Barringtonia tagala Jebb & Prance, 2011

Jebb, M. & Prance, G. T., 2011, Five new species of Barringtonia (Lecythidaceae) from Papua New Guinea, Blumea 56 (2), pp. 105-112 : 112

5. Barringtonia tagala Jebb & Prance , sp. nov. — Fig. 5

Species B. racemosa affinis lobis calycibus post aperientis annulis cupuliformis remantis; fructibus 9.5 cm longis (haud 2–5.5 cm), B. serenae affinis petiolis ad 1 cm longis (haud 2–7 cm), petalis 22 longis, 15 mm latis (haud 38 × 22 mm); pedicellis haud articulatis differt. — Typus: Jebb 884 (holo K; iso L, LAE), Papua New Guinea, Madang Province, Balek Wildlife Reserve, 5°19'S, 145°43.35'E, 16 Oct. 1990.

Upright leptocaul tree, to 20 m; bole to 8 m, profusely branched; branches horizontal to down curved; internodes 6 – 24 by 1.2 cm, architecturally conforming to Champagnat’s Model. Leaves in loose whorls of 5–14(–19), in upper half of internode; petioles to 1 cm, rounded below, flat above; leaf blades flat, obovate to lanceolate, 16 –33 by 5 –12 cm, broadest at c. 2/3 of its length, glossy green above; chartaceous; apex shortly roundacuminate; base cuneate; midrib rounded, prominent below; primary veins 12–17 pairs, prominent below, arising obliquely, curving, arched and united near the margin; margin asymmetrically crenulate, entire towards the base. Cataphylls spathulate, 5 –11 by 1–2.5 cm, caducous; apex blunt and mucronate, more rounded in larger cataphylls, base tapering. Inflorescences lateral, arising from old leaf axils, often someway behind apex, sometimes solitary, usually in clusters of 2 – 3(–4); peduncle to 90 by 0.3 cm, thickening in fruit to 0.5 cm, cylindrical, smooth to striate; bracts lanceolate, to 0.5 cm long, caducous. Flowers 25–40, pedicels characteristically upcurved when in bud, nodding when flowering, and ± horizontal after perianth has fallen, c. 1.5 by 0.6 cm, passing abruptly to hypanthium; buds spherical, apiculate, to 12 mm diam, splitting circumscissily at the widest point, and expanding to 16 mm and often retaining the caducous cap before finally opening; calyx truncate, to 0.5 by 1.5 cm, papery, cupuliform in fruit; margin ± entire, flattened; petals 4, obovate, c. 22 by 15 cm, concave, white; apex rounded; stamens 200– 250, in c. 7 whorls, 40–50 by 0.5 mm, connate in the lower 2– 3 mm, the innermost whorl fused into a fimbriate tube 10 by 4 mm, staminodes to 20 mm long; anthers round-ovate, 1 by 1 mm, 4-celled; style 55 – 58 by 1 mm, tapered; white, pink towards apex; disk to 8 mm across, the raised annulus acute-topped, to 1.5 mm high, yellow; ovary conical, 0.7 by 0.8 cm; locules 2 – 3, each with 2 – 4 ovules, septae 3 – 4 at the base. Fruits narrowly cylindric when young, 8.5 by 2 cm, becoming thicker and oblong with age, to 9.5 by 4.5 cm, apex and base blunt; surface irregularly and thickly ribbed, apex puckered, with prominent and persistent calyx and style remains, dark green when young, becoming yellow when fully ripe and then falling; embryo cylindric, to 7 by 2.5 cm, tapering to each end.

Distribution & Habitat — Known from the Gogol valley of Madang Province. In lowland forest. In common with many other Barringtonia apparently shows poor seed dispersal. Individual trees are often accompanied by large crops of surrounding seedlings.

Note — Although the leaves of B. tagala are similar to those of B. serenae this new species can be distinguished from the latter by its much longer inflorescence, longer pedicels that are not articulated and the smaller flowers. The raceme length, fruit size, its long cylindric shape and the 2 – 3-loculed ovary are exceptional. The generic name for Barringtonia in the Madang region is ‘Tagal’.

Figures

Fig. 5 Barringtonia tagala Jebb & Prance. a. Leaves and branch; b. inflorescence; c. half fruit (Jebb 884, K, L, LAE).