Maesa sleumeri Dhatchan. & Devanath., 2024

Maesa sleumeri Dhatchan. & Devanath. nom. nov.

Replaced synonym:— Maesa lineolata Sleumer (1987: 54) , nom. illeg., non M. lineolata H.R. Fletcher (1936:43) .

Type:— INDONESIA. Netherlands New Guinea, Hollandia, 200 m, 26 Jul. 1961, P. van Royen & H. O. Sleumer 6313, (Isotypes: K [ K000756284 digital images! , K000756285 digital images! ], US [ US00025527 digital images! , US 00901705 digital images! ]) Paratype:— INDONESIA. Netherlands New Guinea, Hollandia, Cape Tanah Merah , 70 m, 7 Aug. 1961, P. van Royen & H. O. Sleumer 6504 ( US [ US 03109191 digital image!] ).

Etymology:— This species named in honor of Dr. Hermann Otto Sleumer for his excellent collections and outstanding works on the New Guinean Maesa .

Distribution:— Endemic to New Guinea.

Other specimens:— INDONESIA. Netherlands New Guinea, Distr., Hollandia, 20–100 m, 14 Jun. 1938, L.J. Brass 8809 (HU [HU 01873772 digital image!]); Netherlands New Guinea, Jayapura, 29 Mar. 1973, J. Raynal s.n. (K [K 000272033 digital images!]); Jayapura, Böschung der Küstenstra sseimnordöstlichen Teil der Stadt., 50 m, 02 Feb. 1976, P. Hiepko & W. Schultze-Motel 573 (B [B 100272452 digital images!]).

Notes:— Maesa sleumeri is different from all other New Guinean Maesa species ( Sleumer 1987). The New Guinea plant ( M. sleumeri ) can be easily differentiate from the Thailand plant (Fletcher’s M. lineolata ) by following characters: obovate–broadly oblong leaves, recurved leaf margins, obtuse leaf apex, 2–5cm long, thick petiole, 5–6(–7) lateral vein, 1–2 or 6-flowered, axillary simple racemose inflorescence, 1–2.5 cm long, filiform pedicle and c. 9 mm across, urceolate, glabrous corolla.