Beilschmiedia madang (Blume) Blume

de kok, R. P. J., 2016, A revision of Beilschmiedia (Lauraceae) of Peninsular Malaysia, Blumea 61 (2), pp. 147-164 : 157-158

10. Beilschmiedia madang (Blume) Blume — Map 3

Beilschmiedia madang (Blume) Blume (1851) 332; Kosterm. (1964) 136; Kochummen (1989) 120; I.M. Turner (1995) 276;Sach. Nishida (2008) 363. — Laurus madang Blume (1826) 555;Kosterm.(1964) 650. — Polyadenia madang (Blume) Nees (1836) 578; Kosterm.(1964) 1311. — Type: Blume 776 (holotype L; isotype U 2 sheets [U0002637, U0002636]), [ Indonesia], Java, in Silvis montosis.

Tetranthera bancana Miq.(1855) 950;Kosterm.(1962a) 159;(1964) 1379. — Litsea bancana (Miq.) Boerl. (1900) 143. — Malapoenna bancana (Miq.) Kuntze (1891) 572. — Type: Horsfield s.n. (holotype U [U0002632]; isotype K [K000768702]), [ Indonesia, Sumatra, Bangka], Banca.

Beilschmiedia roxburghiana Nees var. malaccensis Meisn. (1864) 63; Kosterm. (1964) 147. — Beilschmiedia malaccensis Hook.f. (1886) 123; Ridl. (1924) 83; Kosterm.(1964) 137; Kochummen (1989) 120; I.M. Turner (1995) 276. — Type: Griffith s.n. (holotype K [K000768666]), [Peninsular Malaysia], Malacca.

Beilschmiedia curtisii Gamble (1910) 148; Ridl. (1924) 84; Kosterm. (1964) 123; Kochummen (1989) 120; I.M. Turner (1995) 276. — Syntypes: Curtis 1015 (BM [BM000799352], ECON [ECON00241872], K 8x [K001083359, K001083360, K001083361, K001083362, K001083363, K000768668, K000768669,K000768670]),[Peninsular Malaysia],Pulau Penang,Government Hill; Ridley 8075 (K [K001083364]), Singapore, Garden Jungle.

Beilschmiedia perakensis Gamble (1910) 149;Ridl.(1924) 85;Kosterm.(1964) 144; Kochummen(1989) 122;I.M. Turner(1995) 277;Sach. Nishida(2008) 348. — Syntypes: Scortechini s.n. (K 2 sheets [K000768676, K001098150]), [Peninsular Malaysia], Perak; King’s Collector 8489 (K [K000768678] and picture at KEP), Perak; King’s Collector 10026 (K 3 sheets [K000768677, K001098151,K001098153]), Perak; King’s Collector 10432 (K [K001098152] and picture at KEP), Perak, syn. nov.

Dehaasia olivaeformis Teijsm. & Binn. (1854) 77, 241; Kosterm. (1964) 470 [nom. in syn.].

Trees 1.2–30 m tall, dbh 5–40 cm, with short buttresses up to 1.5 m; bark smooth, grey white to (greyish) brown to black; inner bark reddish brown to deep red; sapwood yellow to yellowish brown or cream. Twigs slender to thick (2.5–7.5 mm diam), velutinous; hairs falling off in patches, reddish brown; terminal leaf buds lanceolate to ovate, 3–6.5 mm long, velutinous, hairs short, curly, erect, dark reddish brown. Leaves alternate to (sub) opposite, blades broadly elliptic to obovate, 8–25 by 3–12 cm, (thickly) leathery, light to dark green; apex rounded to acute, often with a clear point; base rounded to cuneate, sometimes unequal; margins flat to recurved; secondary veins 7–18 pairs, curving and joining near margins; tertiary veins reticulate to scalariform, upper surface glabrous to sparsely hairy at base, midrib sunken to raised, secondary veins sunken to raised, tertiary veins faint to distinct; lower surface glabrous to sparsely hairy, more densely so on veins, hairs reddish brown, midrib raised, secondary veins raised, tertiary veins distinct. Petiole 5–30 mm long, slender to slightly swollen, channelled to half terete, velutinous at base, becoming less hairy distally when older, hairs often reddish brown. Inflorescence 20–150 mm long, sparsely hairy to velutinous, becoming sparsely hairy more distally, not enclosed at base by bracts; bracteoles triangular to oblong, 0.6–7 mm long, persistent. Flowers pale yellow to pale yellowish brown, sparsely hairy to velutinous; perianth tube not distinct; perianth lobes elliptical, 1.2–3 by 1.2–1.5 mm, apices rounded to acute, margins not ciliate. Stamens 9, 1.1–2 mm long. Ovary 0.7–1 mm diam, glabrous; style 0.5–0.6 mm long. Fruit (dried) ellipsoid, 13–25 by 5–19 mm, apex rounded to pointed, base rounded to cuneate, surface smooth, glabrous to sparsely hairy (hairs long), shiny, turning dark blue or black when ripe. Stalk when mature, slender to slightly swollen to c. 1.8 mm diam, red when mature, sometimes constricted below apex.

Distribution — Malaysia (including Sabah and Sarawak) and Singapore, Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatra and Java).

Phenology — Flowering and fruiting all year round.

Ecology — In primary and secondary lowlands, including swamps, to montane forests, sometimes on sandy or rocky soils, at 30–1000 m altitude.

IUCN Conservation Assessment — Least Concern.

Notes — In Nishida’s (2008) revision of the Bornean species of Beilschmiedia , she mentioned that most specimens of B. madang from Borneo differ from the type from Java in having reddish hairs, coriaceous leaves with an inrolled margin, and coarser venation that is sunken in the upper leaf surface, whereas the type has ochre hairs, chartaceous leaves with a flat margin, and finer venation that is slightly raised on the upper leaf surface ( Nishida 2008: 365). In this study, I have seen specimens from Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Java, and I can confirm this general observation. The Peninsular Malaysian specimens closely resemble those from Borneo. A part of the variation that Nishida (2008) described used to be recognised in Peninsular Malaysia as B. perakensis (leaf with inrolled margins and raised veins on the upper surface). However, there is much overlap between these and the other characters mentioned by Nishida (2008) and I agree with her in keeping this complex taxon as one species.

The Bornean species B. reticulata Kosterm. has been recorded as occurring in Peninsular Malaysia ( Kostermans 1962a: 158). This rare species is in fact only known with certainty from two specimens with young fruits, both from Sabah, and Nishida (2008: 308) listed it in her revision of the Bornean species among her imperfectly known taxa. The only specimen Kostermans recorded from Peninsular Malaysia (Ridley 15610) can, in my view, be best seen as a less hairy form of B. madang .