Calantica sphaerocephala Appleq., Phillipson &amp; G. E. Schatz 2014, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Applequist, Wendy L.
name: Phillipson, Peter B.
name: Schatz, George E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Malpighiales
Salicaceae
Calantica
Calantica sphaerocephala

description: 10. <i>Calantica sphaerocephala</i> Appleq., Phillipson &amp; G. E. Schatz, sp. nov. (Fig. 3) <i>Leaves lanceolate to narrowly elliptical; inflorescences cauliflorous; sepals bearing conspicuous glands on prominent marginal projections; stamens long (6-7.4 mm).</i> TYPUS. — <b>Madagascar</b>. Prov. Antsiranana, Anjombavola (= Ambatobiribiry), <i>c.</i> 10 air-km N of Sambava, 14°10’55”S, 50°05’14”E, 280 m, 9.V.2000, fl., <i>Lowry &amp; Rabenantoandro 5196</i> (holo-, MO!; iso-, BR!, G!, K!, P!, WAG!, TEF n.v.). PARATYPUS. — <b>Madagascar</b>. Prov. Antsiranana, forest of low elevation on massif of Tsihomanaomby, 3 km NW of Seranampotaka (2 km W of Route Nationale Sambava to Vohémar), 14°06’03”S, 50°02’52”E, 150 m, 9.V.2000, post-fr., <i>Birkinshaw et al. 734</i> (G, K, MO, P). DESCRIPTION Tree to 8 m tall, dbh 5 cm, lower portion of trunk unbranched; bark blackish; young twigs glabrous. Leaves lanceolate to narrowly elliptical, (7-)8.5- 14.5 × 2.4-6.1 cm; petiole 5-12 mm long, glabrous; stipules caducous, awl-shaped, 0.5-1.5 mm long, glabrate; base convex; apex acute to acuminate; margins serrulate; abaxial and adaxial surfaces glabrous; venation pinnate; lateral veins weak, sometimes visible on either surface but at most slightly raised, numerous, semicraspedodromous, mostly festooned. Inflorescences cauliflorous on upper two-thirds of trunk and on branches, borne singly or clustered, 2.5-5.5(-7) cm long, many-flowered, at anthesis short-branched with flowers in dense irregularly shaped, often roughly subglobose clusters, short-pubescent with erect trichomes; bracts dark red, narrowly elliptical to oblanceolate, 1.8-3.1 mm long, with gland-bearing marginal projections, sparsely short-pubescent; pedicels 5-7.5 mm long, short-pubescent. Flowers 6-7-merous, 9-11 mm in diameter; sepals pale yellowish green, narrowly ovate to elliptical, 3.5-5 mm long, with prominent gland-bearing projections along the margin, abaxial surface short-pubescent, adaxial surface short-pubescent; sepal glands yellow to dark red, orbicular to broadly ovate, concave with sometimes prominently raised margins, 1.2-1.7 mm long, the surface almost smooth; petals pale yellowish green, narrowly oblong to narrowly oblong-elliptical, 3-4.5 mm long, slightly smaller and narrower than sepals, abaxial surface short-pubescent especially towards apex,adaxial surface short-pubescent; disk short-pubescent to glabrous; stamens 1 per petal; filaments 6-7.4 mm long, pilose; anthers reddishbrown, 0.6-0.8 mm long; ovary short-pubescent; styles 3-4, 1.8-2.2 mm long. Capsules <i>c.</i> 6.5 mm high, short-pubescent; seeds ovoid, <i>c.</i> 2.5 mm long, bearing straight white trichomes about twice as long as seed. DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT <i>Calantica sphaerocephala</i> sp. nov. is native to a small region of northern Madagascar near Sambava; it occurs in dense, low-elevation (150-280 m) humid forest on sand or basalt. REMARKS <i>Calantica sphaerocephala</i> sp. nov. is a distinctive species, easily recognized by its cauliflorous inflorescences, which are short, usually irregularly subglobose, and dense. The sepals have prominent peg-shaped, gland-tipped marginal projections that are not present in any related species. The sepal glands are nearly smooth-surfaced and tend to be concave with elevated margins. The flowers are relatively large; the filaments are longer than those of any other species (6-7.4 mm), and the styles are unusually long (1.8-2.2 mm). The living plant is described as having horizontal branches, vertical petioles, and horizontal leaf blades (<i>Birkinshaw et al. 734</i>). This species does not closely resemble any other, and its affinities are uncertain. <i>Calantica sphaerocephala</i> sp. nov. is native to the same part of northeastern Madagascar as <i>Homalium cauliflorum</i> H. Perrier, which also has cauliflorous inflorescences and similarly shaped leaves (Perrier de la Bâthie 1940, 1946). The flowers of <i>H. cauliflorum</i> are 8-10-merous and less than half as large (<i>c.</i> 4 mm in diameter), with stamens shorter than the petals, densely hairy sepal glands, 4-6 styles, and a semi-inferior, flattened, pilose ovary. <i>Ethnobotany</i> The wood of <i>Calantica sphaerocephala</i> sp. nov. is said to be hard (<i>Birkinshaw et al. 734</i>). <i>Vernacular name</i> Piro (<i>Birkinshaw et al. 734</i>). CONSERVATION STATUS The preliminary assessment of the conservation status of <i>Calantica sphaerocephala</i> sp. nov. is Endangered (EN B2ab(iii)). With an Area of Occupancy of only <i>c.</i> 20 km 2, the species is known only from two locations, neither protected and both subject to continuing habitat degradation.
description: Published as part of <i>Applequist, Wendy L., Phillipson, Peter B. &amp; Schatz, George E., 2014, A synoptic revision of the Malagasy endemic genus Calantica Jaub. ex Tul. (Salicaceae), pp. 83-102 in Adansonia (3) (3) 36 (1)</i> on pages 100-101, DOI: 10.5252/a2014n1a8, http://zenodo.org/record/5208455
description: {"references": ["PERRIER DE LA BATHIE H. 1940. - Revision des Flacourtiacees de Madagascar et des Comores. Memoires du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, n. s., 13: 261 - 301.", "PERRIER DE LA BATHIE H. 1946. - Flacourtiacees. Flore de Madagascar et des Comores 140: 1 - 131."]}