Piper macropiper var. macrophylla, 2013

Gardner, R. O., 2013, Piper (Piperaceae) in New Guinea: the climbing species, Blumea 57 (3), pp. 275-294 : 287-288

a. var. macrophylla R.O.Gardner , var. nov. — Fig. 4d, 5b

Piper macropiper var. macrophylla R.O.Gardner. — Type: Brass 32543 (holo A; iso CANB), Morobe Province, Markham Valley, Umi River , 480 m, locally common in flood-plain forest.

Diagnosis: Distinctive in P. macropiper by its large leaves and by the indument on the nerves near the base of the blade below, which is of scattered long hairs over numerous short patent ones.

Fertile-shoot internodes to c. 4 mm diam. Vegetative parts (newest stem, stipule, petiole and nervation of blade underside near base), and peduncle of the inflorescence, hirsute to subvillous with dense short pale multicellular hairs (to c. 0.5 mm) among which are few patent to straggling long hairs (to c. 2 mm). Leaf blades subcoriaceous, drying brown to yellowish, ovate, 20– 35 by 8 –17 cm; base rounded-truncate to shortly cordate, nearly equal at petiole, basal lobule small; apex shortly acuminate; main lateral nerves 2– 3 pairs, all basal or nearly so; lower surface not conspicuously glandular; petiole c. 1 cm long. Male inflorescence a spike c. 20 cm long on a 5.5 cm long peduncle; anthers 0.4 mm diam, obscurely 2-locular (locules nearly continuous at apex of short filament), dehiscing apically, at level of bract-heads. Infructescence c. 20– 40 cm long, 6 mm diam, on a 4 –10 cm peduncle; bracts stalked, sparsely pale-villous, bract-heads suborbicular, 0.75 mm diam; fruitlets free, oblong, c. 2 by 0.8 mm, flattened or low-rounded at apex; stigmas 3(– 4), sessile, more or less oblong, together 0.25– 0.4 mm diam. Distribution — Papua New Guinea, Morobe Province.

Habitat & Ecology — In forest, c. 400 – 900 m altitude.

Other specimens seen. Clemens 8216 (A, B), Boana , c. 750 m [‘2 –3000 feet’]; Conn 100, South of Boana, disturbed forest, c. 900 m ; Takeuchi 8675 (A, BRIT), North of Busu River , mature forest, 400 m.

Notes — The nature of the infructescence allows no doubt that these plants represent a local development of P. macropiper . A basal lobule to the leaf blade seems to be present (though small and obscured by hairs) in at least the A duplicates of Clemens 8216 and Takeuchi 8675. For the holotype and Conn 100 it is unclear, because of the way in which these large-leaved plants have been mounted, whether or not a lobule is present. The unique indument of the proximal part of the nervation is shown in Fig. 4d.