Gossia kaalaensis N. Snow 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Snow, Neil
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Myrtales
Myrtaceae
Gossia
Gossia kaalaensis

description: Gossia kaalaensis N. Snow, sp. nov.
(Figs 13J-K; 17)
Petioles narrowly and deeply sulcate, but broadening distally. Leaves narrowly ovate to ovate, margin somewhat undulate, secondary and tertiary veins of both surfaces prominently raised. Sepals densely short-sericeous below.
TYPUS. — New Caledonia. Grande Terre, North Prov., Slopes of Mt Kaala, above village, 20°37’39.00”S, 164°23’12.12”S, c. 550 m, 7.X.1982, G. McPherson 4973 (holo-, P [P00758090]; iso-, BISH [fragment]; MO[MO-3211396]; NOU [NOU030910]).
PARATYPI. — New Caledonia. North Prov. Mont Kaala, 4.IV.1968, Bernardi 12528 (BISH [fragment], L, P [P00462920], US, Z); Voh. Massif Katépaï, au bord d’une ancienne piste, 20°55’49.72”S, 164°42’02.92”E, c. 470 m, 19.IX.2016, Munzinger 7853 (leg. Scoptera) (MPU [640685], P [P02090976]). — South Prov. Kongouaou (= Koungouhaou), 650 m, 2.V.1976, Jaffré 1725 (NOU [NOU029644]); Contrefort NW Mt. Taom, 10.V.1979, MacKee 36887 (NOU [NOU029643], P [P02089830]); Crête du Oua-Tilou, 20°50’08.99”S, 164°51’27.00”E, 850 m, 18.V.1983, Morat 7398 (NOU [NOU029645], P [P00462921]); Montagnes de Balade, Vieillard 484 (left branchlet on mixed collection; P [P00463007, P00602546]); Oua Tendé près Gatope, Vieillard 2610 (K [K001000439], P [P00462922, P00462923, P00462924]); circ. Kaala-Gomen; S slopes of Mt. Kaala, c. 500 m, 11.VIII.1968, Webster & Hildreth 14719 (DAV, GH, NSW, P [P00462928]).
REPRESENTATIVE HERBARIUM SPECIMEN. — P00758090.
ETYMOLOGY. — After the type locality.
DISTRIBUTION, HABITAT AND PHENOLOGY. — Grande Terre from the northwest, where it is most common, sporadically south to Koungouhaou (Fig. 17); in maquis and scrub that grades into lowstature but dense forests, over ultramafics or graywackes, 470- 850 m. Flowering April through July; fruiting May through October.
DESCRIPTION
Shrubs
0.7- 2 m.
Bark
Marbled with light and dark gray.
Branchlets
Terete to laterally compressed; internodes> 5 mm.
Leaves
Coriaceous, 2 per node; petioles 3-5 mm, deeply sulcate; blades (4.5-)8.0-9.5 × 1.8-3.4 cm, narrowly elliptic to narrowly ovate or somewhat elliptic, base cuneate (rarely almost rounded), surface flat to somewhat undulate, margin somewhat undulate, apex acute, midnerve sulcate above, secondary veins prominently raised above, oil glands of lower surface common, indistinct to prominent (and relatively large or small).
Inflorescence
1.5-3.5 cm, of monads, 3-flowered cymes, or few-flowered racemes, axillary, terminal or sometimes arising from internodes, pedicels 0.3-1.3 cm; extrafloral bracts absent or scale-like.
Bracteoles
1-1.5 mm, linear to very narrowly obovate, glabrous to sparsely sericeous.
Hypanthium
c. 2-3 × c. 2.5 mm, campanulate to obconic, surface smooth, glabrous (or sparsely sericeous); ovary apex glabrous.
Calyx
Lobes 5, 1.3-2 mm, broadly ovate to broadly rounded, sericeous-tomentose above, glabrous to sparsely and very short sericeous below, drying whitish.
Petals
3.5-5 × 4-5 mm, sparsely villous above, glabrous below, shortly ciliate on edges.
Filaments
2.5-4 mm; anther sacs 0.5-0.7 mm.
Style
4-5 mm, sparsely sericeous.
Fruits
c. 5-5 × 6-7 mm, subglobular to globular, base rounded; green maturing to dark reddish; seeds 2.
REMARKS
Several characters are diagnostic for Gossia kaalaensis sp. nov. The leaf blades (in sicco) typically are dark green, narrowly elliptic to narrowly ovate, apically acute, and the upper surface is frequently undulate, glossy and has prominently raised secondary veins. The petiole is deeply sulcate but flattens and broadens distally. The hypanthium often has relatively large, pustular oil glands interspersed among much smaller glands. It most closely resembles Gossia vieillardii, but leaves of that species typically are a lighter shade of green. Gossia kaalaensis sp. nov. may also resemble G. pancheri, but the latter has a sericeous hypanthium.
A specimen with a similar leaf shape and texture to G. kaalaensis sp. nov. is atypical by the much smaller length of its leaves (Munzinger 7577 [MPU620440]); its placement at the current time is unresolved.
description: Published as part of Snow, Neil, 2020, A revision of New Caledonian Gossia N. Snow & Guymer (Myrtaceae), pp. 131-177 in Adansonia (3) (3) 42 (7) on pages 158-160, DOI: 10.5252/adansonia2020v42a7, http://zenodo.org/record/3877392