Actephila alanbakeri Welzen & Ent

1. Actephila alanbakeri Welzen & Ent View in CoL — Fig. 1 View Fig ; Map 1 View Map 1

Actephila alanbakeri Welzen & Ent View in CoL in Van der Ent et al. (2016) 2. — Type: SNP (Van der Ent et al.) 38539 (holo SNP;iso L), Malaysia, Sabah,Kinabalu Park,Nalumad. Paratype: SAN (Sugau & Seligi) 145750 (L, SAN ), Malaysia, Saba, Kudat Distr., Malawali Island.

Shrubs to trees, up to 3 m high, dbh up to 6 cm; flowering branches angular when dry, glabrous, 2–8 mm diam. Indumentum on brachyblasts and sepals, otherwise glabrous. Stipules triangular to deltoid or broadly ovate, 1.1–1.6 by (0.5–) 0.8–1.3 mm. Leaves: petioles 4–30 mm long, green to maroon, heavily wrinkled when dry, pulvinate on both sides to completely pulvinate, pulvini becoming corky with age; blade narrowly ovate to narrowly elliptic, 8–24.5 by 1.6–4.9(–7.2) cm, 3.3–5.9 times as long as wide, papyraceous to perga- mentaceous, base acute to obtuse, margin flat, apex acute or gradually tapering into a widely cuspidate apex, tip acute to obtuse, adaxially green, abaxially pale green, glabrous; nerves 15–20(–26) per side. Flowers solitary, on small brachyblasts with age; sepals apex acute to obtuse; disc a narrow thin ring. Staminate flowers c. 3 mm diam; pedicel short, not widen- ing towards apex, glabrous; sepals ovate, widest just below the middle, reddish; petals apex truncate to somewhat wavy, glabrous, white to pinkish; stamens connate at base. Pistillate flowers (from photograph): sepals dark pink, ovate to broadly ovate, widest at base, c. 1 by 1.4 mm (as observed in fruit); petals white; disc yellow; ovary glabrous, stigmas yellow. Fruits green (immature) to brown (mature), 1.4–2 cm diam, pendent, glabrous; pedicels 7–33 by 0.75–1.5 mm, usually not widen- ing towards apex; sepals not elongating; fruit wall with corky wrinkled surface, 3-lobed, lines of dehiscence consisting of 6 deep wide sutures, distinct, outer layer with strongly reticulate lines on the inside, somewhat elevated, somewhat woody, thick; columella c. 7 mm long, somewhat fibrous after dehiscence, basally completely covering disc and hanging over the base of sepals. Seeds c. 10 mm long, c. 8 mm wide, c. 7 mm high; widened seeds not seen.

Distribution — Borneo, the Philippines.

Habitat & Ecology — Ultramafic forests, mangrove forests, along the beach, on gentle slopes. Soil: Ultramafics or lime- stone. Altitude: sea-level to 90 m. Fruiting: June, August, October.

Notes — 1. Typical for this species are the fruits with a wrinkled, thick, somewhat corky fruit wall when dry, and 6 wide sutures when fresh. The base of the columella in adult fruits is relatively wide and completely covering the persistent disc, the calyx is persistent but indistinct with small sepals. Additionally these plants are able to survive on ultramafic soils.

2. This species is hard to distinguish from A. lindleyi vegetatively, however, the stipules are in general shorter and narrower, the leaf blades have an acute or obtuse base instead of an attenuate base, and the species has in general 15– 20 nerves per side of the midrib, while A. lindleyi only has in general 7–14 nerves per side of the midrib. Actephila alanbakeri is found in Borneo and in the Philippines, while A. lindleyi is known from New Guinea and the Moluccas.

3. The species was only known from ultrabasic soil in Sabah. Recently, two specimens from the Philippines ( PNH (Celestino & Castro) 1932 from Mindoro, and PPI (Madulid & Majaducon) 36047 from Danjugan Island ) could be added. However, it is unclear if these specimens were also growing on ultrabasic soil. Mindoro has ultrabasic soil, but for Danjugan information is lacking. The PNH specimen has no ecological information, and the PPI label is confusing, it indicates that the specimen was collected in beech and mangrove forest, but at an altitude of 50 m.