A third species of Polyspatha, an endemic African genus of Commelinaceae

Robert Faden

doi:10.3897/phytokeys.3.1181

Abstract

Polyspatha oligospatha Faden, the third species in a small African endemic genus of Commelinaceae, is described. It is widespread but has been overlooked because of its small stature and resemblance to small plants of Polyspatha paniculata. It differs from both Polyspatha paniculata and Polyspatha hirsuta, the two other species, by its leaf pubescence, fewer, more widely spaced and usually patent spathes, deeply ridged seeds with numerous knobby, transversely interrupted ridges, and morning anthesis. It occurs throughout the Congolian forests from Cameroon to Uganda, but it is also disjunct in Ivory Coast, across the Dahomey gap.

Highlights

The African endemic genus Polyspatha (Commelinaceae) has generally been considered to consist of two species (Morton 1967; Brenan 1968)
More than 540 herbarium specimens of Polyspatha were studied from the following institutions: all the collections from BM, BR, Evans & Lye 69/1256 (EA), K, NY, MO, US, WAG and YA, and some of the collections from P
Polyspatha oligospatha [etymology: many spathes, few spathes] differs from P. paniculata by the consistent presence of long, uniseriate hairs on the adaxial leaf surface, which is never scabrous and by the usually fewer, smaller, blunter, more widely spaced and less deflexed spathes. It differs from P. hirsuta by the usually sparser and shorter uniseriate hairs on the adaxial leaf surface, the absence of such hairs from the abaxial leaf surface and usually the internodes and sheaths, and the inflorescence consisting of fewer, less congested spathes with shorter marginal hairs and with lustrous, brown, bead-like cells on the entire spathe surface or mainly near the midrib

Summary

Introduction

The African endemic genus Polyspatha (Commelinaceae) has generally been considered to consist of two species (Morton 1967; Brenan 1968). It was described by Bentham (1849) for a single West African species, P. paniculata Benth. In his monograph of the family, Clarke (1881) recognized P. paniculata var. In the first edition of the Flora of West Tropical Africa (Hutchinson 1936) but the name was abandoned by Morton in his survey of Commelinaceae of West Africa (Morton 1967) and treated Clarke) Hutch. in the first edition of the Flora of West Tropical Africa (Hutchinson 1936) but the name was abandoned by Morton in his survey of Commelinaceae of West Africa (Morton 1967) and treated

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Conclusion