Blotia leandriana (Euphorbiaceae: Phyllanthoideae), a New Species from Eastern Madagascar

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Blotia leandriana, endemic to the eastern coastal forests of Madagascar, is described and contrasted with its congeners. It is most similar to B. oblongifolia (Baillon) Leandri but is distinguished by its smaller leaves and fruits, its inconspicuous secondary venation, and its shorter, unchanneled petioles. Blotia leandriana Petra Hoffmann & McPherson, sp. nov. TYPE: Madagascar. Toliara, Tolanaro (Fort Dauphin), NE of town in coastal forest called Mandena, roadside forest E of and beyond QIT camp, 25 m, 7 Dec. 1989, G. McPherson & N. Dumetz 14651 (holotype, MO; isotypes, B, DAV, K, P, TAN, TEF). Figure 1. Species Blotiae characterum combinatione ab aliis speciebus generis distinguenda: a B. bemarensi Leandri foliis ellipticis nunquam ovatis, petalis distincte unguiculatis; a B. hildebrandtii (Baillon) Leandri foliis maioribus, petalis sepalis aequilongis, pedicellis florigeris et fructigeris longioribus; a B. oblongifolia (Baillon) Leandri foliis fructibusque minoribus, petiolis brevioribus teretibus non canaliculatis, venis secundariis in sicco tam prominentibus quam venibus tenuioribus; a B. tanalorum Leandri foliis plerumque coriaceis, floribus minoribus, apicibus sepalorum non incrassatis, petalis distincte unguiculatis differt. Monoecious shrubs or small trees up to 8 m. Young twigs terete, glabrous, minutely puberulent or sparsely pubescent, glossy. Stipules linear, acute, 3-4 mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, glabrous, very thin, red to black when dried, usually persistent. Petiole flat adaxially to terete, not canaliculate, 1-3 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide, glabrous or more rarely puberulent. Leaf blades elliptic, (2-)3-6(-8) cm long, 1-3 cm wide; apex usually acuminate to an obtuse or broadly acute tip, sometimes obtuse; base acute to narrowly obtuse, not or only obscurely auriculate; margin plane to slightly revolute; glabrous, coriaceous or rarely chartaceous, light grayish green when dried, dull, the midvein prominent on both sides, secondaries 7-12 pairs below the acumen, not conspicuous compared with finer venation, which is more prominent abaxially than adaxially. Inflorescences axillary (but reported also to be cauline), staminate and pistillate flowers together in fascicles of 5-20 borne directly in the leaf axils or on unbranched, usually leafless axes up to 1 cm long. Flowers ca. 2 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, pedicellate, bracteate; the pedicels terete, glabrous; the bracts 3 per flower, deltoid, acute, ca. 0.5 mm long, ca. 0.5 mm wide, glabrous except for ciliate margins. Buds globose. Staminate flowers on pedicels 10-15 mm long, ca. 0.2 mm wide. Sepals 5, oblong to obovate, apex rounded, not thickened, 1.5-2 mm long, 1-1.2 mm wide, entire, glabrous or sparsely pubescent on margins, coriaceous. Petals 5, spathulate, rounded, 1.2-1.5 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide, extending to the same level as the sepals, often reflexed, distinctly clawed, erose. Disc episepalously lobed, lobes separate or connate at the base, 0.2-0.3 mm long, thick, glabrous. Stamens 5, ca. 1 mm long, fused at the base for V3 to ?2 of their length, their free parts erect. Pistillode clavate to cylindrical, ca. 0.5 mm long, 0.2-0.3 mm wide, apex 3-lobed, lobes erect, terete to almost semiglobose, sometimes channeled inside, glabrous. Pistillate flowers on pedicels 10-20 mm long, ca. 0.3 mm wide. Sepals 5, oblong to obovate, apex rounded, not thickened, ca. 1.5 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, entire, glabrous or sparsely pubescent on margins. Petals 5, spathulate, rounded, 1-1.2 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide, slightly shorter than the sepals, often reflexed, distinctly clawed, erose. Disc annular, episepalously lobed, margin erose, ca. 0.2 mm long, glabrous, thick. Ovary globose, ca. 1 mm long, glabrous. Styles 3, 2-fid to the base, their branches terete, ca. 0.3 mm long, ca. 0.1 mm wide, spreading, glabrous. Stigmas acute to truncate. Fruits solitary or in pairs, subglobose, shallowly 3-lobed, 6-9 mm long, 6-11 mm wide, glabrous, reticulate because of the prominent venation, light brown. Fruiting pedicels 10-25 mm long, 0.3-0.5 mm wide, glabrous. Columella 5-7 mm long, base and apex ca. 1 mm wide, thinner in the middle. NovoN 7: 249-251. 1997. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.127 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 05:35:55 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms