Dicksonia perriei Noben &amp; Lehnert 2013, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Noben, Sarah
name: Lehnert, Marcus
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Polypodiopsida
Cyatheales
Dicksoniaceae
Dicksonia
Dicksonia perriei

description: <i>Dicksonia perriei</i> Noben &amp; Lehnert, <i>sp. nov.</i> (Figs. 2B, 3B) Type:— NEW CALEDONIA. Province du Nord: Mont Colnett, 20°30'S, 164°42'E, 1050 m, 29 October 2004, <i>U. G</i> <i>. Swenson, G. McPherson &amp; A.</i> <i>Mouly 605</i> (holotype MO, isotype S). The new species <i>Dicksonia perriei</i> is most similar to <i>D. thyrsopteroides</i>, especially in laminar characters but differs in characters of the petiole (uniform layer of matted yellowish to orange brown, wooly ciliate hairs in <i>D. perriei</i> vs. spreading reddish brown setiform hairs and a sooty undercoat in <i>D. thyrsopteroides</i>). <i>Trunks</i> to 2 m tall, to 20 cm diameter with persistent petiole bases (reports of diameters to 50 cm probably include adventitious root mantle); adventitious buds apparently present, sprouting close to the soil and leading to close groups of 2–3 trunks. <i>Fronds</i> to 400 cm long, ascending, dimorphic, usually fertile in lower half but can be wholly fertile. <i>Petiole</i> ca. 100 cm long, to 5 cm wide, remaining green for a long time on the plant, only turning brown when dead and dried, smooth to slightly rough, covered with easily abraded, short (ca. 7 mm) pale, yellowish to orange brown, wooly hairs. <i>Laminae</i> at least to 200 × 130 cm, tripinnate-pinnatifid, firm herbaceous, gradually reduced apically, widest at the middle. <i>Leaf axes</i> [rachises, costae and costules] of young fronds densely covered many orange to reddish brown catenate hairs on both sides, caduceus, abaxially mostly persisting the axils of pinnae and pinnules, adaxially hairs fewer and paler but more persistent. <i>Veins</i> slightly to strongly hairy; hairs whitish to reddish. <i>Pinnae</i> subsessile to sessile, oblong-lanceolate with attenuate tips, 12–14 pairs per frond. <i>Sterile pinnae</i> to 65 × 25 cm; <i>fertile pinnae</i> to 33 × 16 cm. <i>Sterile pinnules</i> to 12–13 × 2.2 cm, oblong-lanceolate, basally auriculate. <i>Fertile pinnules</i> to 9 × 1.6 cm, oblong, sessile. <i>Fertile segments</i> sessile, the laminar tissue reduced to thin strands along the veins, but intermediary segments with more laminar tissue may occur. <i>Sterile segments</i> weakly lobed or dissected, margins serrate, sessile. <i>Sori</i> 1.7–1.8 mm wide, oblong to slightly kidney shaped when closed, circular when open, at the end of unbranched lateral veins. <i>Spores</i> not examined. <b>Distribution and habitat:</b> —Primarily northern New Caledonia, rare in the centre and absent from the south, in evergreen mountain rainforest at (750–) 1050–1460 m, avoiding ultramafic soils (Fig. 1B, D). <b>Etymology:</b> —The epithet honours our colleague Leon Perrie (Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa), who first pointed out the distinctness of this species and who provided crucial information for the description of this species. <b>Paratype:</b> — NEW CALEDONIA. Province du Nord: Mont Colnett, 20°30'S, 164°42'E, 1400 m, 31 October 2004, <i>U. G</i> <i>. Swenson et al. 620</i> (MO, S). <b>Additional specimens (digitalized):</b> — NEW CALEDONIA. Province du Nord: Sud de Canala, [ca. 21°31'10''S, 165°57'11'' E,] ca. 900 m, 20 February 1869, <i>Balansa 1596</i> (P); Forêt Plate, E towards Mont Katépouenda, 21°08–09' S, 165°07–08'E, 750 m, 14 August 1965, <i>Bernardi 10192</i> (NOU n.v., P); Mont Panie, 20°35'58''S, 164°45'32''E, 1280 m, 9 October 2012, <i>L</i> <i>.</i> <i>Perrie NC2012-182</i> (NOU n.v., WELT), 20°35'23''S, 164°45'43''E, 1460 m, 9 October 2012, <i>L</i> <i>.</i> <i>Perrie NC2012-184</i> (NOU n.v., WELT); Dôme de l'Ignambi, [ca. 20°27'46"S, 164°36'10"E,] 1300 m, 19 August 1965, <i>M</i> <i>.</i> <i>Schmid 548</i> (P). <b>Discussion:—</b> <i>Dicksonia perriei</i> was previously treated as <i>D. thyrsopteroides</i> because of shared morphological characters of the lamina (e.g. the sessile pinnae and the strong reduction of fertile segments). However, <i>D. perriei</i> differs in the characteristics of the petiole, which is smooth to slightly rough with yellowish to orange, wooly, ciliate hairs (vs. pale to reddish brown, setiform hairs in <i>D. thyrsopteroides</i>) and the lack of a sooty undercoat (vs. present). In addition, <i>D perriei</i> has thicker petioles than <i>D. thyrsopteroides</i> (to ca. 2 cm wide vs. more than 3 cm wide in fresh material) and is a more massive plant that usually grows in small groups of 2–3 thick and relatively short trunks (to 20 cm diameter vs. usually with solitary, relatively slender trunks to 10 cm diameter). Herbarium specimens of <i>D. perriei</i> are conspicuous due to the large size of the pinnae and pinnules. We have seen photographs of <i>Dicksonia perriei</i> on Mont Panié, where the species is dominant tree fern in the upper parts (L. Perrie, personal communication). The range of this species is insufficiently known, but it seems to be restricted to higher elevations in the northern province, outside of the ultramafic outcrops (Pintaud <i>et al.</i> 2001) and above the elevational range of <i>D. thyrsopteroides</i>. Outliers that were collected farther south are <i>Balansa 1596</i> from 900 m and <i>Bernardi 10192</i> from 750 m (see Discussion).
description: Published as part of <i>Noben, Sarah &amp; Lehnert, Marcus, 2013, The genus Dicksonia (Dicksoniaceae) in the western Pacific, pp. 23-34 in Phytotaxa 155 (1)</i> on pages 31-32, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.155.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/5100915
description: {"references": ["Pintaud, J. C., Jaffre, T. &amp; Puig, H. (2001) Chorology of New Caledonian palms and possible evidence of Pleistocene rain forest refugia. Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences-Series III-Sciences de la Vie 324: 453 - 463."]}