Calamus daemonoropoides Fernando, 2014

Calamus daemonoropoides Fernando , sp. nov.

Type:— PHILIPPINES. Luzon Island, Quezon Province, Atimonan , Quezon National Park , in lowland evergreen rain forest on gentle slope, 230 m, 02 March 1984, Fernando 386 (holotype LBC! , isotype K! ).

Similar to Calamus erinaceus ( Beccari 1902: 225) Beccari (1911: 232) in sect. Podocephalus, but differing in the leaflets armed with white-tipped bristles to 7 mm long arranged along the margins and mid-costa on adaxial surface; the very prominent, unarmed knee with a rather sharp bulge; and the almost unarmed primary bracts of the inflorescence, shorter (to 4 cm) and reflexed female rachilla, shorter bracts, and more dense fruits along the rachilla.

Clustering, moderately robust rattan, climbing to 15 m or more; stem with sheaths to 4 cm diameter, without sheaths to 2.5 cm diameter; internodes to 25 cm long. Leaf sheaths dull green, with dense slender, acicular, black or brownish-black spines to 3 cm long, arranged in partial whorls or in horizontal groups of 3 or more; knee very prominently developed with a rather steep crest or bulge, generally unarmed above, but spiny below the bulge and near the edges; ocrea inconspicuous. Leaf cirrate, to 2 m long, including petiole to 25–35 cm and cirrus 1.2 m; petiole yellowish-green, ± semi-circular in cross-section near the base, the distal part becoming slightly convex on the adaxial surface, to ca. 2 × 0.8 cm, armed with rigid spines to 8 mm, solitary or in groups along the edges, generally smooth on the abaxial surface; rachis yellowish, armed as the petiole, but sparser and with shorter spines; petiole and rachis of leaves near shoot apex usually covered with creamish and sooty indumentum; cirrus armed with reflexed rigid spines aggregated into grapnels; leaflets to about 60 on each side of the rachis, arranged regularly and spaced 2.5–3 cm apart, linear-lanceolate, armed with ca. 7 mm-long brownish-black bristles along the margins and mid-vein on the adaxial surface, and rather densely with 3 mm bristles all over the abaxial surface and sparse minute peltate scales; transverse veinlets inconspicuous; proximal leaflets to 21 × 0.7 cm; mid-lamina leaflets to 28 × 1.8 cm; apical leaflets to 18 × 0.7 cm; young, newly expanding leaves pinkish. Staminate inflorescence erect or arcuate, 40–105 cm long, branching to 3 orders, with up to ca. 7–10 partial inflorescences (first order branches) on each side of the axis, the first borne ca. 15 cm above the base; peduncle 6 cm long, ca. 1 cm diameter at the insertion on the leaf sheath; prophyll tightly tubular to 10 cm long, only sparsely armed along the keel below the limb; other primary bracts on the axis similar but decreasing in size towards the apex, covered with whitish scaly indumentum and with short slender spines grouped along vertical portion below the limb, each subtending a partial inflorescence (first order branch); partial inflorescences to 30 cm long, arcuate, gradually decreasing in length towards apex of main inflorescence axis, bearing equally-spaced unarmed bracts, each subtending a second-order branch to 8 cm long, bearing to ca. 12 rachillae on each side; rachilla to ca. 1.5 cm long, arcuate, subtended by a bract to 7 mm long with a short triangular limb, bearing up to 10 staminate flowers on each side, rather congested, rachilla bract to 2 mm long. Staminate flower to 2 × 3 mm, rounded in bud; calyx lobes 3, each 1.5 × 2.5 mm, striate, apiculate, joined only at the very base; corolla tubular at proximal 7 mm of base, with 3 striate, apiculate lobes to 1.25 × 2 mm; stamens 6, anthers dorsifixed, filaments to 1.5 mm long; pistillode minute. Pistillate inflorescence as the staminate but generally shorter, to 54–80 cm long and branched to 2 orders only; rachillae up to 7–10 on each side of the axis, each to 3.5–8 cm long, with up to 8–10 pistillate flowers on each side of the axis; rachilla bract to 5 mm long, with triangular limbs. Pistillate flower to 5 × 2 mm; calyx tubular in basal 1 mm, with 3 lobes, each to 3 × 2 mm, glabrous; corolla also tubular in basal 1 mm, with three lobes, each to 2 × 3.5 mm, glabrous as the calyx; staminodal ring 2 mm high, with 6 minute, triangular teeth, 0.75 × 0.5 mm; ovary to 4 × 1.5 mm, ± cylindrical, scaly, tipped by a deeply 3-lobed stigma, stigmatic lobes to 1 mm long, recurved, the 3 stigmatic lobes persistent in young fruits. Mature fruit yellowish, 1.4 × 1.1 cm, with up to 12 vertical series of scales; seed pulp very sour, seed plano-convex, 9 × 8 × 5 mm, the convex side with tubercled or very rough surface, the plane side smooth; endosperm homogenous. ( Figure 1 View FIGURE 1 ).

Distribution and habitat: —Endemic to the Philippines (Luzon, Leyte, and Mindanao Islands). In lowland evergreen rain forests, up to 450 m elevation.

Local names and uses: — samolid (Isabela Province).

Etymology: —The epithet daemonoropoides refers to the similarity of the leaf sheath and leaf sheath armature of this species with those of some species in the genus Daemonorops Blume ( Roemer & Schultes 1830: 1333).

Additional specimens examined: — PHILIPPINES. Luzon Island , Isabela Province: Palanan, Sierra Madre Mountains , 17 May 2005, 70– 120 m, S. Yap 001 (PUH!) . Zambales Province: Sta. Cruz, Lucapon , 300 m, 17 August 1983, Fernando 305 (K!) . Rizal Province: Batingtingan , April 1915, A. Loher 12973 (BM!) . Laguna Province: Los Baños, Mt Makiling , 200 m, Moore & Pancho 9393 (BH!, CAHUP!) , 400 m, 01 April 1979, Dransfield et al. 5467 (K!, LBC!, PNH!) , 450 m, 13 March 2003, Fernando 1626 (LBC!) , 18 August 2004, Fernando 1732 (LBC!) . Quezon Province: Atimonan, Quezon National Park, 300 m, 01 September 1979, Fernando 166 (K!, LBC!) , 200 m, 04 April 1979, Dransfield et al. 5472 (LBC!) , 220 m, 13 October 2006, Fernando 1824 (LBC!) , 300 m, Baja-Lapis 010 (K!, LBC!) ; Real, Kawayan Watershed , 15 April 1987, Natividad s.n. (LBC!) . Camarines Norte Province, Basud, Bicol National Park , 100–200 m, 14 July 1985, Fernando 545 (K!, LBC!) , Baja-Lapis 036 (K!, PNH!) . Leyte Island, Southern Leyte Province: Silago, 300 m, 03 February 2011, Fernando 2351 (LBC!) . Mindanao Island , Agusan del Sur Province: Trento , 100–200 m, 18 July 1984, Fernando 418 (K!, LBC!) ; Surigao del Sur Province, Bislig , 03 October 1987, Fernando 728 (LBC!) .

Notes: —In its vegetative characters, especially in the leaf sheath and leaf armature, this rattan is quite unlike any other known species of Calamus and, indeed, is very similar to Daemonorops loheriana Beccari (1909: 637) , a species endemic to Luzon Island. Compared to Calamus erinaceus , Calamus daemonoropoides has: (1) female rachilla generally shorter, to 4 cm excluding pedicel, reflexed, shorter bracts; (2) denser fruits along rachilla, and (3) spines on bracts very sparse, and if any, solitary, not in groups. In the Philippines, the more common Calamus merrillii differs from Calamus daemonoropoides in its generally larger, to 6–7 cm diameter sheathed stems, fruits with up to 21–22 vertical series of scales, and seeds which are smooth on the convex side.