Trichoscypha, Hook.f.

CHARACTERS OF THE GENUS TRICHOSCYPHA View in CoL View at ENA

Trees, usually small and slender, branched or not, shrubs or lianas. Exudate little, white, black when dry. Leaves alternate, imparipinnate, rarely simple, often crowded at the top of the trunk or of the branches. Inflorescence many-flowered, terminal or subterminal, or borne below the leaves on the main stem or branches. Flowers unisexual, dioecious, rather small (≤ 7 mm), usually 4-merous, rarely 5-, very rarely 6-merous, sessile or pedicellate, the female flowers generally less numerous and with longer pedicels than the corresponding male flowers. Sepals united at base. Petals free, imbricate to valvate, erect, spreading or reflexed. Stamens the same number as the petals and alternate with them, inflexed in bud. Disc present, glabrous or variously hairy, in the male flower sometimes surrounding a small pistillode, in the female flower at the base of the ovary, sometimes surrounding it partly. Staminodes present in the female flower. Ovary glabrous to hairy, crowned by 3-4(-6) styles with entire to shallowly bilobed stigmas, or stigmas ± sessile, 1-locular, with one pendulous ovule. Fruit fleshy, 1-seeded, rarely dehiscent.

TYPE. — Trichoscypha mannii Hook. f.

MORPHOLOGICAL NOTES

The position of the lowest pair of leaflets, which can be close to the leaf base or not, has been used as a character for distinguishing species (e.g. KEAY 1958). However, this feature is too variable to be used as such. Also, the number of leaflets as well as their shape and their indumentum often vary to such an extent that these elements likewise cannot satisfactorily be used in specific segregation.

The variation in the indumentum of the calyx can be very extensive. A glabrous calyx adjacent to a hairy one in the same inflorescence has been observed in T. lucens , as well as a single calyx with some glabrous and some hairy lobes, also in T. lucens . The disc, however, offers good characters for specific distinction. Sometimes the disc may be absent, probably eaten away by visiting ants.

Hairy ovaries may produce fruits that remain hairy to a variable degree of density, or they may form glabrous fruits, in which case they often bear some remnants of the initial indumentum, such as in T. mannii . Glabrous ovaries always produce glabrous fruits.

Key to the species of Trichoscypha in Upper Guinea

This key is mainly based on material with male flowers, unless stated otherwise. When useful and when known, characters of the female flower and/or fruit have been included. The disc in the female flower is similar to that of the male flower. It remains observable, with or without hairs, in fruit.

1. Disc glabrous, at most with a very few hairs .............................................................................................. 2

1’. Disc hairy ................................................................................................................................................ 9

2. Pedicels ± 10 mm long; inflorescence very lax ...................................................................... 7. T. laxissima

2’. Pedicels at most 6 mm long; inflorescence lax or not ................................................................................ 3

3. Midrib of leaflets above glabrous and prominent .................................................................... 1. T. arborea

3’. Midrib of leaflets above glabrous or not, usually impressed above (sometimes partly plane but not prominent) .............................................................................................................................................. 4

4. Inflorescence terminating a long shoot with simple leaves borne below, these lacking pustules (see Fig. 8 View Fig ); anthers ≤ 0.3 mm long ...................................................................................................... 13. T. olodiana

4’. Inflorescence differently situated, if with simple leaves below (possible in T. baldwinii ) these leaves densely and minutely pustulate on both sides; anthers> 0.3 mm long .................................................................. 5

5. Leaves 9-15-jugate; leaflets lanceolate to oblong, gradually long-acuminate, with 15-20 pairs of main lateral nerves, finely but not densely pustulate above, glossy on both sides, especially beneath, ± long-hairy on midrib above and below (see Fig. 7 View Fig ) ........................................................................................ 9. T. linderi

5’. Above characters not associated ................................................................................................................ 6

6. Male flowers sessile, the calyx (at least the lobes) usually hairy (observe more than one flower); female flowers sessile or nearly so, the glabrous ovary with a cupular to saucer-shaped disc at base ...... 4. T. bijuga

6’. Male flowers pedicellate, at least shortly but distinctly so, the calyx glabrous or nearly so; female flowers distinctly pedicellate, the glabrous or nearly glabrous ovary with a ± flat disc at base ................................ 7

7. Pedicel glabrous, rarely with a very few hairs .................................................................... 6. T. cavalliensis

7’. Pedicel hairy, at least in the basal part ...................................................................................................... 8

8. Petals ≥ 2.5 mm long, stamens shorter than petals .............................................................. 2. T. baldwinii

8’. Petals 1-1.5(-2) mm long, stamens longer than petals .......................................................... 14. T. smythei

9. Disc (only female flowers seen) cupular, hairy only inside and on upper margin, glabrous outside .............. ............................................................................................................................................ 5. T. blydeniae

9’. Disc not as above .................................................................................................................................... 10

10. Leaflets coriaceous, glabrous; stamens shorter than petals ...................................................................... 11

10’. Leaflets usually papery and/or hairy at least on the impressed midrib above, if not then at least stamens longer than petals .................................................................................................................................. 12

11. Leaflets smooth above, ± oblong, up to 30 × 10 cm, with 13 or more pairs of main lateral nerves, these very distinct beneath; flowers (4-)5(-6) merous; anthers 1.5-2 mm long .................................. 10. T. longifolia

11’. Leaflets minutely pustulate above, narrowly elliptic, up to 28 × 8 cm, with 13 pairs of main lateral nerves or less, distinct or not beneath; flowers 4-merous, anthers ≤ 1 mm long .................................... 8. T. liberica

12. Petals (2.5-) 3-5 mm long; anthers ≥ 1 mm long .................................................................. 12. T. mannii

12’. Petals ≤ 2.5 mm long (up to 3 mm long in female flowers); anthers <1 mm long .................................. 13

13. Leaves (4-)6-10-jugate, rachis as well as margin and midrib of leaflets on both sides with long and short hairs, in young but fully developed leaves very distinct to the naked eye; male inflorescence with conspicuous, narrowly ovate-triangular, long-brown-hairy, rather early caducous bracts (see Fig. 3 View Fig ) .... 3. T. barbata

13’. Plants without the above set of characters .............................................................................................. 14

14. Disc and ovary usually densely brown-velutinous; fruit distinctly hairy, usually densely so .... 11. T. lucens

14’. Disc loosely hairy, its surface easily visible between the hairs; ovary and fruit glabrous or with a very few hairs only ................................................................................................................................................ 15

15. Disc flat or nearly so; petals 1-1.5(-2) mm long .................................................................. 14. T. smythei

15’. Disc cupular; petals 2.5 mm long ............................................................................................ 9. T. linderi