Thaumatococcus flavus A. C. Ley 2012, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ley, Alexandra C.
name: Classen-Bockhoff, Regine
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Liliopsida
Zingiberales
Marantaceae
Thaumatococcus
Thaumatococcus flavus

description: <i>Thaumatococcus flavus</i> A. C. Ley, sp. nov. (Figs 1; 6) Thaumatocco daniellii <i>similis sed inflorescentiae rhachidi fusca, bracteis floribusque, flavis bracteis pubescentibus, fructu juveni fusco cum verrucis, maturo rubro praecipue differt.</i> TYPUS. — <b>Gabon</b>. Monts de Cristal, Tchimbele, in primary forest below the hydroelectrical station near the esplanade, 0°36.855’N, 10°24.159’E, 14.XI.2004, <i>A. C. Ley 56</i> (holo- WAG!; iso- LBV!). PARATYPI. — <b>Gabon</b>. Monts de Cristal, Tchimbele, in the closed forest below the hydroelectrical station near the esplanade, 0°36.855’N, 10°24.159’E, 10.XII.2005, <i>A. C. Ley 201, 202</i> (LBV, WAG). — Forest below airstrip towards the river, 0°37’30.6”N, 10°23’51.8”E, 13.XII.2006, <i>A. C. Ley 218</i> (LBV, WAG). — Mikongo, 0°35.815’N, 11°12.413’E, 19.XI.2008, <i>A. C. Ley 457</i> (BRLU, LBV). HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION. — Primary forest along streams at around 500 m in Monts de Cristal in Gabon (Fig. 3). DESCRIPTION Rhizomatous herb, up to 2.5 m tall, forming clusters. Leaves arising solitary from rhizome; shoot base with sheaths of up to 20 cm in length, glabrous; petiole up to 2.5 m long, green, glabrous; pulvinus 10 cm long,glabrous; leaf lamina almost round, only slightly asymmetric,up to 40 × 30 cm, with a short broad tip, almost equally light green on both sides, pronounced parallel veins. Inflorescence arising from rhizome, up to 20 cm long, 2-3 partial inflorescences; peduncle 10 cm long with 2-4 sterile yellow bracts at the base of each branch; inflorescence axis brown, pubescent; internodes 3 cm at the base, 0.8 cm at the tip, long hairs around nodes; fertile bracts up to about 14 per partial inflorescence, yellow, about 22 mm long, pubescent; only one flower pair per bract; prophyll missing; axis of flower pair 1 mm, glabrous;pedicelles 0.5 and 1 mm long, glabrous, bearing one bracteole each, 1.5 × 0.9 mm, brown. Flower yellow, 2.5 cm long;sepals 12 × 3 mm; petals 28× 7 mm folded backwards; corolla tube about 15 mm; outer staminodes mostly absent, about 23 cm long; cucullate staminode about 25 mm long;callose staminode 24 mm; stamen 3 mm; petaloid appendage about 25 mm long; style about 30 mm long; ovary 3 × 2.5 mm, yellow/brown, pubescent.Fruit first brown then red at maturity, triangular, fleshy, surface verrucous, about 3.5 × 4 cm. Seeds white, 1.5 cm long. REMARKS <i>Thaumatococcus flavus</i> A.C. Ley, sp. nov. differs from the only other species in the genus, <i>Thaumatococcus daniellii</i> Benth., in the colour of the inflorescence, bracts and flowers, the surface structure of the fruit and its restricted distribution range in the mountainous area of Monts de Cristal.
description: Published as part of <i>Ley, Alexandra C. &amp; Classen-Bockhoff, Regine, 2012, Five new species of Marantaceae endemic to Gabon, pp. 37-52 in Adansonia (3) (3) 34 (1)</i> on page 44, DOI: 10.5252/a2012n1a4, http://zenodo.org/record/5205844