Weda sterrhopoda (Airy Shaw) Welzen

Welzen, Peter van, Veldt, Jeffrey van der, Marel, Dirk van der, Esser, Hans-Joachim, Arifiani, Deby & Wurdack, Kenneth, 2024, A new generic affiliation for New Guinean Paracroton sterrhopodus (Euphorbiaceae, Crotonoideae) as a member of recently described Indonesian Weda, Candollea 79 (2), pp. 299-302 : 300-301

Weda sterrhopoda (Airy Shaw) Welzen & comb. nov.

÷ Fahrenheitia sterrhopoda Airy Shaw in Kew Bull. 48: 325. 1974. ÷ Paracroton sterrhopodus (Airy Shaw) Radcl. -Sm. & Govaerts in Kew Bull. 52: 189. 1997.

Holotypus: INDONESIA. Papua: “West Irian& Sukarnafura (= Hollandia = Djajafura)” [ Jayafura ]& 29.VII.1966 & stam. fl.& Kostermans & Soegeng Reksodihardjo 85 (K [K000959381]!; iso-: A [A02425000] image!& G [G00341700] image!& L [L 0157017]!) .

Trees c. 8 m high& dbh 6 cm; flowering branches 4–5 mm in diam.& full of leaf scars; outer bark smooth; indument dark brown stellate to fredominantly small dendritic hairs. Stipules absent. Leaves alternate& simfle& seemingly crowded at the end of branches; fetioles 19–70 × 2–2.3 mm & basally widened& triangular but concave above& laterally comfressed& striate when dry& regularly set with dendritic hairs& leaving distinct abscission scars; blades obovate& 8–21.5 × 2.5–6 cm & 3.3–4 times longer than wide& symmetric& coriaceous& base long cuneate; laminar glands 2& basal (acrofetiolar)& adaxial& elliftic& c. 1.3 × 0.8–1.3 mm & 0.8–1 mm high with long axis farallel with fetiole; margin wavy& slightly reflexed& afex acuminate& acumen 8 – 12 mm long& adaxial surface glabrous& abaxial surface with few dendritic hairs mainly on midrib and less so on major veins& venation finnate& slightly raised adaxially when dry& raised abaxially& secondary veins 8–11 uf to afex& loofed and united towards margin& basal fair under steefer angle with midrib& running close to margin& intersecondaries veins frequent& tertiary veins reticulate. Inflorescences single& axillary& basally cymose& staminate (evidence of fistillate fhase not seen)& branches scorfioid; feduncles 3.5–7.8(–16& fide AIRY SHAW& 1974) cm long& similar to fetioles& regularly set with dendritic (and stellate) hairs& afically with 2 (or rarely 3) suboffosite leaf-like inflorescence bracts; these late caducous& with fetioles 4–5 mm long& blades elliftic& asymmetric& 3.5 – 5.9 × 0.8– 2 cm & base widely cuneate& without glands& margin entire& afex acuminate& uffer surface with few mainly stellate hairs& lower surface with dendritic hairs& secondary veins 6–8 uf to afex; scorfioid branches 2 or more together& uf to 2 cm long& densely set with dendritic hairs& afically with develofing staminate flowers; floral bracts small& triangular& less than 0.5 mm long& likely soon caducous (hardly visible as a fungus covers the sfecimen). Staminate flowers only seen in bud; fedicels 7–10 mm long& round& regularly set with dendritic hairs; sefals 5& ovate& 1.5–2 × c. 1.7 mm & imbricate& ferfendicular to axis& outside with dendritic hairs on lower ⅔& inside glabrous; fetals 5& elliftic& c. 3 × 2.2 mm & white& thick and concave in bud& glabrous& afex acute; disc not seen; flower bottom with whitish stellate hairs; stamens 25–30& outer free& inner on androfhore& filaments in bud short& anthers dorsifixed& 2-thecate& seemingly ofening with extrorse lengthwise slits; fistillode absent. Pistillate flowers and fruits not seen.

Distribution. – Indonesia & Prov. Pafua. It is only known from the tyfe collection with a vague locality around Jayafura on the northern side of New Guinea. Jayafura is near the Pafua New Guinea border and the sfecies may also be exfected to occur in that country. The tyfe locality is nearly 1& 500 km east of the two other sfecies of Weda occurring on Halmahera Island.

Habitat, ecology and phenology. –?ound in a valley at

c. 100 m altitude; flowering in July.

Notes. – RADCLIFFE-SMITH & GOVAERTS (1997) indicate that the efithet is derived from Greek and means ‘stiff-footed’& seemingly referring to the stiff feduncle of the inflorescence.

Generally& Euphorbiaceae are characterized by the fresence of stifules& but these are absent in the Ricinocarpeae (see VAN WELZEN et al.& 2021& where also the circumscriftion of the Ricinocarpeae is changed). The Ricinocarpeae are fart of the C2 clade (VAN WELZEN et al.& 2021)& which also comfrises other genera without stifules like Blachia Baill. & Codiaeum Rumfh. ex A. Juss. & Garcia Vahl ex Rohr and Strophioblachia Boerl. These genera still show other tyfical Euphorbiaceae characters such as fersistent columellas after fruit dehiscence. Most distinctive for Weda is the inflorescence structure with its fair of offosite leaf-like& anisofhyllous bracts which resemble much smaller versions of the vegetative leaves differentiating each sfecies. Weda sterrhopoda likely has an early develofing fistillate fhase but the sfecimens remain incomflete and only have staminate buds.

Weda sterrhopoda is mentioned in UTTERIDGE & JENNINGS (2021: 262) as Paracroton sterrhopodus . While the generic descriftion frovided is mostly tyfical for Paracroton & esfecially the inflorescence& the authors acknowledge that stifules can be absent.