Raphia vinifera (Arecaceae; Calamoideae): Misidentified for far too long
Author
Mogue Kamga, Suzanne
Author
Sonke, Bonaventure
Author
Couvreur, Thomas L. P.
text
Biodiversity Data Journal
2019
7
37757
37757
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.7.e37757
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.7.e37757
1314-2828-7-e37757
Raphia vinifera P.Beauv., 1804
Raphia vinifera
Palisot de Beauvois s.n.
Raphia mambillensis
Otedoh, 1982 -
Otedoh (1982)
: 163
syn. n.
Raphia vinifera
M.O. Otedoh 7401
Materials
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Keay, R.W.J. 37938; recordedBy:
Keay, R.W.J.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: North-West Region; locality:
About 1 mile from Bamenda on the Santa road
; decimalLatitude:
5.933330
; decimalLongitude:
10.166700
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2019;
Event:
eventDate:
1960-5-10
; year: 1960; month: 5; day: 10;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Brunt, M.A. 1140 A; recordedBy:
Brunt, M.A.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: North-West Region; locality:
Baforkum village on road up to Bambui Experimental Station. Mt Baku.
; decimalLatitude:
6.050000
; decimalLongitude:
10.233300
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2019;
Event:
eventDate:
1963-6-15
; year: 1963; month: 6; day: 15;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Brunt, M.A. 1195; recordedBy:
Brunt, M.A.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: North-West Region; locality:
Baba road
; decimalLatitude:
6.000000
; decimalLongitude:
10.500000
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2019;
Event:
eventDate:
1963-7-18
; year: 1963; month: 7; day: 18;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Fay, J.M. 2987; recordedBy:
Fay, J.M.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Central African Republic
; stateProvince: Bamingui-Bangoran; locality:
Manovo-Gounda St floris National park, camp Koumbala
; decimalLatitude:
8.48583
; decimalLongitude:
21.2025
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Dransfield, J.
; dateIdentified: 1987;
Event:
eventDate:
1982-10-8
; year: 1982; month: 10; day: 8;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Otedoh, M.O. n.s.; recordedBy:
Otedoh, M.O.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Nigeria
; stateProvince: Edo State; locality:
NIFOR plantation near Benin city
; decimalLatitude:
6.390920
; decimalLongitude:
5.581782
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2019;
Event:
eventDate:
1973-8-0
; year: 1973; month: 8;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Brunt, M.A. 1197; recordedBy:
Brunt, M.A.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: North-West Region; locality:
Baba road
; decimalLatitude:
6.048130
; decimalLongitude:
10.459200
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2019;
Event:
eventDate:
1963-7-18
; year: 1963; month: 7; day: 18;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Brunt, M.A. 842; recordedBy:
Brunt, M.A.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: North-West Region; locality:
Baba road
; decimalLatitude:
6.048130
; decimalLongitude:
10.459200
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2018;
Event:
eventDate:
1962-0-0
; year: 1962;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Brunt, M.A. 1196; recordedBy:
Brunt, M.A.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: North-West Region; locality:
Baba road
; decimalLatitude:
6.048130
; decimalLongitude:
10.459200
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2018;
Event:
eventDate:
1963-7-18
; year: 1963; month: 7; day: 18;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Brunt, M.A. 1139; recordedBy:
Brunt, M.A.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: North-West Region; locality:
Baforkum village, by bridge on road up to Bambui Experimental Station. Mt Baku
; decimalLatitude:
6.048975
; decimalLongitude:
10.234535
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2018;
Event:
eventDate:
1963-6-15
; year: 1963; month: 6; day: 15;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Brunt, M.A. 1194; recordedBy:
Brunt, M.A.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: North-West Region; locality:
Ndop plain, Ndop-Baba road
; decimalLatitude:
6.048130
; decimalLongitude:
10.459200
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2018;
Event:
eventDate:
1963-7-18
; year: 1963; month: 7; day: 18;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Palisot de Beauvois, A.M.F.J. n.s.; recordedBy:
Palisot de Beauvois, A.M.F.J.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Nigeria
; stateProvince: Edo State; decimalLatitude:
5.51666666666667
; decimalLongitude:
5.75
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Stauffer, F.W.
; dateIdentified: 2011;
Event:
eventDate:
1813-6-0
; year: 1813; month: 6;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber:
Jacques-Felix
, H. 3089; recordedBy:
Jacques-Felix
, H.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: West Region; locality:
Bayangam
; decimalLatitude:
5.289809
; decimalLongitude:
10.420059
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2018;
Event:
eventDate:
1938-1-0
; year: 1938; month: 1;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Fotius, G. 3088; recordedBy:
Fotius, G.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: Adamawa Region; locality:
Lompta, 38 km SSW
Tigncre
; decimalLatitude:
7.368999
; decimalLongitude:
12.650306
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2019;
Event:
eventDate:
1979-3-14
; year: 1979; month: 3; day: 14;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Chevalier, A.J.B. 7701; recordedBy:
Chevalier, A.J.B.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Central African Republic
; stateProvince:
Nana-Mambere
; locality:
Dar Rounga, Kounde
; decimalLatitude:
6.116670
; decimalLongitude:
14.633300
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2019;
Event:
eventDate:
1903-3-0
; year: 1903; month: 3;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Chevalier, A.J.B. 8397; recordedBy:
Chevalier, A.J.B.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Central African Republic
; stateProvince: Bamingui-Bangoran; locality:
Chari oriental: Kouti et pays Ndouka,
Tele
; decimalLatitude:
8.863486
; decimalLongitude:
20.927135
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2019;
Event:
eventDate:
1903-5-12
; year: 1903; month: 5; day: 12;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber:
Jacques-Felix
, H. 8806; recordedBy:
Jacques-Felix
, H.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: Adamawa Region; locality:
E. Adamawa, Hossere Sille, N. Of Meiganga
; decimalLatitude:
6.516670
; decimalLongitude:
14.300000
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2019;
Event:
eventDate:
1967-10-22
; year: 1967; month: 10; day: 22;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Chevalier, A.J.B. n.s.; recordedBy:
Chevalier, A.J.B.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Mali
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2019;
Event:
eventDate:
1908-0-0
; year: 1908;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Vaillant, A. 1095; recordedBy:
Vaillant, A.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: West Region; locality:
Dschang
; decimalLatitude:
5.457084
; decimalLongitude:
10.062661
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2019;
Event:
eventDate:
1946-3-0
; year: 1946; month: 3;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Couvreur, T.L.P. 638; recordedBy:
Couvreur, T.L.P.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: North-West Region; locality:
Belon, Zwinkles Guest House, in front of bathrooms.
; decimalLatitude:
6.191145
; decimalLongitude:
10.382481
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Couvreur, T.L.P.
; dateIdentified: 2014;
Event:
eventDate:
2014-3-5
; year: 2014; month: 3; day: 5;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Couvreur, T.L.P. 640; recordedBy:
Couvreur, T.L.P.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Cameroon
; stateProvince: North-West Region; locality:
Belon, on small path around Zwinkles Guest House
; decimalLatitude:
6.191145
; decimalLongitude:
10.382481
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Couvreur, T.L.P.
; dateIdentified: 2014;
Event:
eventDate:
2014-3-5
; year: 2014; month: 3; day: 5;
Record Level:
language: english; collectionID: urn:lsid:biocol.org:col:34252; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status:
Other material
.
Occurrence:
recordNumber: Hoyle, A.C. 491; recordedBy:
Hoyle, A.C.
; lifeStage:
adult
; preparations: Native;
Taxon:
taxonID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:669541-1; scientificName: Raphiavinifera; kingdom: Plantae; class: Magnoliopsida; order: Arecales; family: Arecaceae; genus: Raphia; specificEpithet: vinifera; scientificNameAuthorship: P.Beauv.;
Location:
continent: Africa; country:
Sudan
; stateProvince: Lol State; locality:
Boro River, W and N.W. of Sa'id Bundas
; decimalLatitude:
8.505848
; decimalLongitude:
24.669303
; geodeticDatum: WGS84;
Identification:
identifiedBy:
Mogue Kamga, S.
; dateIdentified: 2019;
Event:
eventDate:
1939-1-22
; year: 1939; month: 1; day: 22
Description
Acaulescent palm 7-10 m high overall (including leaves), clustering; dead leaf sheaths persistent, remains of leaf bases near the ground formed through disintegration of leaf sheath, flat, scaly, dark brown.
Leaves
10-12, 7-10 m long in total, arising directly from the ground, vertically and then arched downwards towards apex;
sheath
80-90 cm long,
petiole
3-5 m long;
rachis
4-6 m long;
pinnae
100-126 per side, 0.2-1.3 m long, 5-55 mm wide, irregularly arranged in 4 planes, arching downwards towards the apex, midrib and pinnae margins armed with spines 1-2 mm long but very few to absent on older leaves. Leaves subtending inflorescence reduced.
Inflorescences
3
-4(-
5), pendulous or semi pendulous (nodding), 0.60-1.95 m long in total; young inflorescences light green to purple green, older ones light brown to grey-brown;
rachis
0.45-1.20 m long, bearing numerous pronounced bracts rarely empty, almost completely covering the inflorescence, pinkish-brown abaxially (young) to light brown (older);
rachillae
in two orders:
first order branches
50-60, 6-18 cm long, flabellate shaped, dorsi ventrally compressed, alternating in 2 rows on each side of the rachis, smooth;
second order branches
60-64, 4-12 cm long, dorsi ventrally compressed, alternating in 2 rows on each side of first order rachillae, bud flattened, smooth;
Flowers
solitary, exerted, inserted in one row, rarely two on each side of second order rachillae, staminate flowers distal, pistillate flowers basal.
Staminate flower: calyx
fused, tubular, bearing three shallow lobes;
corolla
comprising 3 petals, 7-10 mm long, 2.5-3 mm wide, basally connate for 1/3 of their length, oblong, apex acuminate, margins entire, smooth, stiff;
stamens
6-8.
Pistillate flowers
:
calyx
fused, tubular, bearing three very shallow lobes;
corolla
comprising 3 petals, 2-4 mm long, separate, basely attached, 3 pointed tips, acuminate, margins irregular, smooth;
staminodial ring
with 6-7 staminodes, 0.5-2 mm long, fused between them, adnate to petals for ca. 1 mm; anthers sagittate, 0.2-1.5 mm long;
gynoecium
3-5.5 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, ovary ca. 2.8-5.3 mm, 1.3-1.9 mm wide, ovoid to ovate long, completely covered with scales, developing at 3/4 height of the gynoecium, larger scales at mid portion to base; style absent or very short; stigma ca. 1 mm long, papillae not observed (flowers young).
Fruits
ellipsoid, oblong to obovoid, 6-9 cm long, 2.5 (young) -5 (mature) cm large, pointed beak 3.7-4.5 mm long, ca. 3 mm wide; (usually wider towards the beak), scales 8-10 rows (usually 9); seed 1 oblong, 2.5-7 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, with ruminated endosperm (
Fig. 5
).
Distribution
Raphia vinifera
is mainly distributed in the Northwest, West and Adamaoua regions of Cameroon, where it is very abundant and even cultivated. Fewer botanical collections are known from the Delta state of Nigeria, Central African Republic and South Sudan (
Fig. 6
). One specimen from August Chevalier (
Chevalier s.n.
, 1908 [P01794200], see
Fig. 2
) is marked as "Soudan
Francais
[now Mali] ou
Guinee
Francaise?"
.
Chevalier (1932)
documents the presence of
R. vinifera
in "Soudan
Francais"
, so it is possible that this specimen is from Mali. We were not able to geolocate this specimen, although it seems possible it was collected close to Bamako (Kita). The literature also documents the presence of this species in several other West African regions or countries for which we did not locate specimens: the Mambillen Mountains in the Gongola state in south-eastern Nigeria (
Otedoh 1982
,
Tuley 1995
), Mali (Bamako, Kita), Burkina Faso (Sikasso, Bobo-Dioulasso), Ivory Coast, Benin [Bas-Dahomey] (
Chevalier 1932
, page 209). The Flore Analytique du
Benin
(
Akoegninou
et al. 2006
) mentions three species of
Raphia
including
R. vinifera
. However, this is clearly the "
vinifera
" as described by
Otedoh (1982)
and
Tuley (1995)
, with a "trunk 6-10 m" (translated from French, page 60) and not the one we describe here. This description does not correspond to
R. vinifera
as described here and no acaulescent
Raphia
is mentioned. In addition, recent field trips by colleagues did not document
R. vinifera
in Ivory Coast (F. Stauffer, pers. com.), Burkina Faso (F. Stauffer, pers. com.) and Benin (V. Salako, pers. com.). Thus, although the distribution of
R. vinifera
in Central Africa is quite clear, its presence needs to be properly documented with recent botanical collections from West Africa.
Ecology
The yet uncertain knowledge of
Raphia vinifera
's distribution leads to an incomplete understanding of its ecology. The species occurs mainly in the transition zone between lower Guinea and the Guineo-Sudanian bioregion in the western highlands of Cameroon and the Guineo-Sudanian bioregion (
Fig. 6
). The species mainly occurs in open habitats, growing along streams and generally forming monodominant stands. It is cultivated in the West and North West regions of Cameroon where it occurs between 1500 m and 1800 m, reaching 2000 m. In West Africa,
R. vinifer
a is documented from sea level to 1400 m. The presence of the type specimen in the lowland Delta State in Nigeria suggests that
R. vinifera
is not a strict mountain species. However, more field studies in West Africa are needed to precisely document the ecological characteristics of this species.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List documents both species,
R. vinifera
and
R. mambillensis
, as Least Concern (LC,
Cosiaux et al. 2018
). With our new circumscription of
R. vinifera
(which inlcudes the name
R. mambillensis
), this status will probably remain unchanged, although a new full assessement should be conducted. More data are needed on its distribution and ecology from West Africa, including recent collections from other countries outside of Cameroon.
Notes
Raphia vinifera
belongs to the flabellate section as defined by
Otedoh (1982)
and not to the raphiate one as suggested by
Otedoh (1982)
and
Tuley (1995)
. In addition, it does not correspond to the descriptions or illustrations provided by
Russell (1965)
,
Tuley and Russell (1966)
or
Russell (1968)
. In these later publications,
R. vinifera
is confused with
R. mannii
.
Raphia vinifera
is an acaulescent palm, with planar, characteristic fan-shaped partial inflorescences (
Figs 4
,
5
), with very prominent bracts completely or partially covering the partial inflorescence. The only other species with this type of inflorescence is the widespread
R. farinifera
(
Otedoh 1982
). The only other species with an acaulescent stem is
R. regalis
Becc., a
tierra firme
species with erect inflorescences (
Tuley 1995
,
Stauffer et al. 2014
).
Numerous names have been suggested as synonyms of
R. vinifera
(e.g.
R. mannii
,
R. wendlandii
,
R. diasticha
Burret), but these are not related to the species we describe here.
Fred Stauffer indicates that the specimen conserved at the M herbarium (M0208480, information on specimen) was made by extracting a few rachillea from the holotype in G.