Ipomoea stenobasis Brenan, Kew Bull.

B. D., Williams, R. C., Francisco, B., Mewded, C. P., Oppong, C. B., Ayensu, C. W., Masinde, D. B., Chukwuma, A. G., Deresa, D. D., Yeboah, F., Rasaminirina, U. P., Igho-Osagie, M. J., Korir, K. B., Antwi-Boasiako, R. A., Mfodwo, A. S. M., Mutegeki, P., Atta-Adjei, P. K., Akomatey, S., Kumordzie, R., Borosova, C., Tang, A., Asase, G., Ameka & Simões, A. R. G., 2024, Advancing knowledge of West African morning glories: a taxonomic account of Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) from Ghana, Rheedea 34 (5), pp. 397-429 : 423

25. Ipomoea stenobasis Brenan, Kew Bull. 5(2): 228. 1950. Type: UGANDA, Buganda Province , Mengo District , Entebbe, November 1922, Maitland 577 (holo K [ K000097088 !]).

Perennial herbs, with a tap root. Stems prostrate, angular when young, becoming cylindrical, striate, fistulose, reddish, glabrous for the most part, puberulent at the insertion of the petiole. Leaves simple, 5–7.5 (–12) × 4.5–7.5 (–11) cm, base cordate, apex acuminate and apiculate, margin entire, texture glabrous, covered with blackish dots on the lower surface, sparsely pubescent, especially along the veins, on both faces, petiole 2.5–3.6 cm long, glabrous. Inflorescences: peduncle 2–5 cm long; bracteoles deciduous, narrowly ovate-elliptic, 3–10 mm long, glabrous, with hyaline margin. Flower: pedicel 2–5 cm long, glabrous for the most part, base pubescent. Sepals elliptic, imbricate, unequal, apex obtuse; outer ones shorter, 8–12 mm, with hyaline margin; inner ones longer, 12–15 mm. Corolla magentapink, narrowly funnel-shaped, 3.5–6 cm, entirely glabrous, base of the tube very narrow, with 2–2.5 mm of diam. Stamens included; filaments unequal, 11–16 mm, widened and pubescent at the base; anther ovoid, c. 3 mm long, sagittate at the base, obtuse at the apex. Ovary 2 or 4-locular, glabrous; style 3 cm long, glabrous. Fruits 2.4–2.5 × 1.1–1.6 cm, surface striate, enclosed by the accrescent sepals, up to 22 mm long; seeds ovoid, 3.7–9 mm long, puberulent, especially around the hilum.

Flowering & fruiting: Flowers and Fuits between November and February ( Heine, 1963).

Habitat: Granite rocks in woodland and edges of swamps. They can grow up to 200 m above sea-level.

Distribution: West Tropical Africa, and Uganda ( POWO, 2024). In Ghana: Brong Ahafo region ( Fig. 4 ).

Specimens examined: GHANA, Brong Ahafo region, Nsemre F . R ., between Borku and Anka , 20.12.1954, C .D. Adams 2843 (GC).

Conservation status: Not evaluated.

Notes: Ipomoea stenobasis Brenan was described from a plant cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens , Kew, grown from seeds presumably collected in Ondo Province, Nigeria (R.W.J. Keay 22674; K000097034 ). In the protologue, Brenan (1950) also included Ugandan specimens as conspecific with the Nigerian material, despite the geographic disjunction, noting the possibility of discovering intermediate populations. A Ugandan specimen (Maitland 577) was selected as the type, a designation later supported by Verdcourt (1963). The fruit and seed descriptions in the protologue were based on Ugandan material (Chandler 983, Maitland 206). However, Brenan’s annotation on the Nigerian specimen (Keay 22674) suggests its seeds differed from Ugandan ones, potentially warranting varietal recognition. This intricate nomenclature and taxonomic circumscription of the species I. stenobasis suggests that it may need a revision at broad geographic scale, to clarify the morphological and geographic circumscription of the species and whether only one – or more – species are involved.

Figures

Fig. 4. DiStribution reCordS of I. stenobasis Brenan,I. eriocarpa R.Br., I. blepharophyllaHallier andI. coscinospermaHoChSt.ex ChoiSYin Ghana.