Xylopia elliotii Pierre ex Engl. &amp; Diels, Monogr. Afrik. Pflanzen. - Fam. 6: 65 1901
Creators: name: Couvreur, Thomas L. P.
name: Dagallier, Leo-Paul M. J.
name: Crozier, Francoise
name: Ghogue, Jean-Paul
name: Hoekstra, Paul H.
name: Kamdem, Narcisse G.
name: Johnson, David M.
name: Murray, Nancy A.
name: Sonke, Bonaventure
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Magnoliales
Annonaceae
Xylopia
Xylopia elliotii

description: Xylopia elliotii Pierre ex Engl. &amp; Diels, Monogr. Afrik. Pflanzen.-Fam. 6: 65, 1901 Map 17G Type. Guinea. Farana Region; Farana, <i>Scott Elliot G.F. 5325</i>, Mar 1924: lectotype, designated by Johnson and Murray (2018), p. 165: B[B100153142]; isolectotypes: BM[BM000510796, lower half of sheet]; GH; K[K000199071]; P[P00169156] Description. Tree, 10-18 m tall, d.b.h. unknown; stilt roots and buttresses absent. Old branches glabrous, <b>young branches densely pubescent with erect reddish brown hairs 0.2-0.8 mm long</b>. Leaves: petiole 4-6 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, pubescent, slightly grooved, blade inserted on the side of the petiole; blade 4.5-9.5 cm long, 1.8-5.6 cm wide, lanceolate-ovate to elliptic, oblong, or oblong-lanceolate, <b>apex obtuse</b>, emarginate, or acute, rarely with an acumen ca. 0.5 cm long, base cuneate to rounded, subcoriaceous, below finely appressed-pubescent when young, sparsely pubescent to glabrous when old, above glabrous when young and old, discolorous; midrib sunken, above pubescent when young and old, below pubescent when young and old; secondary veins 10 to 16 pairs, glabrous above; tertiary venation reticulate. Individuals bisexual; inflorescences ramiflorous on young foliate branches, axillary, peduncle absent. Flowers with 9 perianth parts in 3 whorls, 1 to 2 per inflorescence; pedicel 3-6 mm long, 1 mm in diameter, pubescent; in fruit 10-12 mm long, 1-6 mm in diameter, glabrous; <b>bracts 2</b>, towards the middle of pedicel, 2-3 mm long, 2-3 mm wide; sepals 3, valvate, basally fused, 2-5 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, ovate, apex acute to apiculate, base truncate, sericeous outside, glabrous inside; petals free, subequal; outer petals 3, 12.6-32 mm long, 1.2-2.5 mm wide at base, linear, apex obtuse, base broad and concave, white, tinged purple at base, densely pubescent outside, pubescent inside; inner petals 3, valvate, 16-24 mm long, 2.3-3.9 mm wide at base, linear, apex acute, base broad and concave, white, tinged with purple at the base, pubescent, base glabrous outside, pubescent and glabrous towards base inside; stamens ca. 120, in 7 to 8 rows, 1-2 mm long, clavate to oblong; connective apex shield-like, glabrous; carpels 9 to 10, ovary 1-2 mm long, stigmas connivent, lanceolate, 1.3-2.3 mm long, pubescent to glabrous. Monocarps <b>usually sessile</b> or stipitate, stipe 3-6 mm long, 2-3 mm in diameter; monocarps 3 to 8, 20-38 mm long, 9-13 mm wide, obovoid to oblong, apex rounded, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, verrucose, slightly wrinkled when dried, red to purple tinged outside, endocarp red; seeds up to 9 per monocarp, <b>in two rows</b>, 9-12 mm long, 7-8 mm wide, flattened ellipsoid to oblong; <b>sarcotesta present</b>, color <i>in vivo</i> unknown; <b>aril absent.</b> Distribution. A widespread species with a disjunct distribution in West and Central Africa, from Guinea-Bissau to Togo and from Cameroon to Central African Republic; in Cameroon known from Adamaoua and West regions. Habitat. A species from the drier forests, in gallery forests along streams and rivers and occasionally extending into drier uplands. Altitude 1100-1400 m a.s.l. Local and common names known in Cameroon. ké (<i>Westphal 10047</i>, <i>10048</i>, <i>10049</i>, <i>10172</i>). IUCN conservation status. Least Concern (LC) (Harvey-Brown 2019j). Uses in Cameroon. <i>Food</i>: fruits and seeds used as pepper substitute. Notes. <i>Xylopia elliotii</i> most closely resembles <i>X. monticola</i> and <i>X. thomsonii</i> among Cameroon <i>Xylopia</i> species, but has obtuse to acute rather than acuminate leaf apices, young branches densely covered with erect reddish brown hairs of even length, pedicels with only 2 rather than 3-6 bracts. The monocarps of <i>Xylopia elliotii</i> are sessile to short-stipitate (3-6 mm) with seeds in two rows, in contrast to distinctly stipitate (8-13 mm long, rarely shorter) with seeds in a single row in <i>X. monticola</i> and <i>X. thomsonii</i>. Collections from the area of Bayangam (<i>Westphal 10047</i>, <i>10048</i>, <i>10049</i>, <i>10172</i>) document that the plant has been kept around houses and the fruits are used as a condiment. This is the only known report of the use of a <i>Xylopia</i> species in Africa other than <i>X. aethiopica</i>. Specimens examined. <b>Adamaoua Region</b>: Falls in the Vina river ca 15 km SE of Ngaoundéré, 7.2°N, 13.71°E, <i>01 December 1964</i>, <i>de Wilde W.J.J.O</i> 4447 (K,WAG); Mbalang- 16 km E Ngaoundéré, 7.32°N, 13.58°E, <i>27 January 1978</i>, <i>Fotius G.</i> 2984 (YA); Tchabal-Mbabo, 7.05°N, 12.25°E, <i>16 March 1978</i>, <i>Fotius G.</i> 3108 (YA); Ngaou Loumou (1700 m), 7.52°N, 13.85°E, <i>20 October 1967</i>, <i>Jacques-Félix H.</i> 8724 (YA); Mayo Darle, 6.47°N, 11.55°E, <i>10 November 1967</i>, <i>Jacques-Félix H.</i> 9110 (YA); Sadolkoulay (36 km E Ngaoundéré), 7.31°N, 13.87°E, <i>05 December 1964</i>, <i>Raynal J.</i> 12228 (P,YA); Près Katil-Foulbe 50 km SE Ngaoundéré, 7.02°N, 13.94°E, <i>20 October 1983</i>, <i>Satabié B.</i> 687 (P). <b>West Region</b>: Ndop Plain road to French Map ref No 23, 5.97°N, 10.40°E, <i>30 March 1962</i>, <i>Brunt M.A.</i> 261 (K); Bayangam, 5.3°N, 10.45°E, <i>01 January 1939</i>, <i>Jacques-Félix H.</i> 2965 (P); Kontchankap, 5.58°N, 10.80°E, <i>01 February 1939</i>, <i>Jacques-Félix H.</i> 3039 (P); a 20 km E de Foumbot, 5.56°N, 10.8°E, <i>26 October 1974</i>, <i>Satabié B.</i> 15 (MO,P); Bayangam, 5.3°N, 10.45°E, <i>17 May 1978</i>, <i>Westphal E.</i> 10047 (P,WAG); Bayangam, 5.3°N, 10.45°E, <i>17 May 1978</i>, <i>Westphal E.</i> 10048 (WAG,YA); Bayangam, 5.3°N, 10.45°E, <i>17 May 1978</i>, <i>Westphal E.</i> 10049 (K,WAG,YA); Plants collected in the region of Bayangam, 5.3°N, 10.45°E, <i>17 December 1978</i>, <i>Westphal E.</i> 10172 (WAG).
description: Published as part of <i>Couvreur, Thomas L. P., Dagallier, Leo-Paul M. J., Crozier, Francoise, Ghogue, Jean-Paul, Hoekstra, Paul H., Kamdem, Narcisse G., Johnson, David M., Murray, Nancy A. &amp; Sonke, Bonaventure, 2022, Flora of Cameroon - Annonaceae Vol 45, pp. 1-532 in PhytoKeys 207</i> on pages 457-458, DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.207.61432
description: {"references": ["Johnson, DM, Murray, NA, 2018. A revision of Xylopia L. (Annonaceae): the species of Tropical Africa. PhytoKeys 97: 1 - 252, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.97.20975", "Harvey-Brown, Y, 2019j. Xylopia elliotii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T34829A149068495. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T34829A149068495.en"]}