Monanthotaxis maputensis P.H.Hoekstra

Hoekstra, P. H., Wieringa, J. J., Maas, P. J. M. & Chatrou, L. W., 2021, Revision of the African species of Monanthotaxis (Annonaceae), Blumea 66 (2), pp. 107-221 : 177-179

48. Monanthotaxis maputensis P.H.Hoekstra — Fig. 21 ; Map 10

Monanthotaxis maputensis P.H.Hoekstra in Hoekstra et al.(2016) 91. — Type: J. de Koning 7766 (holo WAG0349310 ; iso LMA not seen, MO3880761 ), Mozambique, Maputo, Moamba, Chinhanguanine, margem esquerda do rio Incomáti , 14 Dec. 1979.

Shrub, scandent shrub or liana,to 10 m long, to 3 cm diam;young branches reddish brown, sparsely covered with appressed or erect, pale brown hairs c. 0.4 mm long, soon becoming glabrous; old branches dark brown. Leaves: petiole 2– 4 mm long, 0.7–1 mm diam, grooved, indument as on branches; lamina elliptic, ovate to obovate or narrowly so, 2.8–6.7(–8.1) by 1.5–3.3 cm, 1.6–2.7(–3.3) times longer than wide, chartaceous to coriaceous, often punctate, discolorous, shiny dark green above, glaucous to pale green below, primary vein yellowish or reddish, above sparsely covered with appressed yellowish hairs c. 0.2 mm long, becoming glabrous, below covered with appressed yellowish to pale brown hairs c. 0.2 mm long, becoming glabrous, base cuneate to rounded, with slightly thickened margins, apex obtuse to acute, secondary veins 5–8 per side, from base curving upwards, tertiary venation reticulate, raised above and slightly raised or not visible below. Inflorescences leaf-opposed, composed of solitary flowers or 2- or 3-flowered rhipidia; sympodial rachis 0–3 mm long; pedicels 6–14 mm long, 0.3–0.4 mm diam, indument as on branches, fruiting pedicels 0.4–0.9 mm diam, becoming glabrous; lower bracts broadly ovate, c. 1.5 by 1.4 mm, indument as on pedicel; upper bract placed near middle of pedicel, broadly triangular to broadly ovate, c. 0.5 by 0.5 mm, indument as on pedicel; flower buds ovoid. Flowers bisexual; sepals slightly connate, depressed ovate, 0.5–0.7 by 1.5–2 mm, apex obtuse, covered with reddish brown, short hairs near the margins, persistent in fruit; receptacle 2–3 mm diam, flat, covered with brown, short hairs between the carpels and stamens; petals pale yellowish to yellow, inside drying reddish brown to purple, 6, in two whorls, outer petals broadly ovate, 2.5–4 by 3.2–4 mm, outside covered with yellowish, short hairs, more densely so near the margins, inside densely covered with hairs at the apex, inner petals ovate to elliptic, 3–3.4 by 1.7–2.2 mm, outside and inside covered with hairs at the apex; stamens 12–15, in one or two whorls, free, obconical to clavate, 0.8–1.2 mm long, filaments 0.4–0.8 mm long, thecae latrorse, 0.3–0.5 mm long, connective truncate, glabrous, staminodes absent; carpels 10–13, narrowly subcylindric to ellipsoid, 1.2–1.6 by 0.4–0.5 mm, glabrous, except for some hairs at the base, ovules 1 (or 2), basal, stigma elongate, 0.3–0.4 mm long, grooved, glabrous. Monocarps 1–10, bright red when ripe, globose to ellipsoid, 7.5–15 by c. 5 mm, 2-seeded ones to 19 mm long, rugulose to smooth, glabrous, apex apiculate, apiculum c. 0.5 mm long, stipes 2.5–4 mm long, slightly to strongly grooved, sparsely covered with appressed hairs when young. Seeds 1 (or 2), globose to ellipsoid, 5.5–8 by 4.5–6.6 mm, ochre-brown, both ends rounded, raphe not visible.

Distribution — Mozambique (Gaza, Maputo), South Africa (Kwazulu-Natal).

Habitat & Ecology — In different types of thickets and forests on sandy soils. Altitude: 0–150 m. Flowering: February to April, November, December; fruiting: March to September.

Preliminary IUCN conservation status — Least concern (LC). EOO: 43 433 km 2, AOO: 128 km 2. This species is known from at least 3 nature reserves and more than 10 different localities. The species can be quite common in the coastal dunes of Mozambique. Therefore, M. maputensis is currently not under threat of extinction.

Note — Monanthotaxis maputensis is the only species of Monanthotaxis present in South Mozambique and just over the border in South Africa, although the distribution almost overlaps with M. caffra . It is closely related with that species and the only reliable characters to distinguish them are the shape of the stamens and the filament length. For further details see the note under M. caffra .

Figures

Map 10 Distribution of Monanthotaxis chasei N.Robson (■) and M. maputensis P.H.Hoekstra (●, O means uncertain dets).

Fig. 21 Monanthotaxus maputensis P.H.Hoekstra. a. Fruiting branch; b. flowering branch; c. flower bud; d. flower with one outer and one inner petal removed; e. outer petal, outside view; f. inner petal, outside view; g. stamen, inside view; h. stamen, side view; i. carpel, inside view; j. carpel, side view (a: Mendonça 4480, MO; b–j: Exell 565, LISC). — Drawing by E. Winkel.