Lycianthes wollastonii (Wernham) A.R.Bean,

W. A., Mustaqim, P., Puradyatmika & Heatubun, C. D., 2022, Solanaceae of New Guinea: recollection and conservation status assessments of two endemic and poorly known species including updated taxonomic descriptions, Rheedea 32 (1), pp. 46-54 : 47-50

Lycianthes wollastonii (Wernham) A.R.Bean,

Austrobaileya 6(3): 568. 2003. Solanum wollastonii Wernham, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. 9(1): 120. 1916.

Lectotype (designated by Symon, 1985): INDONESIA, Papua Province (= New Guinea ), Camp VIII–IX [Mt Carstensz], [01–04. 1913], Kloss s.n. ( BM [ BM001014583 digital image!]) . Fig. 1

Slender woody perennial climber, or epiphytic (fide Wernham, 1916; Symon, 1985). Stems up to c. 3 m in length, flushed with violet when young, at first clad with appressed minute simple hairs, later rupturing and only partially persistent and then becoming very laxly set with blackish glandular points. Leaves green above, paler below, geminate, minor leaves finally caducous; major leaf lamina obliquely elliptic, (3.3–)7.5–11.3 × (1.3–) 3.3–4 cm, base cuneate or attenuate, margin entire, apex caudate or rarely abruptly acuminate, minor leaves obovate or broadly elliptic, up to 1.8 × 1.5 cm, base attenuate, margins entire, apex acute or obtuse, midrib sharply raised above, primary lateral veins 4–7 on each side of the midrib, venations prominent on both surfaces especially in the abaxial side, glabrous on both sides, lower surfaces with scattered blackish points and later verruculose due to the presence of many circular to oblong cystoliths; petioles c. 5 mm long. Inflorescences axillary, 1–5- flowered, peduncle c. 1 mm long, rachis 1.75 mm long, only one flower bloom at a time, not accompanied by developed young (bud) or older flower, pedicels slender, 2–2.1 cm long, very laxly clad with hairs similar to those on stem, glandular. Calyx with a tube 2.75–3 mm long, rim entire, with 5 prominent perpendicular conical teeth 2–2.5 mm long, positioned 0.75–1 mm below the rim, apex rounded. Corolla c. 2 cm across at full anthesis, white, deeply divided to near the base, the tube c. 3.25 mm long, interpetalar membrane narrow, slightly fleshy, lobes lanceolate, 10–10.5 × 2–3.5 mm, tapering to a narrow acute apex, dorsally glabrous, margins fringed with hairs similar to those on young stem, hairs on the apical area of the calyx glandular. Stamens equal, connivent filaments c. 1.2 mm long, white, glabrous, attached slightly above the middle of the corolla tube, anthers yellow, 5.8– 8 mm long, c. 1 mm wide, oblong, slightly tapering to apex, pores apical, slightly latrorse. Ovary glabrous, c. 1.75 mm across. Style c. 7.25 mm long, exceeding the anthers by 1.75–2 mm, glabrous, white, with wart-like projections surrounding the stigma, stigma erect. Berries sub-depressed globose, green when immature, subtended by dull violet, incrassate calyx.

Flowering & fruiting: Collected in flower and fruit (immature) in November. We concluded that the species is also flowering around January to April according to the date when the Wollaston Expedition was carried out.

Habitat: Mossy mid-montane forests, growing in a relatively shaded area, and is locally abundant amongst ericaceous plants, at c. 1500–2090 m elevation.

Distribution: Endemic to Indonesian New Guinea, Mount Jaya ( Fig. 2 ).

Specimen examined: INDONESIA, Papua Province, Timika Regency, Mount Jaya, Tembagapura , Borobudur , S 4º08’26.82", E 137º05’55.82", 2090 m, 21.11.2018, Mustaqim & Manurung 2213 ( BO) .

Conservation status: The type material was collected from an area at 1500–1670 m elevations ( Ridley, 1916). The recent collection was made in a small forest patch at the edge of the Tembagapura settlements. These forests are threatened by cutting and possible expansion of the mining company operating in the area. Any single activity that clears the forest could endanger all plants known in this locality. With the current data available, this species has an AOO of 8 km 2 that falls within CR under criterion B2 of subcriterion a. With the fragmented occurrence and threat to individuals and habitat, a provisional conservation assessment of CR, B2ab(iii,v) can be proposed ( IUCN, 2012, 2019).

Notes: Lycianthes wollastonii was first discovered by Cecil B. Kloss from a location known as Camp VIII-IX at 1500–1670 m elevation (4900–5500 feet) ( Ridley, 1916). This is an area on the southern side of Mount Jaya where the Wollaston Expedition was carried out. The 2018 collecting was done in forests near the Tembagapura settlements, at 2090 m elevation, slightly higher than the elevation of the type material locality.

Although Bean (2003) did not provide the specimen collection date, it is now clear that the specimen was collected in 1913, around January to April ( Steenis-Kruseman & van Welzen, 2007), about three years before the species was formally described by Wernham (1916). The species was not recollected again for 105 years ago until its rediscovery in 2018.

Despite the short description provided by Wernham (1916) and Symon (1985), L. wollastonii cannot be mistaken with other Lycianthes species. This species is unique in having an inflorescence bearing 1–5, pentamerous flowers, truncate calyx, with lateral teeths, minute hairs on young parts of the plant (discernible with a hand lens) and short minor leaves (up to 18 mm long or sometimes absent). A species morphologically closely related to L. wollastonii from New Guinea is L. rostellata (Merr. & L.M.Perry) A.R.Bean , but the latter differs in the absence of teeth in the calyx, conspicuous hairs that are easily observed with naked eye, and the purple corolla (vs. white in L. wollastonii ).

Symon (1985) stated that this species is morphologically similar to L. peranomala (Wernham ex Ridl.) A.R.Bean (listed by Symon (1985) as S. peranomalum Wernham ex Ridl. ), another lesser-known species. Lycianthes wollastonii differs from L. peranomala in having up to 7 lateral nerves (vs. 8–9 in L. peranomala ), fewer flowers per inflorescence (1–5 vs. 7–9 in L. peranomala ), longer pedicels (20–21 mm vs. c. 8 mm long), the absence of rufous hairs (vs. sparsely rufous pubescent), and longer corollas (≥ 13.25 mm vs. c. 4 mm long).

Wernham (1916) and Symon (1985) described L. wollastonii as an epiphytic shrub. This is interesting since only a few species of Lycianthes or Solanaceae in general are reported to be epiphytic ( Barboza & Hunziker, 1992; Zhang et al., 1994; de Rojas & D’Arcy, 1997). Our recently collected specimen matches well with the original description of the species with the exception of the habitat which is terrestrial and not epiphytic. Our field observations showed that the stems were slender and most parts covered by moss ( Fig. 1c ). It is possible that Kloss overlooked the stems which are obscured by moss, or that the species varies in its habit. Since there are species of Lycianthes that have been recorded as an epiphytic, such as the Meso-American species - L. synanthera (Sendtn.) Bitter ( Woodson et al., 1973) , it is important for future collectors to carefully observe this matter. The large xylem vessels ( Fig. 3 ) are a general characteristic of climbers that seem not depend on the substrate of the plant species whether its terrestrial or epiphytic ( Acevedo-Rodriguez, 2005; Salas et al., 2018). Therefore, it is likely that L. wollastonii lives either as a terrestrial or epiphytic climber (i.e., facultative epiphyte).

A total of 18 species of Lycianthes are known from New Guinea. A key to eight Indonesian New Guinean species of Lycianthes with the updated names following POWO (2021) is given below.

Figures

Fig. 1. Lycianthes wollastonii (Wernham) A.R.Bean: A. Leafy branch; b. Minor leaves; c. Flowers in natural position; d. Close-up of flower; e. Immature fruit (scale bars: a = 5 cm; b–e = 1 cm; photos by W.A. Mustaqim).

Fig. 2. Geographic distribution of Lycianthes wollastonii (Wernham) A.R.Bean (z) and Solanum gibbsiae J.R.Drumm. (•). Created using Simplemappr (Shorthouse, 2010).

Fig. 3. Lycianthes wollastonii (Wernham) A.R.Bean: A. cross section of stem; b. An enlarged view (scale bars: a, b = 0.5 mm; photos by W.A. Mustaqim).