Monotes africanus A.DC.

5. Monotes africanus A.DC. View in CoL

Monotes africanus A.DC. (1868) 624. — Vatica africana (A.DC.) Welw.(1869) 15. — Type: Welwitsch 1035 (holo LISU; iso P, PRE), Angola, Huila, Lopolo , 1860.

Shrub or small tree up to 10 m tall. Leaves 4 –10 by 2 – 5.5 cm, elliptic to oblong or obovate, obtuse to emarginate at the apex, rounded to slightly cordate at the base; upper surface finely reticulate, glabrous except on the midrib and lateral nerves of young leaves; lower surface with the interreticular areoles glabrous and the midrib, lateral nerves and veins with curled hairs, more abundant in the young leaves and becoming glabrescent in the mature ones, 8 –13 pairs of lateral nerves, petiole 8 –18 mm. Inflorescences axillary, few-flowered, 1.5 – 3 cm long. Flowers with sepals 2 – 3 mm long, petals 8 –10 mm

long, both tomentose; anthers with a large triangular or emarginate appendage at the apex. Fruits subglobose, 0.8 –1.2 cm diam, rounded to conical at the apex, sericeous; wings elliptic to narrowly obovate, 2 – 3.5 by 0.8 –1.6 cm.

Ecology — Common in Brachystegia woodland on sandy soils; also in valley bottoms and river margins; altitude 350– 1800 m.

Distribution — BI: Baum 652 (COI); Gossweiler 3997 (LISC). – CC: Almeida 424­Fl (LISC); Dechamps, Murta & Silva 1340 (LISC); Mendes 2319, 2408, 2474, 2601, 2945, 2953 (LISC); Santos 2056, 2514 (LISC); Teixeira 4 (COI, LISC). – CU: Menezes, Barroso & Sousa 4544 (LISC). – HA: Barbosa & Correia 8890 (LISC); Exell & Mendonça 1848 (COI, LISC); Silva 3318 (LISC); Santos 1324 (LISC). – HI: Antunes vel Dekindt 633 (LISC); Barbosa 9709 (LISC); Gossweiler 13211 (LISC); Mendes 801, 1915 (LISC); Menezes 1267, 1595, 1834, 3224 (LISC); Santos 592 (LISU); Teixeira 1828 (LISC); Welwitsch 1035 (LISU). – LS: Exell & Mendonça 1191, 1405 (COI, LISC). Also in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.

Vernacular names — omufui ( Antunes vel Dekindt 633), mufui ( Menezes 1595), mussénêne (ganguela, Teixeira 4).

Note — The amount of indumentum in the lower surface of leaves is quite variable in this species; in most specimens observed the veins and nerves are covered with abundant curled hairs, although some specimen have sparse hairs and a few ones are almost glabrous in both surfaces. This seems to be related to the maturity state of leaves or to local environmental conditions.