size of the flower which is one of the largest in the genus. This is also the only species in the genus with inflorescences near to the ground.

Figures

FIG. 1. — A-C, Hypselodelphys lopei A. C. Ley, sp. nov., inflorescence (A), flower (B) and fruit (C); D, E, Marantochloa montsdecristalii A. C. Ley,sp. nov., inflorescence (D) and flower (E); F-H, Marantochloa alba A. C. Ley,sp.nov., flower pair (F), habitus (G), inflorescence (H); I, J, Thaumatococcus flavus A. C. Ley, sp. nov., habitus (I), inflorescence (J); K-M, Marantochloa grandiflora A. C. Ley, sp. nov., habitus (K), inflorescence (L) and flower pair (M). Scale bars: 1 cm.

FIG. 4. — Marantochloa grandiflora A. C. Ley, sp. nov.: A, habitus with erect inflorescence at about 10 cm above the ground; B, leaf; C, flower;D, fruit;E, open fruit with three seeds.A-E, A. C. Ley 204. Abbreviations:fs, fleshy staminode;o, ovary;os, outer staminode; p, petal; pa, petaloid appendage of fertile theca; s, sepal. Scale bars: A, B, 10 cm; C, 1 cm; D, E, 0.1 cm.