Boehmeria macrophylla var. molliuscula, (Blume) Friis & Wilmot-Dear

Wilmot-Dear, C. M. & Friis, I., 2013, The Old World species of Boehmeria (Urticaceae, tribus Boehmerieae). A taxonomic revision, Blumea 58 (2), pp. 85-216 : 161

e. var. molliuscula (Blume) Friis & Wilmot-Dear , comb. nov. — Fig. 23d–h ; Map 24

Basionym: Boehmeria mauritiana Wedd. var. molliuscula Blume , Museum Botanicum Lugduno Batavum, Vol. 2 (fasc. 13–16) (1857) 216. ― Syntypes: Sieber, Fl. Maurit. II, n. 375 (L; isosyn P), Mauritius; ex Herb. Mus. Paris 689 (L, not traced), Reunion. – See Note 1 .

Urtica caudata Poir.(1798) 640,nom.illeg.,non.Burm.f.(1768) 197,nec Blume (1825) 492. ― Boehmeria mauritiana Wedd. (1854) 200, nom. nov. for Urtica caudata Poir. (1798) 640. ― Type: Sonnerat in Herb. Poiret s.n. (holo P), Mauritius.

Boehmeria elliptica Wedd.(1854) 200. ― Boehmeria platyphylla D.Don var. macrostachya (Wight) Wedd. subvar. elliptica (Wedd.) Wedd. (1856) 367. ― Type: M. Richard 291 (lecto P, selected here because label has the annotation in Weddell’s handwriting ‘subvar. elliptica ’), Madagascar,Ile Mohilla.

Boehmeria platyphylla D.Don var. macrostachya (Wight) Wedd. subvar. phyllostachya Wedd. (1856) 367. ― Type: Bory de St. Vincent s.n. (lecto P, selected here as the only identifiable part of the original material possible to trace for this account), Reunion [Bourbon].

Boehmeria mauritiana Wedd. var. luxurians Blume (1857) 216. ― Type: Richard 696 (holo L), Reunion.

Boehmeria platyphylla D.Don var. angolensis Rendle (1917) 201. ― Syntypes: Gossweiler 4656 (BM) & 4851 (BM), Angola.

Understorey shrub, subshrub (sometimes scrambling) or small fleshy robust herb, up to 2–3 m tall. Stems with hairs sparse to abundant, spreading (rarely half-adpressed), fine, soft, weak often curved and often of varying lengths but at least some 0.4–0.5 mm long. Stipules 6–9 mm long, glabrous or sparsely hairy abaxially. Leaves slightly or moderately dimorphic in size with length of ‘larger’ lamina up to 2 × length of ‘smaller’, elliptic, ovate or rhombic-ovate to narrowly ovate, 4–25 by 2.5–15 cm, length 1.5–3.5 × width, marginal teeth relatively few, 15– 35 either side, 2–5 by 4–7 mm, distal ones sometimes slightly up-curved; leaf apex attenuate to indistinctly long-acuminate mostly consisting of a single long tooth; base narrow, cuneate or narrowly rounded but often subcordate; texture very thin- to thick-chartaceous, leaves smooth or sometimes slightly bullate; both surfaces glabrescent or with hairs abundant, fairly soft, curved, sometimes giving adaxial surface a rough texture; veins slender or robust; petiole very variable with respect to lamina 0.25–more than 0.5 × lamina length (in moist habitats sometimes longer than lamina). Inflorescence-bearing axes unisexual or sometimes bisexual, pendulous, unbranched, 5– 50 cm long, flower-clusters spaced 2 –6 mm apart, female clusters 2–5 mm diam, flowers c. 10–40(–more than 50), usually loosely arranged. Fruiting perianth ovoid to obovoid without distinct beak, up to 2 by 1 mm, moderately or markedly laterally flattened with distinct marginal rim or indistinct thick-textured wing, glabrescent to abundantly hairy at apex or throughout, hairs sometimes minute, usually fairly long and conspicuous.

Distribution ― Tropical Africa (from Sierra Leone and Senegal to Ethiopia, south to Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique), Comoro Islands, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion.

Habitat & Ecology ― Lowland rainforest, often in riverine forest undergrowth or among rocks in moist woodland, often near streams; 800–2100 m altitude.

Conservation status ― Least Concern (LC). Widespread, in a wide range of habitats and often common. Several hundred collections have been seen.

Notes ― 1. The origin of the type specimen of B. macrophylla Hornem. (cited under B. virgata subsp. macrophylla ) is not known, as the plant was grown from seeds of unknown origin, but the specimen agrees with material from Mauritius and Reunion, and we suggest it referred to var. molliuscula . Therefore, var. molliuscula is the typical variety of subsp. macrophylla , but the varietal epithet B. mauritiana Wedd. var. molliuscula Blume (1857) was published earlier than B. macrophylla Hornem. var. macrophylla (created as an autonym by Long (1982), when he made three other new combinations at the level of variety under B. macrophylla Hornem. : var. canescens (Wedd.) Long , var. tomentosa (Wedd.) Long and var. scabrella (Roxb.) Long ). Subsp. macrophylla is not the typical subspecies of B. virgata , and the epithet var. molliuscula has priority and has to be used at this rank.

2. As discussed in detail under the species (Note 5-i, Table 4), this variety is distinguished from the allopatric var. macrostachya in its stem indumentum spreading, its leaf shape and proportions, and characters of the marginal teeth and inflorescence-bearing axes.

3. Forms in moist habitats (such as rainforest) often have almost glabrous stem and leaves while those in drier habitats have much denser indumentum, with a range of forms (including the type of B. platyphylla var. nigeriana ) intermediate with the dry-habitat var. tomentosa . This intermediate material includes the type collections of var. nigeriana , and var. ugandensis , as follows: Boehmeria platyphylla D.Don var. nigeriana Wedd. (1869) 213. ― Type: Barter s.n. (holo K; iso P), Nigeria, Aboh.

Boehmeria platyphylla D.Don var. ugandensis Rendle (1917)

201. ― Syntypes: E. Brown 2040 (BM; isosyn K), Uganda ,

Mawokota; Dawe 423 (K) & Scott Elliott 7531 (BM; isosyn K),

both Uganda,Ankole; Bagshawe 799 (BM), Uganda, Mengo,

Entebbe; Dummer 89 (BM; isosyn K), Uganda, Kirerema;

Schweinfurth 3203 (K; not found), Sudan / Zaire, Monbuttu,

Kussumbo River.

Figures

Map 24 Distribution of Boehmeria virgata (G.Forst.) Guillem.subsp.macro­ phylla (Hornem.) Friis & Wilmot-Dear var.molliuscula Blume) Friis & Wilmot- Dear () and B. virgata (G.Forst.) Guillem. subsp. macrophylla (Hornem.) Friis & Wilmot-Dear var. tomentosa (Wedd.) Friis & Wilmot-Dear (●).

Fig. 23 a–c: Boehmeria virgata subsp. virgata var. austroqueenslandica (Domin) Friis & Wilmot-Dear. a. Leaf; b. detail of stem and stipules; c. fruiting perianth. — d–h: Boehmeria virgata subsp. macrophylla var. molliuscula (Blume) Friis & Wilmot-Dear. d. Leaf; e. leaf, detail of adaxial surface; f. leaf, detail of abaxial surface; g. detail of stem and stipules; h. fruiting perianth. — i–l: Boehmeria virgata subsp. macrophylla var. tomentosa (Wedd.) Friis & Wilmot-Dear. i. Leaf; j. leaf,detail of abaxial surface;k. detail of stem and stipules; l. fruiting perianth.— m–o: Boehmeria virgata subsp. macrophylla var. longissima (Hook.f.) Friis & Wilmot-Dear.m. Habit of stem with inflorescence-bearing axes; n. detail of stem and stipules;o. fruiting perianth (a–c: Melville & Hunt 3628; d–h: Manning 2007; i, j: McClintock 147; k, l: Daramola 67450; m, o: Gamble 1260B; n: Bourne s.n.; all K). — Scale bars: a, d, i, m = 2 cm; b, e-g, j, k, n = 2 mm; c, h, l, o = 1 mm.