Actinodaphne kontumi de Kok 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: De Kok, Rogier P. J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Laurales
Lauraceae
Actinodaphne
Actinodaphne kontumi

description: 1. Actinodaphne kontumi de Kok, sp. nov.
(Figs 1; 2)
Actinodaphne reticulata var. reticulata sensu Nguyén Kim Đào, Flora of Vietnam 20: 420 (Nguyén Kim Đào 2017).
Actinodaphne reticulata var. glabra sensu Nguyén Kim Đào, Flora of Vietnam 20: 421 (Nguyén Kim Đào 2017).
DIAGNOSIS. —This species differs from its close relative Actinodaphne perlucida C.K. Allen by having leaves that are thinly leathery (rather than thickly leathery in A. perlucida) with the midrib raised on the upper surface (rather than sunken in A. perlucida) and the petiole 6-15 mm long (rather than 10-20 mm long in A. perlucida).
TYPE SPECIMEN. — Vietnam. Kon-Tum, Massif du Ngok Pan, 9.XII.1946, Poilane 35755 (holo-, P [P02035722]).
DISTRIBUTION. — Vietnam. Kon-Tum and Gia Lai provinces (Fig. 2). This species has also been recorded from the Vietnamese provinces of Ha Giang, Vinh Phuc and Thua Thien-Hue as Actinodaphne reticulata var. reticulata and Actinodaphne reticulata var. glabra (see Nguyén Kim Đào [2017]), but specimens on which these records are based have not been seen by the author.
ECOLOGY. — This species is known from upland forest over granite, between 800-2000 m altitude. Flowering in December; fruiting time unknown.
CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT. — Endangered (EN B1ab(i,iii), B2ab(ii,iii)). This species is only definitely known from a small number of collections from a few localities in the Kon-Tum and Gia Lai Provinces of Vietnam. An analysis of the Extent of Occurrence (EOO) and Area of Occupancy (AOO) gives an IUCN Conservation Assessment of Endangered. Given that it is only known from three populations and has small area of occupancy as well as the intensive logging and landscape modification that has occurred in the region during the last 50 years, this species must be considered endangered.
ADDITIONAL COLLECTIONS SEEN. — Vietnam. Kon-Tum: Massif du Ngok Pan, 9.XII.1946, Poilane 35754 (P [P02035820]); Massif du Ngok Pan, 18.XII.1946, Poilane 35936 (P); Massif du Ngok Pan, alt. 2000 m; 18.XII.1946, Poilane 35943 (P [P02035701]); Dak Gley, 6.XII.1995, Averyanov et al. VH 2382 (P). — Gia Lai: K’Bang, So’ Pai, 16.V.1998, Willis 30 (K).
DESCRIPTION
Tree or shrub 3-20 m tall, dbh 20-33 cm. Twigs slender, 1.6- 2.3 mm thick, rounded in cross-section, sparsely to densely hairy when young, glabrescent; terminal leaf bud 1-1.7 mm long, apex rounded to acute, sparsely hairy, scales imbricate. Leaves in pseudo-whorls of 4-5; leaf blade elliptic to (ob) lanceolate, 6.3-10(–22) × 1.6-5 cm, apex acuminate, base cuneate, thinly leathery, penninerved, secondary nerves 7-15 pairs, brochidodromous, tertiary nerves scalariform-reticulate,; upper surface glabrous, shiny, midrib raised, secondary nerves raised, tertiary nerves distinct; lower surface glaucous, glabrous, midrib and secondary nerves raised, tertiary nerves indistinct; petiole half terete, 6-15 mm long, slender, slightly hairy.
Inflorescences 3-5 mm long, umbellate, axillary and internodal, densely hairy; bracts 1-2 mm long, apex acute, sparsely hairy. Flowers: cream male flowers with perianth lobes elliptic, 2.3-2.5 × 1.1-1.6 mm, apex acute, sparsely hairy inside and outside; stamens 3.7-4 mm long, hairy, anthers 4-celled; female flowers with perianth lobes elliptic, 1.9-2.3 × 1-1.3 mm, apex acute, sparsely hairy inside and outside; ovary c. 1.1 mm diameter, glabrous.
Fruits (imperfectly known) ellipsoid, 10-12 × 7-8 mm, apex acute; cupule only covering the base (see Fig. 1).
description: Published as part of De Kok, Rogier P. J., 2023, The Lauraceae Juss. of Indo-China: fifteen new species, four new combinations and two neotypifications, pp. 1-25 in Adansonia (3) (3) 45 (1) on pages 2-4, DOI: 10.5252/adansonia2023v45a1, http://zenodo.org/record/7522473