Villaria coriacea (Merr.) Arriola & Alejandro, 2020

1. Villaria coriacea (Merr.) Arriola & Alejandro View in CoL , comb. nov.

Hypobathrum coriaceum Merr. (1926) 490. — Lectotype (designated here): BS( Ramos) 42615, (lecto US[photo!( US 00138112)];isolecto K!( K0003039 )), Philippines, Province of Bohol, Bilar.

Shrubs to small trees, 3–6 m high; branches glabrous. Stipules ovate to narrowly ovate, 7–8.2 by 4–5 mm, keel prominent from the lower 1/3 up to the tip, outer surface glabrous, inner surface densely pilose at the base, margin glabrous; colleters numerous, basally inside, 0.2–0.4 mm long. Leaves: petioles 2–3 by 1–1.5 mm, glabrous; blades oblong to oblanceolate, 3–16 by 2.5–4.5 cm, base acute, apex acuminate, coriaceous, glabrous on both sides except midrib sparsely pubescent beneath; secondary veins 10–11 on each side. Inflorescences supra-axillary, subsessile, 2–3 mm above the node; many-flowered glomerules; peduncle very short, < 5 mm long; bracts ovate, 0.9–1.2 by c. 0.5 mm, apex acuminate, pubescent outside, densely pilose inside, colleters few at the base inside. Flowers subsessile, pedicel suppressed. Calyx : tube infundibuliform, 2.5–3 by c. 2.5 mm, pubescent throughout; lobes ovate, c. 1 by 1.5 mm, pubescent outside, densely pilose inside, margins densely ciliate. Corolla : tube infundibuliform, 1.5–2.5 by c. 1.5 mm, glabrous outside, densely pilose inside; lobes ovate, 2.5–3 by c. 2.5 mm, glabrous outside, densely pilose at the base inside, margins sparsely ciliate. Anthers 2–2.5 by 0.3–0.5 mm, with upper 1/3 partially exserted. Style 0.5–0.9 mm long; stigmatic branches elliptic, 2–2.3 by 0.9–1.3 mm, papillate, projected beyond the mouth of the corolla tube. Fruits green, 0.6–1 by 0.7–1.2 cm; stalk 0.5–1.5 cm long, glabrous. Seeds ovate to oblong, 1–2 mm long, yellow.

Distribution — Philippines ( Aurora, Bataan, Bohol, Bulacan, Camarines Sur, Laguna, Quezon, Sorsogon, Tarlac, Zambales Prov.).

Habitat & Ecology — In primary forest at 300–450 m, also in coastal areas. Flowering: April to June; fruiting: May to September.

Additional specimens studied. THE PHILIPPINES, Bataan, Arriola & Banag TA025 (USTH); Bilar, Arriola T028 (USTH); Camarines Sur, PPI (Reynoso, Sagcal & Fuentes) 14909 (K); Cavite, Arriola & Cruz T027 (USTH); Rizal, Arriola T031 (USTH); Tarlac, Vidal y Soler 387 (K); Zambales, BS (Edaño) 38339 (K).

Note — This species resembles V. glomerata because of its oblong to oblanceolate leaf blades (leaf blades broadly lanceolate in V. glomereta ) and many-flowered glomerules. Villaria coriacea is distinct by its abaxially sparsely pilose stipules, apically acuminate bracts, larger corolla tube, and shorter fruit stalk.