Morinda lucida Benth.
Creators: name: Gopan, Gopika
name: Thomas, V. P.
name: Thomas, Binoy T.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Gentianales
Rubiaceae
Morinda
Morinda lucida

description: Morinda lucida Benth.
(Figs 1; 2; 3)
Niger Flora, London 849: 406 (Bentham in Hooker 1849). — Type: Equatorial Guinea • Fernando Po leg.; De Vogel 77; lectotype: K[K000379504!], here designated.
PHENOLOGY. — Flowering and fruiting is from July-December.
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION. — Angola, Benin, Cabinda, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zaïre (POWO 2024) (Fig. 4).
IUCN STATUS. — M. lucida has wide distribution and the species is not currently affected by any major threats and assessed under the category Least concern (IUCN SSC & BGCI 2020).
SPECIMEN EXAMINED. — India • Karnataka, Bengaluru, Lalbagh Botanical Garden; 900 m alt.; 12°56’20.4”N, 77°35’04.9”E; 20.VI.2023; Gopika Gopan 21050; CATH[CATH21050].
Gh a n a • Gre a t e r Ac c r a Re g i o n, Ad a; 1. I. 1 7 8 4; Is - ert s.n.; C[C10004191] • Achimota; III.1931; Irvine 1602; GC[GC000007778] • Dixcove; 31.III.1954; Morton A478; GC[GC000007779].
Equatorial Guinea • Fernando Po leg.; Vogel 77; K[K000379504]. Angola • Cuanza Norte; VI.1935; John 10305; COI[COI00067774] • Cabinda, Belize P. O. Maiombe; 31.XII.1918; John 10170; COI[COI00067776] • Cuanza Norte, Gossweiler; VI.1935; John 10305; COI[COI00067775] • Uige, Quimbele, Kibokolo; 20.III.2018; Jendras leg.; DR[DR051641, DR051642].
Côte d’Ivoire • Abidjan; 21. IV.1967; Bonzi 908; HNBU [HNBU02209].
Liberia • Iboke, Cavalla River drainage; 24.V.1948; Mayer 133; NMNH[NMNH00819075].
Togo • Lome-Palime; 2. IX. 1971; Breteler 7125; NMNH[NMNH02692471].
Cameroon • South-west province; 20.VIII.1983; Thomas 2484; YA[YA0053750] • Bates 1185; BM[BM014128248)] • Municipio de Kembele; 20.II.2015; Ditsch BD 777; DR[DR067666]. Burkina Faso • Sud-Ouest; 10.VII.1986; Etuge et al. 206; NMNH[NMNH02692470].
Congo • Province Orientale, Ango, Mombele Camp Chefferie; 1938; Gilbert 1654; NMNH[NMNH 02692472] • Province Orientale,Territory Isangi, Jangambi; Gilbert 1147; NMNH[NMNH 02692473)] • Louis 1144; BR[BR 0000006860677].
Gabon • III.1904; Klaine 3466; NMNH[NMNH02692475].
Nigeria • 27.IV.1977; Ibhanesebhor et al. GJ174; FHI[FHI0089510 -0]. DESCRIPTION
Evergreen trees. Bark glabrous, rough, pale brown. Branchesquadrangular in younger and terete to older branches. Leaves opposite-decussate, elliptical, petiolate, glossy; petiole smooth, 0.8-1.4 × 0.15-0.2 cm, slightly pubescent towards base; lamina elliptic, glossy, 7.0-13 × 3.5-5.8 cm, base attenuate, margin entire and wavy, apex acute to acuminate; lateral veins 5-7 pairs, raised abaxially; domatium present on the axils of lateral veins in abaxial surface.Stipules entire, green, glabrous, 0.2-0.7 × 0.3- 0.6 cm, forming sheath enclosing basal parts of the internode, not persistent, colleters on adaxial base. Inflorescence terminal and axillary heads; ovaries connate into pedunculate capitula, each capitulum composes of 5-7 flowers fused by its ovaries. Flowers tubular, 2.1-2.5 cm long, white, fragrant, sessile, glabrous. Peduncle 3-4 per node, 1.8-4.5 × 0.15 cm, green, glossy, slightly hairy, one larger and smaller knob-like gland between peduncle and stem. Calyx truncate, 0.25-0.35 cm long, adnate to the ovary, green and glabrous. Corolla valvate, white; tube greenish-white, 1.6-2 cm long, glossy, glabrous outside and slightly hairy inside; throat glabrous; lobes 5, salver shaped, 0.5–0.6 × 0.25-0.3 cm, entire margin, apex acute and hooded at tip, glossy. Stamens 5, epipetalous, introrse; filaments white, 1.5-2 cm long, glabrous; anther 2-celled, 0.4-0.5 × 0.05-0.1 cm, dorsifixed, whitish yellow, glabrous, dehiscent longitudinally; pollen numerous. Ovary 0.2-0.3 cm in diameter, 2 locules, 1 ovule per locule; style greenish, 0.7-1.2 cm long, smooth, glossy; stigma greenish white, inserted in corolla tube, bifid. Infructescence syncarpous, 1-1.5 × 1.2-1.5 cm, greenish color turning blackish brown on ripening, smooth, calyx persistent and glabrous. Seeds 4-5, triangular, 0.6-0.75 × 0.4-0.5 cm, blackish brown, not winged, wrinkled, numerous.
TYPIFICATION REMARKS
George Bentham described M. lucida in Hooker’s Niger Flora (Bentham in Hooker 1849). In the protologue, Bentham gave a brief diagnosis based on the collections made by De Vogel from two regions in Equatorial Guinea: Quorra & Fernando Po (Bioko). While searching for the original materials, the specimen from Quorra has not been traced from any herbaria and material collected by De Vogel from Bioko is located at herbarium of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (barcode number: K000379504). Daniel Oliver discussed about two Morinda species in the Flora of Tropical Africa (Oliver 1877: 191), Morinda citrifolia L. and Morinda longiflora G.Don. He mentioned M. lucida as a variety of M. citrifolia and labelled the specimen of De Vogel as M. citrifolia L.
DESCRIPTION AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF AFRICAN MORINDA
M. longiflora, M. confusa, M. lucida and M. geminata has been described and illustrated in Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Hutchinson 1916). Hutchinson & Dalziel (1963) identified De Vogel’s material as M. lucida and published in the Flora of West Tropical Africa. Davis & Figueiredo (2007) published a detailed checklist of the Rubiaceae on the islands of Bioko and Annobon based on herbarium collections from K and BMNH. In this, De Vogel material of M. lucida was described as a syntype and Barter 2039 (K) as a representative specimen. We consider the most appropriate choice of lectotype to be the De Vogel specimen in K with barcodeK000379504. This specimen clearly shows the main morphological features identifying it as M. lucida, i.e. oval shaped leaf with brief petiole, 1-3 peduncles per node and globose capitulum.
description: Published as part of Gopan, Gopika, Thomas, V. P. & Thomas, Binoy T., 2025, On the taxonomy and typification of Morinda lucida Benth. (Rubiaceae), pp. 19-25 in Adansonia (3) (3) 47 (3) on pages 20-24, DOI: 10.5252/adansonia2025v47a3, http://zenodo.org/record/14849180