Ancistrocladus attenuatus
Ancistrocladus attenuatus, Fl. Brit. India 1: 300. 1874 sec. Taylor & al. 20051
- Lectotype: India and Myanmar [Burma]. "Tenasserim and Andaman Islands," s.d., /. W. Heifer s.n. in Kew Distrib. "Herbariumo of the Late East Indian Company" 724 (lectotype, designated by Gereau (1997: 243), K not seen, photo MO; isotypes, C, GH, K, L, P [2]).
Notes
This species is similar to Ancistrocladus griffithii in its small scattered bracts, and to A. tectorius in its petals that are markedly longer than its sepals (e.g., Heifer s.n.). The lectotype specimen of A. attenuatus has young fruits that generally resemble those of A. griffithii, except the fruits of A. griffithii have the nut portion smaller (5-6 X 8-10 mm) and the persistent sepal limbs often somewhat smaller (5-12 X 4-6 mm). The fruits of A. attenuatus also resemble the fruits of A. hamatus, except the fruits of A. hamatus have strongly unequal persistent se-pal limbs. The few fruits seen of A. attenuatus may of course be immature. The name Ancistrocladus wallichii Planch, has been applied to plants similar to A. attenuatus. However, the type specimens of A. wallichii show a wide range of leaf sizes and shapes and lack flowers and fruits. Consequently, the identity of A. wallichii is not clear, and this is treated as a name of dubious identity.
Description
Juvenile plants unknown. Juvenile leaves un-known. Adult stems with height not noted, to 10 mm diam. [probably becoming larger but no data], with bark purplish brown, smooth to roughened, bearing some scattered leaves, lateral branchlets of unknown length, and sometimes a terminal rosette of leaves, lateral branches bearing terminal groups of leaves; hooks not seen. Adult leaves drying papyraceous to chartaceous, dull on both surfaces, in life not seen, drying discolorous, dark brown adaxially, pale brown or yellow-brown abaxially; pits dimorphic, small pits moderately densely distributed to frequent on both surfaces or sometimes only found on adaxial surface, large pits 0.3-0.5 mm diam., circular or elliptic, few and scattered on abaxial surface; midrib adaxially shallowly sulcate, abaxially prominent, terminating in a tiny gland; secondary veins plane on adaxial surface, very slightly prominulous on abaxial surface; tertiary veins reticulated on both surfaces; margins plane; stem leaves not seen; leaves at branchlet apices with persistence unknown, lanceolate or oblanceolate, 26.0-45.0 X 3.4-5.4 cm, L/W 6.9-10.3, at apex acute and sometimes abruptly shortly acuminate, at base narrowly cuneate to long-attenuate; secondary veins 11 to 20 pairs, with intramarginal vein situ-ated 3-5 mm from margin. Inflorescence lax, panic-ulate, lateral among leaves at apices of branchlets, without hooks or bracteal leaves; peduncle 2.5-7.5 cm long, stout; branched portion corymbiform, 7- 18 X 6-23 cm, dichotomously branched; bracts triangular, ca. 0.7 X 0.5 mm, hyaline, at apex acute, at base obtuse, abaxially with a gland covering xh- 2h of surface; pedicels ca. 1.0 mm long. Flowers all pedicellate, not seen, description based on Das (1993); sepals 5, unequal, 4.0-9.0 X 2.0-3.0 mm; petals 5, arrangement unknown, obovate-oblong, white, 5.0-9.0 X 3.0-5.0 mm; stamens 10, arrange-ment unknown; filaments pyramidal, whether di-morphic unknown, 4.0-6.0 mm long; anthers ca. 1.0 mm long; ovary fully inferior, size unknown; styles 3, size unknown, stigmas not seen. Fruit tur-binate; nut ca. 10 X 14 mm, on sides longitudinally shallowly 5-ridged by decurrent margins of accres-cent sepals; persistent sepal limbs chartaceous to coriaceous, their free apical parts spreading, spath-ulate, equal to a bit unequal, 8-15 X 5-8 mm; pericarp drying dull brown, coriaceous to chartaceous; seed not seen.