Cinnamomum tahijanum Kosterm.

25. Cinnamomum tahijanum Kosterm. View in CoL — Map 9 View Map 9

Cinnamomum tahijanum Kosterm. (1970a) 13; J.A.R. Anderson (1980) 223. — Type: Ashton S 15196 View Materials (holo BO; iso K, L, SAR, SING), Sarawak, Kuching district , Semengoh Forest Reserve .

Cinnamomum bintulense Kosterm.(1988) 441; J.A.R. Anderson (1980) 223, syn.nov. — Type: Sibat S 24611 View Materials (holo L;iso BO, K, KEP,SAN,SAR,SING ), Sarawak, Bintulu , Nyabau .

Cinnamomum fouillyi Kosterm. (1988) 442, syn. nov. — Type: Kostermans 4130 (holo L: iso BO, K, SING),Borneo, Kalimantan, East Kutei,Sg. Wain, North of Balikpapan .

Cinnamomum pseudojavanicum Kosterm. ,nom. nud., in Coode et al. (1996) 151. — Representative specimens: SAN 27491 ( KEP ,L, SAN,SAR ) & SAN 34508 ( KEP , L, SAN, SAR ), Sabah, Ranau district, Sosopodon.

Tree 10– 20 m tall, 10– 38 cm diam. Bark smooth or scaly, greyish brown. Twigs terete, 2 –4 mm diam, apically subangular, densely hairy, yellowish to greyish brown. Terminal buds not perulate, conical, c. 4 mm, densely covered with curly hairs. Leaves opposite or subopposite, trinerved or triplinerved, subcoriaceous, often densely covered with curly hairs or sometimes glabrescens below, if glabrescens, remnant of indumentum always present on midrib; blade not bullate, without domatia, oblong, elliptic, oblong-elliptic, ovate or obovate, (6–)9 –16(–21) by (2.5 –)4 –7(–8.5) cm, base cuneate to narrowly cuneate, apex conspicuously acuminate, acumen 0.5 – 2 cm long; midrib distinctly raised on both sides, c. 1 mm broad; lateral veins basal, prominent on both sides, extending to the base of acumen; major intercostal veins slender, raised below, subscalariform, 2– 6 mm apart; minor intercostal veins reticulate, indistinct; petiole stout, 2 – 2.5 cm long, 0.5 –1.5 mm diam, flat above, hairy. Inflorescences axillary and/or subterminal, paniculate-cymose with up to third order branching, 12–17 cm long, greyish brown; rachis 1– 2 mm broad. Flowers drying silky greyish brown, yellowish when fresh, hairy; pedicel 3 – 4 mm long, to 1 mm diam; hypanthium c. 1 mm high; perianth lobes elliptic to ovate, c. 2 – 3 mm long, densely appressed hairy; fertile stamens c. 2 mm long, anthers 2- or 4-locular, ovoid with truncate tip, filaments 1/3 –2/3 the length of the stamen; glands large, sessile, attach at the middle of filaments; staminodes c. 1.5 mm long, hastate; ovary ellipsoid, c. 1 mm high, stigma subpeltate. Fruits ellipsoid, c. 5 by 3 mm, glabrous; cupule very shallow, c. 1–3 mm high, 1–3 mm diam; perianth lobes persistent, elliptic, c. 3 by 2 mm, appressed pilose; pedicel slender, 4 – 5 mm long, c. 1 mm diam.

Distribution — Endemic to Borneo: Sarawak (Bintulu, Kuching and Tatau districts) and Sabah (Tenom and Ranau districts).

Habitat & Ecology — In mixed dipterocarp and riverine forest, at 60–1300 m altitudes.

Vernacular names — Medang (Iban), Medang tija (Malay).

Notes — 1. Cinnamomum bintulense , C. fouillyi and C. pseudojavanicum are conspecific to C. tahijanum in having a leaf acumen, subscalariform major intercostal veins and dense curly hairs on the leaves, twig and inflorescence.

2. The type of C. bintulense is a young twig with immature inflorescence and leaves ovate and elliptic with shorter acumen (to 0.5 cm long). The leaves of C. tahijanum type are elliptic, oblong and sometimes obovate in shape and with longer acumen ( 0.5– 2 cm long). New fertile material that are intermediate between C. tahijanum and C. bintulense ( S 64975, S 66766 View Materials , S 68476 View Materials ) indicates that the leaf shape is very variable ranging from oblong, elliptic, obovate to ovate.

3. The type specimens of C. fouillyi are a sterile young twig with a slight aberration from C. tahijanum by having slightly bullate leaves.

4. Coode et al. (1996) listed C. pseudojavanicum , an unpublished species of Kostermans, in the checklist for Brunei plants. The epithet was given and annotated by Kostermans on SAN 27491 and SAN 34508 because of its close resemblance to C. javanicum but differs in its slender twigs, non-bullate leaves and subscalariform major intercostal veins (vs stout twigs, bullate leaves and scalariform major intercostals veins). However, SAN 27491 and SAN 34508 were cited as C. tahijanum by Kostermans (1970a). These two specimens only differ from C. tahijanum by their slender twigs, inflorescences and leaf stalks. They are found at high altitude (c. 1300 m) and are likely a highland variation of C. tahijanum .