Monanthotaxis trichocarpa (Engl. & Diels) Verdc.
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/10.3767/blumea.2021.66.02.01 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/565E87CB-FFEF-F933-B350-3BFDA38E294A |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Monanthotaxis trichocarpa (Engl. & Diels) Verdc. |
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71. Monanthotaxis trichocarpa (Engl. & Diels) Verdc. View in CoL — Fig. 5w View Fig ; Plate 6b–c View Plate 6 ; Map 44 View Map 44
Monanthotaxis trichocarpa (Engl. & Diels) Verdc. (1971b) 29. — Unona ferruginea Oliv. forma brevifolia Engl. (1895) 179. — Popowia trichocarpa Engl. & Diels (1901) 47. — Type: F.L. Stuhlmann 6972 (holo B), Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Uzaramo.
Shrub or liana, to 7 m long; young branches olive or reddish brown, densely covered with erect, yellow-brown to reddish brown hairs 0.3–0.6 mm long, becoming glabrous; old branches dark brown, grey-black to blackish. Leaves: petiole 2.7–4.7 mm long, 0.9–1.2 mm diam, slightly grooved, indument as on branches; lamina obovate to elliptic, 4.5–13(–18.2) by 2.6–5.9(–6.8) cm, 1.5–2.7(–3.2) times longer than wide, subcoriaceous, punctate, discolorous, dark green above, glaucous below, young leaves above covered with ascending, white hairs 0.3–0.5 mm long, becoming glabrous, below sparsely covered with ascending to erect, whitish yellow hairs 0.3–0.6 mm long, primary vein slightly more densely hairy, base subcordate or sometimes rounded, glands hardly visible, apex emarginate, rounded or acute, secondary veins 6–12(–17) per side, from base straight, halfway curving upwards, tertiary venation percurrent, slightly raised reticulate above. Inflorescences pendent, extra-axillary, composed of solitary flowers; sympodial rachis absent; pedicels 9–23 mm long, 0.4–0.5 mm diam, fruiting pedicels 0.4–0.9 mm diam, sparsely covered with erect, reddish brown hairs 0.4–0.5 mm long; lower bract absent; upper bract in the lower half of the pedicel or halfway or absent, lanceolate, 1–2 by 0.3–0.4 mm, indument as on pedicel; flower buds globose. Flowers bisexual; sepals free or slightly connate at the base, depressed ovate to orbicular, 1.2–2.8 by 2.6–2.8 mm, apex rounded to acute, densely covered with ascending, short hairs, persistent in fruit, slightly accrescent; receptacle 3.1–3.5 mm diam, flat; petals colour in vivo unknown, 6, in two whorls, outer petals broadly ovate, 4.5–8.8 by 4–7.6 mm, outside covered with ascending, short hairs, inside covered with very short hairs near the apex and margins, inner petals elliptic, 4.5–7.2 by 2.4–4.6 mm, outside and apex of inside covered with short hairs; stamens 24–27, in two whorls, free, linear-obovoid, 1.1–1.3 mm long, filaments c. 0.5 mm long, thecae latrorse to extrorse, connective truncate, prolonged inward, not hiding the thecae, glabrous, staminodes absent; carpels 9–14, subcylindric to ellipsoid, 1.7–2.2 by c. 0.6 mm, densely hairy, ovules 1–4(–5), lateral, stigma elongate, 0.7–0.9 mm long, glabrous. Monocarps up to 10, orange to red, moniliform, each part ellipsoid, 13–39 by 5–7 mm, slightly verrucose, densely covered with erect, yellowish brown hairs, apiculate, apiculum 1–2 mm long, stipes 2–5 mm long. Seeds 1–5, subglobose to ellipsoid, 8–12 by 4.4–5.5 mm, ochre-brown, ends flattened or with an apiculate apex, raphe hardly visible as a longitudinal furrow from base to apex.
Distribution — Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique.
Habitat & Ecology — In evergreen forest, forest edges, gallery forest, degraded vegetation, lowland moist forest, submontane forest and semi-deciduous forest, on limestone rocky outcrops, steep slopes, sandstone hills, along stream banks and on riverside rocks. Altitude: 20–1280 m. Flowering: November to July, September; fruiting: all year round.
Vernacular names — Kenya: Muganda wa simba (Ki-jibana name) (L.J. Lap 256), Usisi (Kisambaa name) (C.J. Kayombo 1471). Tanzania: Mpau (Kimatumbi name) (O.A. Kibure 142), Mkenene (Kisambaa name) (M.A. Mwangoka 1302), Mosfu simba (Kidoe name) (Y.S. Abeid 1931), Mvomero (Morogoro name) (L.B. Mwasumbi 13893), Mshofu (Kisambaa name) (G.A. Peter 25761).
Preliminary IUCN conservation status — Least concern (LC). EOO: 638,875 km 2, AOO: 284 km 2. This species is known from many locations and several nature reserves and is locally common. It is currently not in risk of extinction.
Notes — 1. Monanthotaxis trichocarpa closely resembles M. faulknerae and M. suffruticosa , but can generally be distinguished by the much larger and obovate leaves. For further differences see the notes under those species.
2. Monanthotaxis trichocarpa is quite variable in vegetative characteristics, with especially specimens in the southern range of the distribution having more narrow oblanceolate leaves with an acute apex. On the label of W.D. Hawthorne 226 it is written that specimens on limestone have larger leaves. Especially some specimens from the Morogoro district have much larger leaves than typical specimens of M. trichocarpa , but no differences in flower characters could be found. More studies are needed to test whether this variable species is one entity.
3. W.R.Q. Luke 11242, collected at a height of 1520 m in montane forest in the Udzungwa Mountains, is probably a new species related to M. trichocarpa . The leaves are dry grey, and have a clearly raised reticulation on the leaves. More flowering and fruiting material is needed of this highland form to assess its status.
4. Verdcourt (1971a) mentioned that this species has 18–36 stamens per flower. Most flowers, however, have 24 stamens and we have only seen a few flowers with up to 27 stamen.
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