Friesodielsia subaequalis (Scheff.) R.M.K.Saunders, X.Guo & C.C.Tang

3. Friesodielsia subaequalis (Scheff.) R.M.K.Saunders, X.Guo & C.C.Tang View in CoL — Fig. 4 View Fig ; Map 1 View Map 1

Friesodielsia subaequalis (Scheff.) R.M.K.Saunders, X.Guo & C.C.Tang (2020) View in CoL 183. — Mitrephora subaequalis Scheff. (1885) View in CoL 20. — Schefferomitra subaequalis (Scheff.) Diels (1912) View in CoL 152. — Lectotype (designated by Diels 1912): Beccari PN 523 (lecto FI-B [B100365083] photo; isolecto B [B 10 0365083] photo, FI-B n.v.), Indonesia, West Papua, Andai, 22 Aug. 1872 (fl).

Mitrephora subaequalis var. macrocalyx Scheff. (1885) View in CoL 21. — Lectotype (designated by Turner 2018): Beccari PP 863 (lecto FI-B [ FI007599 ] photo), Indonesia, Papua, Monte Arfak a Putat , Oct. 1872 (fl).

Woody climbers or scrambling shrubs. Indument present on twigs, petioles, veins, and abaxial laminas, hairs simple, golden orange. Twigs slender, terete, upright to twining, when young orangish rusty pubescent, when older dark brown to grey, glabrous, (densely) lenticellate. Leaves variable, (elliptic to) oblong to obovate, (5–)10–25 by (3–) 6–9 cm, chartaceous, dull mid(-dark) green above and bluish white glaucous below in vivo, light (reddish) brown above and glaucous light brown below in sicco, apex rounded (to bluntly acute) to mucronate (to subacuminate), base acute (to rounded) to subcordate, sometimes weakly asymmetric, margins entire; petioles 4–10 mm long, shallowly grooved, glabrescent, light green in vivo, dark brown in sicco; venation eucamptodromous to weakly brochidodromous, primary vein (weakly) impressed above, prominent below, pubescent above, number of secondary veins (9–)12– 15, flat above, slightly raised below, spaced 1–2 cm apart, tertiary veins conspicuous below, straight percurrent, c. 45° to the primary vein, quaternary veins regular, straight (to forked) percurrent. Flowers solitary, leaf-opposed to supra-axillary, off-white or cream at anthesis; pedicel (1–)2–4 by c. 0.2 cm, rusty brown hairy; bract borne at 1/3–1/2(–3/4) the distance from the base, triangular, 3–6 by 1–2 mm, outer side densely hairy, inner side glabrous; sepals 3, free, triangular, 3–4 by 4–5 mm, apex acute, outer side hairy, inner side subglabrous, with a continuous ring of hairs surrounding the base of the outer petals; outer petals 3, fleshy, broadly ovate-elliptic, c. 10–20 by 8–15 mm, spreading, outer side lightly rusty hairy, inner side glabrous; inner petals 3, ± equal to the outer petals, rounded, apically connivent and forming a mitriform dome, glabrous; stamens many, in 3–5 series, 2–3 mm long, connective apex rounded, dome- to tongue-shaped; carpels many, in 2–3 series, c. 3 mm long, vase-shaped, stigmas c. 2 mm long, (sub-) glabrous, apex flattened and curved outwards, ovaries c. 1 mm long, densely rusty orange hairy. Fruits consisting of (3–)6–14 monocarps, each aggregate cluster up to 6 cm wide; pedicel 1–3 by (0.1–) 0.2 cm, subwoody, stipe (5–) 8–20 mm long, hairy; monocarps (sub)globose to ovoid(–oblong), 10(–15) by 8–10 mm, apex pointed mucronate, sparsely hairy, yellowish orange (to red) when mature, pericarp thin. Seeds 1 or rarely 2, (sub)globose, 7–8 by 5–6 mm, testa yellowish.

Distribution — Indonesian Papua and Papua New Guinea.

Habitat &Ecology — Foundgrowingonlimestoneormaficsubstrates in primary lowland hill forests up to 400(–1200) m a.s.l. All specimens are known from below 400 m with the exception of one collection from Sattelberg at 900–1200 m. Often associated with ridges or crestlines. Flowering: July–August, fruiting: October–February. Pollinators and dispersers unknown.

Vernacular names — Asanaka (Waskuk), Fai (Wagu), Simed simi (Magɨ), Iekarwaar (Kebar).

Conservation status — Least Concern (LC). Very common liana found throughout the New Guinea lowlands on various substrates, including in regenerating secondary forests and along forest margins, suggesting some level of tolerance to disturbance. Due to this, it is here assessed as LC ( IUCN 2022).

Specimens examined ( paratypes). INDONESIA, Papua, Soengei Maroka [=? Sungai Merauke [= Sungai Maro]], Apr. 1901 (fr), Jaheri 341 ( BO [1363625, 136326]) ; Papua, Ingenbit rd. to Opka , 8 June 1967, Reksodihardjo 418 ( L [ L.1765023]) . – PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Central, Kokoda , 365 m, 12 Mar. 1936 (fl), Carr 16117 ( L [ L.1768169], NY [ NY04727934 ], SING) ; Central, Abau subdistrict c. 12 km N of Amazon Bay, N of Nunumai village across Ulumanok River , 50 m, S10°11' E149°23', 23 June 1969 (fr), Kanis 1070 ( A [ A00871719 ], L [ L.4266417], LAE [207906]) GoogleMaps ; East Sepik, Sepikgebiet ,[1912], Ledermann 9831 ( A, L [ L.4266425]) ; East Sepik, near Wagu, Ambunti subdistrict, 91 m, S4°22' E142°43', 2 July 1966 (fl), Hoogland & Craven 10431 ( A [ A00871722 , A00871723 ], L [ L.4266422], LAE [143742]) GoogleMaps ; East Sepik, April River near confluence with the Sitipa , 200 m, S4°34' E142°35', 22 July 1995 (fl), Takeuchi 10368 ( A [ A00871718 ], L [ L.1765018, L.1765019]) GoogleMaps ; East Sepik, April River, Samsai ridge near Bugabugi camp, 200 m, S4°34' E142°34', 9 Sept. 1990, Takeuchi 6810 ( A [ A00871717 ], L [ L.4266416]) GoogleMaps ; Madang, Wanang village , 115 m, S5°13' E145°10', 13 Aug. 2007 (st), Weiblen & BRC WP4 About BRC B3505 ( LAE [291738], MIN [912275]) GoogleMaps ; Madang, near Swire Station, Usino-Bundi district , S5°13'39" E145°4'47", 80–180 m, 11 Nov. 2022 (fl), Ezedin 1365 ( A) GoogleMaps ; Morobe, Sattelberg , S6°29' E147°46', 900–1200 m, 29 Nov. 1935 (fl), Clemens 1002 ( A [ A00871726 ], BR [ BR0000027842324 ], L [ L.4266420, L.4266421]) GoogleMaps ; Morobe, near the Butibum River about 7 miles N of Lae, 92 m, 19 Apr. 1963 (fl), Hartley 11636 ( A [ A00871727 ], LAE [66618], SING) ; Morobe, Busu River, 15 miles from Lae, Lae subdistrict, 76 m, S6°35' E147°00', 27 Mar. 1969 (fl, fr), Native collector for Womersley NGF 37479 ( A [ A00871725 ], BRI [ AQ0351348 ], L [ L.4266418], LAE [112176]) GoogleMaps ; Morobe, Buaru Creek, Lae , 91 m, S6°35' E146°55', 6 Apr. 1972 (fl, fr), Katik NGF 46875 ( L [ L.4266424], LAE [201583]) GoogleMaps ; Morobe, Tributary of Busu River, above Sankwep River, Lae subdistrict, 243 m, S6°33' E147°03', 13 Apr.1972 (fl), Katik for Womersley NGF 43923 ( A [ A00871724 ], BRI [ AQ0351327 ], L [ L.4266423], LAE [145606], SING) GoogleMaps ; Morobe, N of Busu River and E of Sankwep River, near Gwabadik village , S6°33' E146°59', 365 m, 11 Feb. 1993 (fr), Takeuchi 8769 ( A [ A00871716 , A00871721 ], BRI [ AQ1042659 ], L [ L.1754994, L.1754995, L.3728780, L.3728781], LAE [266896], NSW [ NSW825923 About NSW , NSW825924 About NSW ], NY [ NY03790717 ]) GoogleMaps ; Morobe, Lae, hills near Taraka , S6°37' E146°55', 200 m, 29 Aug. 2004 (fr), Takeuchi & Ama 17066 ( A [ A00871720 ], K [ K001870090 ], L [ L.1767766, L.1767767, L.1767768, L.1767769, L.3728918, L.3728919], LAE [288582]) GoogleMaps ; ibid., 29 Aug. 2004 (fl, fr), Takeuchi & Ama 17066 B ( L [ L.1767762, L.1767763, L.1767764, L.1767765], LAE [283111]) GoogleMaps ; Sandaun, Pevi, Vanimo, Vanimo subdistrict, S2°40' E141°20', 120 m, 25 Jan. 1969 (fr), Streimann & Kairo NGF 39182 ( L [ L.1765017], LAE [110739], SING) GoogleMaps .

Notes — 1. First described as a species of Mitrephora Hook.f.

& Thomson by Scheffer (1885), it was eventually moved to its own genus, named Schefferomitra , by Diels (1912). Until recently this species remained treated under the monotypic Schefferomitra , likely due to its lianescent habit and floral morphology. In subsuming it under Friesodielsia, Guo et al. (2017: 11) state that their detailed morphological study of the formerly monotypic genus “failed to reveal any character that supports the continued recognition of Schefferomitra ” and that the “only consistent difference” was the shape of the staminal connective, which is conical (vs truncate). However, the flowers generally look unlike most Friesodielsia which tend to have strongly unequal outer and inner petals that are narrowly triangular in shape, inner petals tightly enclosing the chamber with small apertures, and the outer petals almost never fully reflexed at anthesis. Instead, flowers of F. subaequalis bear subequal outer and inner petals, broadly ovate-elliptic petals, fully open and reflexed outer petals, inner petals that are only connivent at the apex forming a dome (reminiscent of the mitriform dome in some Miliuseae genera), and with wide apertures allowing ease of access to the inner chamber ( Fig. 4c View Fig ). The overall morphology of the petals recall those of the African Monanthotaxis obovata (Benth.) P.H.Hoekstra , a species formerly classified in Friesodielsia . Within the genus, as currently circumscribed, the species that most closely approaches it is the Indian F. sahyadrica N.V.Page & Survesw. with its near subequal outer and inner petals ( Page & Surveswaran 2014). In light of the odd combination of floral traits, it is understandable as to why it had been classified separately in its own genus prior to being molecularly sampled.

2. Phylogenetically, F. subaequalis occupies and isolated, yet nested position within the genus, being sister to one of its two primary clades, named I and II by Guo et al. (2018a). Clade I, to which this species is sister, is composed of Malesian species whereas clade II, with F. sahyadrica as its sister, is primarily south Asian ( Guo et al. 2017). The two clades can be differentiated primarily by the connivence of the outer petals in bud: free in clade II and connivent in clade I ( Guo et al. 2018a). Another notable distinction of clade I is the near subequal petals of some species such as F. sahyadrica and F. calycina (King) Steenis. Given the ancestral positions of F. subaequalis and F. sahyadrica in clades I and II, respectively, subequal petals could represent retention of the ancestral trait at the base of crown Friesodielsia .

3. There is variability in laminar shape, ranging from (narrowly) elliptic to obovate and measuring 4.5 by 3 cm up to 18 by 8.5 cm in size. Specimen labels have variously reported its habit as a ‘liana’ ( Womersley NGF 37479), ‘shrub-treelet’ ( Takeuchi 8769) or ‘treelet’ ( Kanis 1070). However, all of these specimens are fruiting, suggesting that F. subaequalis either has a variable habit (shrub/tree to liana) perhaps determined by local environ- mental factors, or an ability to flower and set fruit at a relatively young age. The flowers are reported as green ( Native collector for Womersley NGF 37479) to white ( Katik for Womersley NGF 43923). The specimen which deviates most prominently from the rest is Kanis 1070, with narrowly oblong laminas measuring 8–14 by 2.5–5 cm), twigs with longer hairs, abaxial laminas less densely hairy, fruiting pedicels not thickened, and monocarps noted as ripening red (vs orange).

4. Vegetatively, its morphology appears similar to that of F. pubescens (Merr.) Steenis from the Philippines, but the latter lacks the prominently raised tertiaries on the abaxial side.

5. The flowers emit no fragrance (pers. obs.).