Abstract
A new species of Cassipourea is described from the banks of the Mana River, in the southeastern boundary of the Korup National Park in Cameroon and placed provisionally within the subgenus Cassipourea. The leaves of the new species are close to those of C. afzelii, but its flowers differ from those of the latter and the rest of the species of the subgenus Cassipourea in having a glabrous ovary and a diplostemonous androceum, with filaments distinctly of two lengths. The illustration of the new species is provided and based on its narrow distribution, the provisional conservation status Vulnerable VU D1 is assigned.
Highlights
Cassipourea Aubl. comprises between 40 (Mabberley 2008) and 62 (Alston 1925) species of shrubs and trees widespread in tropical America, Africa, the Mascarene Islands and Sri Lanka
Following the description of Cassipourea korupensis Kenfack & Sainge (Kenfack et al 2006) from the Korup National Park in southwestern Cameroon, and in the course of compiling the checklist of vascular plants of the park (Kenfack et al unpubl. data), I came across specimens collected from the area that had been identified as belonging to the West African species C. afzelii
CONSERVATION STATUS The new species described here appears to be restricted to the banks of the Mana River in Southwest Cameroon, which constitutes the southeastern boundary of the Korup National Park
Summary
Cassipourea Aubl. comprises between 40 (Mabberley 2008) and 62 (Alston 1925) species of shrubs and trees widespread in tropical America, Africa, the Mascarene Islands and Sri Lanka. In the most comprehensive revision of the genus, Alston (1925) recognized four subgenera, Cassipourea, Dactylopetalum (Benth.) Alston, Lasiosepalum Alston and Weiha (Spreng.) Alston, based on several characters, including the degree of the indentation and the indumentum of the calyx, the length of the pedicel compared to that of the flower bud, whether the petals are fimbriate or lacerate, the number of stamens, the indumentum on the thecae, and the number of carpels. These specimens presented a suite set of characters that suggested they belonged to subgenus Cassipourea based on the keys of Floret (1988) and Breteler (2008).
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