Crepidorhopalon sp.

Crepidorhopalon sp. aff. whytei (= Manktelow et al. 91081)

Straggling herb, stems markedly 4-angular, glabrous except for inconspicuous sessile orange glands. Leaves sessile, broadly ovate, 11.5–17 by 8–13.5 mm, base rounded or subcordate, margin with 2–3 teeth along each margin, apex acute or obtuse; primary venation palmate, with 5 main veins from base; surfaces glabrous except for sunken glands drying brown, most conspicuous on lower surface. Flowers axillary, solitary; bracts foliaceous, only slightly reducing in size distally; bracteoles absent; pedicels 6–11 mm long, glabrous. Calyx 6.5–8.5 mm long, lobes lanceolate, somewhat unequal in length, longest lobes 4.5–5.5 mm long, becoming recurved at maturity, surfaces glabrous. Corolla 8.5–10 mm long, colour unknown, external surface glabrous; tube 4.5–6 mm long, cylindrical, ± 1.4 mm wide centrally; upper lip rounded-ovate, 1.8–2.6 mm long, margin irregular, internal surface with minute glands; lower lip ± 3.8 mm long, 3-lobed, median lobe rounded-obovate, ± 2.3 mm long, margins of lobes somewhat irregular, bosses on palate of lower lip with blunt-tipped multicellular hairs. Stamens 4, ventral stamens spurred, spurs shortly clavate, ± 0.8 mm long, papillate, filaments above spurred portion ± 4 mm long; posterior stamens with filaments ± 0.7 mm long; anthers of the two pairs of stamens adhering, thecae ± 0.5 mm long. Ovary not seen; style ± 5–5.5 mm long; stigma fan-shaped and minutely fringed. Capsule not seen.

Distribution & Ecology — Known only from a single collection from the Nguru Mts where it was recorded from the ericaceous shrub zone growing with Xerophyta sp. at 1940–2010 m elevation.

Specimens seen. TANZANIA, Morogoro, Nguru Mts,on top of Kwasenjuga,

2.5 km S Maskati Mission , fl. 1 Feb. 1991, Manktelow et al. 91081 ( K) .

Note — The specimen cited is close to forms of C. whytei with leafy bracts, but differs in having very small corollas to only 10 mm long with the tube only 4.5–6 mm long and lacking conspicuous short glands on the external surface of the distal portion of the tube. Unfortunately, the flower colour is not recorded on the specimen label, but the flowers have dried rather pale compared to specimens of typical C. whytei which often retain some of their colour. It is possible that the flowers were yellow as in C. flavus , or white as in C. namuliensis but it differs from both those species in having smaller flowers which lack conspicuous short glands on the external surface of the distal portion of the tube, and also differs from the latter in lacking glandular hairs on the stems, pedicels and calyces. More material is needed to investigate this population further. However, the isolated location is notable, and the Nguru Mountains – a part of the ancient Eastern Arc mountain chain – contain many endemic and near-endemic species, for example Impatiens messumbaensis G.M.Schulze in Balsaminaceae ( Grey-Wilson 1982) , Pilea nguruensis Friis & I.Darbysh. in Urticaceae ( Friis et al. 2015) and Streptocarpus bambuseti B.L.Burtt , S. burttianus Pócs and S. stomandrus B.L.Burtt. in Gesneriaceae ( Darbyshire 2006) .