A New Species of Caryodaphnopsis (Lauraceae) from Vietnam

Abstract

Caryodaphnopsis bilocellata van der Werff & Dao, collected in the Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam and differing from the other Asian species of the genus in having 2-celled anthers, is described. Caryodaphnopsis is a small genus of Lauraceae, characterized by its opposite leaves and strongly unequal tepals, with the outer three much smaller than the inner three. A unique wood anatomical feature of Caryodaphnopsis is the presence of pyramidal, trihydrate calcium oxalate crystals in the ray cells (Richter, 1981). The genus is known from Southeast Asia (southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines) and from the Neotropics (Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica). The Asian species have been revised by Kostermans (1974), who accepted seven species. The six neotropical species were recently described or transferred to Caryodaphnopsis (van der Werff & Richter, 1985; van der Werff, 1986, 1988, 1991; Zamora et al., 1988), but have never been revised. Most species, including all Asian species, have nine 4-celled stamens. However, the neotropical C. inaequalis (A. C. Smith) van der Werff & H. G. Richter has nine 2-celled stamens, and the neotropical C. tomentosa van der Werff has only six 2-celled stamens. Such variation in stamen configuration within the same genus is unusual among Lauraceae, but has been reported in several genera (van der Werff & Richter, 1985). We attach more importance to the opposite leaves, strongly unequal tepals, and the wood anatomy for generic delimitation and accept the variation in stamen numbers and locelli numbers in Caryodaphnopsis. During recent fieldwork in Vietnam, a species of Caryodaphnopsis was found that differed from the other Asian species in having nine 2-celled, and not 4-celled, stamens; its description follows here. Caryodaphnopsis bilocellata van der Werff & Dao, sp. nov. TYPE: Vietnam. Ninh Binh Province: Cuc Phuong National Park, H. van der Werff et al. 14250 (holotype, MO; isotypes, HN, KUN, QRS). Figure 1. A congeneris asiaticis antheris bilocellatis recedit. Trees, 25 m tall. Twigs terete, glabrous; terminal buds glabrous. Leaves opposite, chartaceous, elliptic or ovate-elliptic, 7-18 x 3-9 cm, glabrous on both surfaces, the base obtuse or acute, the apex acute, smaller leaves trinerved, larger leaves slightly triplinerved with the basal lateral veins leaving the midrib ca. 3 mm from above the base of the leaf, the lower surface glaucous, midrib and lateral veins slightly impressed on the upper surface, raised on the lower surface, tertiary venation immersed on both surfaces, petioles 10-14 mm long, glabrous. Inflorescences axillary, 5-15 cm long, glabrous, paniculate-cymosely branched. Flowers hermaphrodite, glabrous, green. Tepals 6, the outer 3 triangular, scale-like, ca. 0.4 mm long, the inner 3 broadly triangular, ca. 1.7 mm long, erect with the tip incurved, glabrous on the outer surface, sparsely pubescent on the inner surface; stamens 9, 2-celled, the outer 6 ca. 0.8 mm long, the filaments ca. 0.4 mm long, pubescent, the anthers glabrous, the locelli opening introrse; inner 3 stamens opening extrorse, 1 mm long, the filaments 0.3 mm long, pubescent, with 2 globose glands attached near the base of the anther; staminodia 3, ca. 0.5 mm long, dorsally pubescent, pressed against the ovary, with a triangular tip; ovary glabrous, 1 mm long, with a slender style; receptacle shallow, glabrous inside. Fruit unknown. Flowers April. Floral measurements were taken from alcoholpreserved material, and floral size of dried flowers will be smaller (for instance, length of inner tepals 1.2 mm). Vegetatively, Caryodaphnopsis bilocellata is quite similar to C. metallica Kostermans and C. henryi Airy Shaw and shares with those species the mostly NovoN 9: 584-586. 1999. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.114 on Thu, 26 May 2016 06:55:05 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Volume 9, Number 4 1999 van der Werff & Dao Caryodaphnopsis bilocellata from Vietnam 585