Taxonomic novelties in Apocynaceae subfam. Asclepiadoideae from New Caledonia
Author
Meve, Ulrich
Department of Plant Systematics, University of Bayreuth DE- 95448 Bayreuth (Germany)
Author
Gâteblé, Gildas
Institut agronomique néo-calédonien, Station de Recherche agronomique de Saint-Louis, boîte postale 711, F- 98810 Mont-Dore (New Caledonia)
Author
Liede-Schumann, Sigrid
Department of Plant Systematics, University of Bayreuth DE- 95448 Bayreuth (Germany)
text
Adansonia
2017
2017-06-30
39
1
55
70
journal article
10.5252/a2017n1a5
2ca41b6f-e201-4093-9c51-f79abb72b834
1639-4798
4599043
Marsdenia guillauminiana
(P.T.Li) Meve, Gâteblé & Liede
,
comb. nov.
Tylophora guillauminiana
P.T. Li
,
Journal of South China Agricultural University
15 (1): 64 (1994)
,
replacement name for
Tylophora micrantha
Guillaumin
,
Bulletin du Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, sér. 2
, 16: 82 (1944)
,
nom. illeg
.
TYPUS. —
New Caledonia
.
Grande-Terre
, North Prov.,
Balade
, 1861- 1867,
E.
Vieillard 987
(
holo-
,
P
[
P00607353
]!
;
iso-
,
P
[
P04258524
]!)
.
ETYMOLOGY. — This species is named after André Guillaumin (1885-1974), author of the
Flore analytique et synoptique de la Nouvelle-Calédonie
(
Guillaumin 1948
).
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT. —
New Caledonia
. Grande-Terre, North Prov.
CONSERVATION STATUS. — Known from the type collection over 150 years ago, only, and possibly extinct.
DESCRIPTION
Plants
Ascending, twining,
6-10 m
tall.
Shoots
Perennial, herbaceous, glabrous; internodes
3.5-5 cm
long,
1.5-2 mm
diam.
Leaves
With
10-15 mm
long petioles, blades with 4 colleters at the base, herbaceous to coriaceous, 3-4.5
×
2-2.8 cm
, elliptic, basally rounded, apically obtuse or minutely mucronate, glabrous on both sides.
Inflorescences
Always one per node, extra-axillary, forming a basal dichasium bearing two sciadioids, 10-20-flowered, all flowers open synchronously.
Peduncles
10-15 mm
long, glabrous.
Flowers
With
pedicels
2-3 mm
long, glabrous.
Flower buds
c.
1.5
×
1 mm
when mature, globose.
Calyx
Entirely free; lobes c.1 x.
0.7 mm
, ovate, apically acute.
Corolla
Rotate-campanulate,
1.5-2 mm
long,
c.
2.5 mm
diam., adaxially with to
200 µm
long trichomes on apical and lateral parts of the lobes; lobes fused about half of total corolla length,
0.6-0.7 mm
wide, patent, ovate, apically acute.
Gynostegial corona of free staminal lobes
Glabrous,
c.
0.6 mm
long, shorter than the gynostegium; lobes laminar, oblong.
Gynostegium
c.
0.7 mm
long,
c.
0.6 mm
diam., elevated by a column of
c.
200 µm
length; anthers broader than long, rectangular, abaxially planar, forming a basal arch; anther wings
c.
300 µm
long, extending along the whole length of the anther; anther wings of adjacent anthers parallel to each other, in the same plane as the anther; connective appendages
c.
400
×
300 µm
, ovate, slightly inflexed.
Pollinarium
Corpusculum
c.
140 ×
55 µm
, elliptic; caudicles
c.
30 µm
long, medianly inserted at the corpusculum, cylindrical, straight, horizontal; pollinia apically attached to the caudicles, erect,
c.
200
×
50 µm
, round in cross-section, oblongoid.
Style-head
c.
0.35 mm
long,
c.
0.6 mm
diam.; upper part
0.1 mm
long, shorter than the lower part, umbonate.
Fruits and seeds
Not seen.
REMARKS
Known only from the type. The very small flowers with their small pollinaria and the open, zig-zagging inflorescences at first point to
Tylophora
/
Vincetoxicum
as generic relationship of this rare species. However, repeated study of gynostegial structures showing: 1) a fringe-like corona also in interstaminal position; 2) prominent anther wings (as in
Marsdenia neocaledonica
,
sp. nov.
,
M. tylophoroides
or
M. variifolia
); and 3) pollinaria with strictly erectly positioned, oblongoid pollinia, finally point to
Marsdenia
as only possible relationship for this element.
This species and
Tylophora anisotomoides
Schltr.
have been usually regarded as synonymous (cf. to http://www.endemia. nc, https://plants.jstor.org/). However, this is clearly incorrect as the protologue of
T. anisotomoides
gives glabrous corolla lobes, but
Vieillard 987
, the type and only original material of
Tylophora micrantha
, possesses trichomes on the adaxial side of the corolla lobes. In addition,
Schlechter’s (1906)
statement in the protologue of
T. anisotomoides
“
coronae foliolis tubo staminum basi alte adnatis carnosis
,
lanceolato-rhomboideis
” unambiguously refers to a character highly significant for
Vincetoxicum biglandulosum
but not for
Tylophora micrantha
where the corona lobes are neither basal nor rhomboid nor carnose.
Schlechter (1906)
also compared his new species with
Tylophora tapeinogyne
as being most similar – the latter is a long-established synonym of
T. biglandulosa
. Finally, all further non-type specimens in P labelled “
Tylophora anisotomoides
” are found to belong to small-flowered or sterile material of
Vincetoxicum
(
Tylophora
)
biglandulosum
(cf. https:// science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/search, last access on
3.XI.2016
).