Polyalthia Blume 1830
Creators: name: Turner, Ian M.
name: Utteridge, Timothy M. A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Magnoliales
Annonaceae
Polyalthia

description: Polyalthia Blume
Flora Javae (Anonaceae): 68 (Blume 1830). –
Lectotype (designated by Hutchinson 1923: 259): Polyalthia subcordata (Blume) Blume.
Sphaerothalamus Hook. f., Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 23: 156 (Hooker 1860). – Type: Sphaerothalamus insignis Hook. f.
Key to the species of Polyalthia
1. Inflorescences cauliflorous, ramiflorous or axillary ........................................................................... 2
– Inflorescences subopposite leaves ..................................................................................................... 8
2. Flower pedicel 2–5(–7) mm long; petals narrowly linear (generally more than 10 times long as broad). Monocarps subsessile (stipes to 5 mm long) ......................................................................... 3
– Flower pedicel (6–) 10–30 mm long; petals not narrowly linear (rarely to 10 times as long as broad). Monocarps stipitate (stipes 10 mm long or more)............................................................................... 6
3. Subshrub to 30 cm tall. Petals not exceeding 3 cm long ....................................................... P. pumila
– Tree to 6 m or more tall. Petals to 5 cm or more long ........................................................................ 4
4. Petals 5 mm wide or more. Monocarps densely brown woolly hairy ........................... P. cinnamomea
– Petals 2–5 mm wide. Monocarps pubescent, becoming glabrous with maturity ............................... 5
5. Inflorescences mostly on trunk and branches. Twigs persistently brown hairy. Sepals 15–17 mm long. Monocarps 2 cm wide ........................................................................................... P. stenopetala
– Inflorescences mostly among leaves. Twigs becoming glabous with age. Sepals 7 mm long. Monocarps less than 1 cm wide ................................................................................... P. angustissima
6. Inflorescences mostly cauliflorous, or if among leaves then pedicel generally 20 mm long or more ..... .......................................................................................................................................... P. cauliflora
– Inforescences not cauliflorous, flower pedicel to 12 mm long .......................................................... 7
7. Leaves drying grey. Flower pedicel more than 1 mm wide, widening distally; petals 2–5 cm long. Monocarps more or less cylindrical, 6–7 mm diameter; stipe c. 1 mm diameter ................. P. lateritia
– Leaves drying brown or grey-brown. Flower pedicel c. 0.5 mm wide; petals less than 1 cm long. Monocarps more or less globose, c. 15 mm diameter; stipe c. 2 mm diameter..................... P. obliqua
8. Leaves with many lateral nerves (at least 18 pairs); lamina bullate .................................................. 9
– Leaves with up to 17 pairs of lateral nerves; lamina not bullate ...................................................... 10
9. Twigs villose. Base of leaf auriculate or cordate, often extending below twig ..................... P. bullata
– Twigs glabrous or hairy, not villose. Base of leaf not auriculate or cordate, never extending below twig ............................................................................... P. pakdin I.M.Turner & Utteridge sp. nov.
10. Leaves narrowly elliptic or lanceolate to 2.5 cm wide, apex long acuminate ..................... P. dumosa
– Leaves generally more than 2.5 cm wide, apex not long acuminate ............................................... 11
11. Leaf apex obtuse. Branchlets with thick corky bark. Flower pedicel slender (5–25 mm long, <1 mm thick) ................................................................................................................................. P. suberosa
– Leaf apex generally acute to acuminate. Branchlets not corky-barked. Flower pedicels generally shorter and/or thicker ....................................................................................................................... 12
12. Flowers subsessile (pedicel to 2 mm long) ..................................................................................... 13
– Flowers distinctly pedicellate (pedicel 5 mm long or more) ........................................................... 14
13. Leaves glabrous; elliptic-lanceolate; apex blunt. Petals coriaceous, fleshy ...................... P. parviflora
– Leaves pubescent beneath; lanceolate; acuminate. Petals thin .......................................... P. hirtifolia
14. Twigs, leaf undersides, flowers and fruits furry .......................................................... P. chrysotricha
– Twigs, leaf undersides, flowers and fruits glabrous or hairy but not all furry .................................. 15
15. Leaves generally with 10 or fewer pairs of lateral nerves. Flower pedicel to 5 mm long. Monocarps to 6, stipe shorter than seed-bearing portion ................................................................ P. brunneifolia
– Leaves with 12 or more pairs of lateral nerves. Flower pedicel 5 mm or more long. Monocarps 10 or more, stipe generally longer than seed-bearing portion .................................................................. 16
16. Petals relatively thin; sparsely hairy outside. Stipe of monocarps c. 0.5 mm thick ................. P. socia
– Petals relatively thick and leathery; densely hairy outside. Stipe of monocarps c. 1 mm thick ...... 17
17. Pedicel 3–6 cm long .......................................................................................................... P. oblonga
– Pedicel to 1 cm long ....................................................................................................... P. motleyana
description: Published as part of Turner, Ian M. & Utteridge, Timothy M. A., 2016, Whither Polyalthia (Annonaceae) in Peninsular Malaysia? Synopses of Huberantha, Maasia, Monoon and Polyalthia s. s., pp. 1-26 in European Journal of Taxonomy 183 on pages 11-13, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2016.183, http://zenodo.org/record/3833125