Lasianthus ledermannii Valeton

69. Lasianthus ledermannii Valeton View in CoL

Lasianthus ledermannii Valeton (1927) View in CoL 108. — Type: Ledermann 9373b (B†), New Guinea, Etappenberg , 850 m; Takeuchi 5096 (neo L, designated here; isoneo K), New Guinea, East Sepik, Hunstein range, 915 m alt., 29 Sept. 1989.

Shrubs or treelets, 1.5 m high; branchlets terete, robust, c. 3 mm diam, densely dark-brown-tomentose. Leaves: blades elliptic, elliptic-oblong, 8 –13 by 3– 5 cm, coriaceous, glabrous above except hirsute hairs on midrib, densely brown-tomentose beneath, apex cuspidate or shortly caudate, margin slightly reflexed, base cuneate to subrounded, rarely asymmetric, midrib and nerves flat to slightly depressed above, prominent beneath, nerves 6–9 pairs, ascending at an angle of 45–60°, curved to the margin, nervules obscure above, distinct and prominent beneath, subparallel; petioles c. 5 mm long, densely tomentose. Stipules triangular-lanceolate, c. 5 mm long, densely tomentose. Cymes sessile; bracts numerous, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 5 – 8 mm long, densely tomentose. Flowers sessile; calyx obconical, densely tomentose, tube c. 1 mm long, lobes 5, lanceolate, c. 1.5 mm long; corolla tube 4–5 mm long, glabrous, lobes 5, ovate, c. 3 mm long, hairy both sides. Drupes globose to subglobose, 4–5 mm diam, tomentose; pyrenes 5, smooth on the abaxial face.

Distribution — Indonesia (Irian Jaya) and Papua New Guinea.

Notes — According to Valeton, this species has fuliginoustomentose hairs on branches, leaves nerves beneath, bracts, and drupes; leaves short petiolate, elliptic-oblong or elliptic-lanceolate, subcoriaceous; midrib above and nerves beneath tomentose; nerves 6 –7; stipules linear, hirsute; bracts numerous, subulate-linear, outer ones 7–10 mm long; calyx hirsute, lobes 2 mm long; drupes globose, apex hirsute.

The type of L. ledermannii was destroyed during World War II in Berlin. There are several specimens from New Guinea, which agree well with the description of L. ledermannii . Among them, Takeuchi 5096 perfectly matches the type description. Therefore we select it as a neotype.

This species is closely related to the western Malaysian spe- cies L. ellipticus .