Ficus gibbsiae Ridl.

Berg, C. C., 2011, Corrective notes on the Malesian members of the genus Ficus (Moraceae), Blumea 56 (2), pp. 161-164 : 161

Ficus gibbsiae Ridl.

Ficus gibbsiae Ridl. (1915) 137; Merr. (1921) 223. — Ficus macilenta King var. gibbsiae (Ridl.) Corner (1960a) 439. — Type: Gibbs 4008 (holo K), Sabah, Mt Kinabalu, Gurulau , c. 1700 m.

Treelet or shrub up to 4 m, much-branched. Leafy twigs 1.5– 2 mm thick, very sparsely white appressed puberulous near the nodes to subglabrous, without glands, periderm flaking off (below the leaves). Leaves spirally arranged, lamina oblong to elliptic to subrhombic, 4 –16 by 2 –4.5 cm, subcoriaceous, apex acuminate to subcaudate, base cuneate to obtuse, margin entire or coarsely dentate to sublobate; upper surface glabrous or with a few minute hairs at the base of the midrib, smooth, lower surface glabrous, smooth; cystoliths absent (?), lateral veins 5–7 pairs, slightly prominent, the basal pair running close to the margin, up to c. 1/6 the length of the lamina, unbranched, tertiary venation almost reticulate slightly prominent to almost flat beneath, waxy glands in the axils of the basal lateral veins, partly extending to the midrib; petiole 1.5 –3.5 cm long, c. 1 mm thick, sparsely minutely white puberulous, the epidermis flaking off (starting) at the upper part and base; stipules 0.5 –1 cm long, white appressed-puberulous to subsericeous, caducous. Figs axillary, in pairs: peduncle 0.1–0.25 mm long; basal bracts 3, 0.5 –1.5 mm long, whitish ciliolate; receptacle subglobose, 0.5 –0.6 cm diam when dry, very sparsely minutely whitish puberulous, reddish to purplish at maturity (?), apex convex,

1 Bergen Museum,University of Bergen,Allégate 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway; Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity Naturalis (section NHN), Leiden University, P.O. Box 9514, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands;

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ostiole c. 1 mm diam, slightly prominent to sunken, the ostiolar bracts white hairy; internal hairs abundant, yellowish. Style of long-styled pistillate flower glabrous.

Distribution — Borneo: Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak

Ecology — Forest; at altitudes up to c. 1 600 m.

Collections included. BRUNEI, Distr. Temburong, Subdistr. Amo, Bukit Tudal, 760–840 m, Kirkup 967 (L); Distr. Temburong, Bukit Belalong, Wong 1367 (L). – SABAH, Mt Kinabalu, c. 1300 m, Clemens et al. 26938 (L); near Kinabalu National Park, above Kiau II Gurulau ridge, 1500–1700 m, Kanis & Kuripin SAN53969 (L); Kinabalu, Penibukan, Bahandoi, Sg. Tahuban, 900 m, Nooteboom et al. 1521 (L); Distr. Tenom, Kapilu, road to Kampong Rendum, 360 m, Saikeh L. SAN73547 (L). – SARAWAK, Division Bintilu, Bukit Kana, Ulu, Sg. Sangan, Tatau, 750 m, Yii Puan Ching & Asah S 66924 (L).

Note — This species strikingly resembles the partly sympatric F. chartacea King in its vegetative parts, but the hairy tepals indicate that it belongs to sect. Auratae instead of sect. Eriosycea. The close relationship to F. macilenta is already indicated by inclusion of this species. Ficus gibbsiae differs from F. macilenta in the (almost) glabrous and smooth lamina (in contrast to an at least beneath distinctly hairy and above scabrous to scabridulous lamina), the acuminate to subcaudate apex of the lamina (in contrast to a acuminate to acute apex), the slightly prominent to flat venation, in particular the reticulum both beneath and above (vs a prominent reticulum). Moreover, the petiole tends to be longer in F. gibbsiae and the peduncle longer in F. macilenta .