Piptostigma fugax A. Chev. ex Hutch. & Dalziel, Fl. W. trop. Afr. 1: 52, 1927

Fig. 86; Map 10I

Type.

Ivory Coast: Bas-Sassandra; Cavally basin, Tepos country: Grabo and surrounding villages, at the foot of Mount Cope, Chevallier A.J.B. 19620, 26-28 Jun 1907: lectotype, designated by Ghogue et al. (2017), p. 190: P[P00363296]; isolectotype: P[P00363297] .

Description.

Tree to shrub, 1-10 m tall, d.b.h. 6-7 cm; stilt roots or buttresses absent. Indumentum of simple hairs; old leafless branches glabrous, young foliate branches densely pubescent. Leaves: petiole 2-4 mm long, 1-2 mm in diameter, densely pubescent, cylindrical, blade inserted on top of the petiole; blade 7-24 cm long, 3-6.5 cm wide, obovate, apex acuminate to acute, acumen 0.3-0.7 cm long, base obtuse to acute, papyraceous, below pubescent when young, glabrous when old, above glabrous when young and old, discolorous, whitish below; midrib impressed, above pubescent when young and old, below densely pubescent when young, densely pubescent when old; secondary veins 15 to 23 pairs, glabrous above; tertiary venation percurrent. Individuals bisexual; inflorescence cauliflorous, axillary, peduncle-like base not apparent, axial internodes absent, compact in aspect, sympodial rachis 5-20 mm long. Flowers with 9 perianth parts in 3 whorls; 1 per inflorescence; pedicel 4-6 mm long, ca. 2 mm in diameter, densely pubescent; in fruit 11-13 mm long, ca. 3 mm in diameter, tomentose; basal bract ca. 3 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide; upper bract ca. 3 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide; sepals 3, valvate, free, ca. 5 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide, ovate, apex acute, base truncate, brown, pubescent outside, glabrous inside, margins flat; petals free, outer petals shorter than inner; outer petals 3, ca. 11 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm wide, ovate, apex acute, base truncate, light yellow, margins flat, pubescent outside, glabrous inside; inner petals 3, valvate, 20-40 mm long, 4-10 mm wide, ovate, apex acute, base truncate, margins wavy, pubescent outside, sparsely pubescent to glabrous inside; stamens 100 to 120, in 6 to 7 rows, 1 mm long, broad; connective discoid, glabrous, red; staminodes absent; carpels free, 1 to 4, ovary ca. 2 mm long, stigma globose, sparsely pubescent. Monocarps sessile, 1 to 3, ca. 45 mm long, ca. 20 mm in diameter, ellipsoid to ovoid, apex cuspidate, pubescent, smooth, fleshy, white when ripe; seeds 5 per monocarp, ca. 13 mm long, ca. 5 mm in diameter, ellipsoid; aril absent.

Distribution.

A mainly West African species from Liberia to Togo and Nigeria; in Cameroon known from the South and South-West regions.

Habitat.

In the understory of primary and secondary rain forests on granitic and clay soils. Altitude 100-700(-1300) m a.s.l.

Local and common names known in Cameroon.

None recorded.

IUCN conservation status.

Least Concern (LC) (Cosiaux et al. 2019a g).

Uses in Cameroon.

None reported.

Notes.

Piptostigma fugax resembles P. oyemense in having a single-flowered inflorescence and flowers with 1 to 3(4) carpels, a unique combination of characters in Piptostigma . However, P. fugax has obovate leaf blades, while P. oyemense has elliptic leaf blades.

Specimens examined.

South Region: Campo Ma'an National Park 11 km on trail from Ebinanemeyong village on road 7 km from Nyabessan to Campo town, 2.52°N, 10.32°E, 11 February 2015, Couvreur T.L.P. 681 (WAG,YA); 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. 693 (WAG,YA). South-West Region: Ekundu Kundu to Erat ca 25 km, 5.13°N, 8.869°E, 26 April 1996, Cheek M. 8198 (K,WAG,YA); Edensueh forest, 5.25°N, 9.576°E, 30 November 2000, Etuge M. 4853 (K,YA) .