Monanthotaxis stenosepala (Engl. & Diels) Verdc.

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 : 198-199

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.3767/blumea.2021.66.02.01
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/565E87CB-FFD4-F90D-B350-38FBA2282302
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Monanthotaxis stenosepala (Engl. & Diels) Verdc.
status

Treatment

66. Monanthotaxis stenosepala (Engl. & Diels) Verdc. View in CoL — Fig. 15p–u View Fig ; Map 41 View Map 41

Monanthotaxis stenosepala ( Engl. & Diels) Verdc. (1971b) 29. — Popowia stenosepala Engl. & Diels (1901) 49. — Lectotype (designated here): G.F. Scott Elliot 5564 (lecto K000198909 ;isolecto B100153047 , BM001125035 , P00362647 ), Sierra Leone, Northern Province , Limba,near Madina, 11 Apr. 1892.

Small tree or thick bush, to 2.3 m tall; young branches dark brown, sparsely covered with appressed, yellowish hairs 0.1–0.2 mm long, becoming glabrous; old branches pale brown. Leaves: petiole 2.5–4 mm long, 0.5–0.9 mm diam, grooved, indument as on branches; lamina obovate to oblong-elliptic or narrowly so, 4.5–12.2 by 2–4 cm, 2.3–3.4 times longer than wide, chartaceous, not punctate, above glabrous, but primary vein with a few short hairs near the base, becoming glabrous, below sparsely covered with appressed, white hairs 0.2–0.3 mm long, primary vein covered with appressed, yellowish hairs, base rounded to cuneate, glands hardly visible, apex acute to acuminate, acumen to 10 mm long, secondary veins 8–13 per side, straight to curving upwards, tertiary venation slightly percurrent. Inflorescences leaf-opposed or extra-axillary, composed of solitary flowers to 3-flowered fascicles; sympodial rachis 0–0.5 mm long; pedicels 5–20 mm long, 0.3–0.4 mm diam, fruiting pedicels 0.4–0.6 mm diam, covered with yellowish, ascending to erect hairs; lower bract lanceolate or absent, c. 1.3 by 0.3 mm, densely covered with hairs; upper bract in lower half of the pedicel, ovate to lanceolate, 1.1–2 by 0.5–0.7 mm, densely covered with hairs; flower buds ovoid. Flowers bisexual; sepals free, lanceolate, 4–6 by 1.5–2.2 mm, apex acute, densely covered with appressed, short hairs, persistent in fruit or falling off; receptacle 1.5–2.5 mm diam, flat; petals colour in vivo unknown, 6, in two whorls, outer petals ovate to elliptic, c. 4.7 by 2.3 mm, outside and apical part of the inside covered with yellowish, very short hairs, base of inside glabrous, inner petals narrowly elliptic, c. 4.2 by 1.3 mm, indument as on outer petals; stamens c. 14 (see Note 2), in one whorl, free, obovoid to obconical, c. 0.7 mm long, filaments c. 0.1 mm long, thecae extrorse to latrorse, connective truncate, prolongation triangular pointing outward, not hiding thecae, glabrous, staminodes absent; carpels 7–10, narrowly ellipsoid, c. 3.2 by 1.2 mm, densely hairy, ovules 2 or 3, lateral, stigma elongate, 0.7–1.2 mm long, deeply bifurcate, glabrous. Monocarps 1–10, yellow, ellipsoid, 8–18 by 4–5 mm, slightly constricted between the seeds, sparsely covered with appressed, short hairs, apex apiculate, apiculum to 3 mm long, stipes 2–3 mm long, terete. Seeds 1 or 2, ellipsoid, c. 6 by 4 mm, tawny brown.

Distribution — Sierra Leone (Northern Province).

Habitat & Ecology — Flowering: April; fruiting: January, July.

Preliminary IUCN conservation status — Endangered (EN): B2ab(iii). EOO: 7 184 km 2, AOO: 20 km 2. This species is known

Fig. 29 Monanthotaxis sterilis P.H.Hoekstra Drawing by E. Winkel.

from only 5 collections in a small area in Sierra Leone and has not been collected since 1936.

Notes — 1. Monanthotaxis stenosepala is the only species in Sierra Leone with sepals as long as or longer than the petals. It can be distinguished from other species with large sepals by the lanceolate sepals and young branches sparsely covered with appressed, short hairs; it differs from M. lucidula by the narrower oblong-oblanceolate leaves and much shorter filaments.

2. We have only counted the stamens in one young flower bud of N. W. Thomas 10603. According to the protologue ( Engler & Diels 1901) this species should have 6–9 stamens. Unfor- tunately, the stamens of all flowers of the type have fallen off, making it impossible to count the exact number of stamens, but according to the scars left in the flower of the type collection it appears that there have been more than 12 stamens per flowers .