Clerodendrum smitinandii Moldenke (1959: 79)

Satthaphorn, Jiratthi, Paton, Alan J., Nuraliev, Maxim S., Phuphumirat, Wongkot, Tagane, Shuichiro & Leeratiwong, Charan, 2025, A revision of Clerodendrum smitinandii (Lamiaceae): floral morphology, pollen structure and distribution, Phytotaxa 698 (4), pp. 229-244 : 230-233

Clerodendrum smitinandii Moldenke (1959: 79) ( Figs. 1–5 ).

References: — Moldenke (1971: 295, 1980: 284, 288), Leeratiwong & Chantaranothai (2003: 45) pro parte, Leeratiwong et al. (2011: 206) pro parte, Cho et al. (2016: 110), Rundel & Middleton (2017: 29), Tagane et al. (2017: 306).

TYPE: — THAILAND. Chanthaburi Province: Pong Namrawn [Pong Nam Ron], Pratrong, elev. ca. 600 m, 21 January 1956, T. Smitinand 3197 [fr.] ( holotype LL 00374991!, isotype BKF SN 080130!).

Description

Shrub to tree 2–15 m tall. Bark externally dark grey, internally yellow, yellowish-brown to reddish-brown. Young stems robust, much branched, ±quadrangular in cross section, longitudinally sulcate, light brown, minutely pubescent,

glabrescent with age. Leaves decussate. Petiole 0.5–1.5 cm long, glabrous. Leaf blade chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, glossy, elliptic to obovate-elliptic to narrowly oblanceolate, 5–15.5 × 1–5.2 cm, apex acute to acuminate, base cuneate to attenuate, margin entire; adaxial surface dark green, glabrous; abaxial surface light green, glabrous; midvein flat adaxially and raised abaxially; secondary veins 6–9 on each side of midvein, arcuate-ascending. Inflorescence a thyrse, terminal (rarely axillary near top of branch), erect, 6–9 cm long; main axes glabrous to minutely puberulent; peduncle up to 8 mm long; cymes laxly arranged, opposite, arranged in 2–5 pairs, each cyme 3–8-flowered; peduncles of cymes 1–2 cm long, glabrous or glabrescent; lower bracts leaf-like, 12–15 × 1.5–2 mm, glabrous; upper bracts linear, up to 3 mm long, glabrous; bracteoles linear, 1–2 mm long, puberulent to glabrescent or glabrous. Flower actinomorphic to sub-actinomorphic, scented; pedicel articulated with flower base, 12–18 mm long, glabrous. Calyx whitish pink to pink or red, urceolate, glabrous on both surfaces; tube 4.5–6 mm long; lobes appressed to corolla base, narrowly triangular, 8.5–13.8(–18) × 1.7–2.5 mm, apex acute to long-acuminate. Fruiting calyx erect (not reflexed), bright red; tube 6–12 mm long; lobes more or less spreading, triangular, 10–15 × 5–7 mm, apex acute to long-acuminate. Corolla white to creamy white, slightly pubescent outside, glabrous inside; tube salverform, 3.4–4 cm long; lobes obovate, 6–7 × 2–4 mm, apex obtuse to rounded. Stamens 2.3–3.2 cm long, glabrous; filaments white; anthers dorsifixed, oblong, 3–3.8 × 1–2 mm, reddish-brown to black. Ovary subglobose, glabrous; style 5.5–6.5 cm long, white, glabrous; stigma bilobed, white. Fruit subglobose, unlobed to distally 2–4-lobed, 9–12 mm in diameter, glabrous, ripening black.

Pollen morphology: — Clerodendrum smitinandii has monad pollen ( Fig. 6 ). Pollen grains are isopolar, isodiametric (P/E ratio ranged from 0.80 to 1.07, average 0.97), spheroidal, tricolpate with sunken colpi. In LM, the polar axis ranged from 54.08 to 70.47 μm (average 60.17 ± 3.77 μm) and the equatorial diameter ranged from 55.83 to 72.50 μm (average 62.48 ± 4.02 μm). The sporoderm is sparsely echinate and densely perforate ( Fig. 6D ). The main quantitative palynological characters of the species are provided in Table 1.

Etymology: —The name of this species honours Tem Smitinand (1920–1995), the collector of the type gathering and a good friend and colleague of the species author ( Moldenke 1959). Professor Tem Smitinand was a Thai botanist, who participated in establishing the Flora of Thailand project and contributed considerably to its progress.

Vernacular names: — Thai : nom sa wan ton (นมสวรรค์ต้น), pa nom sa wan a jarn tem (พนมสวรรค์อาจารย์เต็ม) ( Leeratiwong et al. 2011, Pooma & Suddee 2014); Cambodian: Malis Phnom ( Tagane et al. 2017).

Distribution: — Cambodia ( Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Speu, Kampot, Koh Kong), Thailand ( Chanthaburi: type locality), Vietnam ( Da Nang, Dak Lak, Khanh Hoa, Kon Tum, Lam Dong, Ninh Thuan). The distribution of C. smitinandii is presented in Fig. 7 based on the specimens examined in our study (see Appendix).

Ecology and phenology: —Lowland, submontane hill and mountain evergreen forests, grasslands with scattered trees, dry submontane forests, sometimes in disturbed areas; at elevations of 370–1867 m. Flowering from December to September, fruiting all year round.

The label of the collection Newman et al. 2207 (E, L, P) from Koh Kong Province, Cambodia, states that many flowers were galled, i.e. beared abnormal growths apparently induced by external agents such as insects, fungi or bacteria. Galled flowers of similar appearance were also observed in the specimen Poilane 23282 (P) ( Kampot Province, Cambodia), and revealed during our fieldwork in the same province ( Tagane et al. 3971 (FU), see Fig. 3D ), and in Chanthaburi Province of Thailand ( Satthaphorn 150 (PSU), see Fig. 2C ).

IUCN Conservation assessment: — Clerodendrum smitinandii has a wide range of distribution from southeastern Thailand to Cambodia and southern Vietnam ( Fig. 7 ). This species is well-established in various types of vegetation including lowland and submontane evergreen forests. According to GeoCAT ( Bachman et al. 2011), this species shows an EOO of more than 20,000 km 2 and AOO of more than 2,000 km 2. Localities of most collections are currently within legally protected areas at various elevations ; in particular, species populations were found within the habitats where human disturbance is rarely observed. Therefore, we assess this species as Least Concern (LC) following IUCN criteria and categories ( IUCN 2024).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Clerodendrum smitinandii (vegetative morphology). A. Habit. B. Notched bark. C. Branch with inflorescence of previous season. D. Node and leaves. A, C: Satthaphorn 150; B: Satthaphorn 149; D: Tagane et al. 3971.

FIGURE 2. Clerodendrum smitinandii (reproductive morphology). A. Inflorescence. B. Corolla and stamens, front view. C. Galled flowers. A–C: Satthaphorn 150.

FIGURE 3. Clerodendrum smitinandii (reproductive morphology).A. Branch with inflorescences.B, C. Flower in oblique view (showing corolla lobes and stamens) and lateral view. D. Galled flower. E. Immature fruit. A, B, D: Tagane et al. 3971; C: Tagane et al. V9191; E: Satthaphorn 150.

FIGURE 4. Holotype of Clerodendrum smitinandii (Smitinand 3197, LL). Image available at: https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/ collections/individual/index.php?occid=31275501&clid=0

FIGURE 5. Isotype of Clerodendrum smitinandii (Smitinand 3197, BKF). Image available at: https://botany.dnp.go.th/collections/ collectionsdetails.html?rfdno=80130&typedb=opttype#gallery

FIGURE 6. Pollen of Clerodendrum smitinandii. A. LM, equatorial view. B. LM, polar view. C. SEM, equatorial view. D. SEM, pollen surface showing ornamentation with echini and perforations.All pollen samples taken from Satthaphorn 149 (PSU).

FIGURE 7. Distribution map of Clerodendrum smitinandii. Numbers near locations refer to the collections cited in Appendix.