Cycas sancti-lasallei Agoo & Madulid, 2012

Cycas sancti-lasallei Agoo & Madulid View in CoL , sp. nov. — Fig. 1 View Fig , 2 View Fig

A congeneribus philippinensibus foliis longis ( 2.2 –3 m), pinnulae undulatis, megasporophyllorum laminis basi semi-orbiculari ad orbiculari apice triangulari spinis lateralibus distinctis spina apicali brevi differt. — Typus: Agoo 10- 085 (holo PNH;iso DLSU) , Philippines, Mindanao, Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro, Cugman River Watershed , disturbed lowland forests, March 2010 .

Etymology. The species is named in honour of Saint John Baptiste de la

Salle, the patron saint of teachers and founder of the De La Salle Schools.

Stems arborescent, to 5 m high, to 20 cm diam, not swollen at the base; bark rough. Leaves green, glossy, 220 –300 cm long, flat to somewhat keeled in section, tip terminated with a pair of leaflets; petiole 45–63 cm long, glabrous, pinnacanths absent or up to 13 pairs, 3 mm high; leaflets 60–162 on each side, 0.75– 2 cm apart on rachis, margins slightly recurved, undulating, apex acute, not spinescent; basal leaflets 30 by 1.3–1.5 cm, 1.5– 2 cm apart, inserted at 85– 90° to the rachis; median leaflets 33–35 by 1.3–1.5 cm, 1–1.5 cm apart, inserted at 65 –70° to the rachis; top leaflets 18– 26 by 0.8–1 cm, 0.75–1 cm apart, inserted at 40 –45° to the rachis; midvein raised above and below. Pollen cones not seen. Megasporophylls 30– 43 cm long; brown tomentose; lamina at the base semi-orbicular to orbicular, 25– 35 by 25– 38 mm, margins smooth; at the top triangular, 20– 40 by 18–28 mm, with 7–9 lateral spines, 4 –11 by 1 mm; apical spine 25– 50 by 3 –5 mm. Seeds in 1–3 pairs, ovoid, 50 by 35– 45 mm, sarcotesta yellowish, 5 mm thick, fibrous layer absent, sclerotesta 1 mm thick, spongy endotesta 2 – 3 mm thick.

Distribution — Mindanao, Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro, Cugman river watershed. Endemic.

Ecology & Habitat — In low elevation secondary forests and reforestation areas. Also found in cultivation in the vicinities of the watershed area.

Conservation status — Critically Endangered. Its extent of occurrence may be estimated to be less than 100 km 2 within the Cugman River Watershed, on the slopes of the highly urbanized Cagayan de Oro City. Intensive reforestation and ecotourism efforts are implemented only in a portion of its natural habitat. The area not within the scope of these protection efforts is vulnerable to habitat destruction through establishment of human settlements, orchards, domestic agri-crop gardens and industrial agricultural plantations. Collection of firewood and other non-timber forest products is also a threat to its habitat. In a vulnerability assessment of the watershed ( Pasco & Picut 2011), it was noted that the area is assessed as low to highly vulnerable to landslide and soil erosion. The plants are also collected by the local people for ornamental purposes.

Specimens examined. MINDANAO, Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro, Barangay Cugman , Sitio Malasag, Agoo 10-085 (holo PNH), Mar. 2010 ; Barangay Cugman, Sitio Malasag, Agoo 11-401 ( PNH), Aug.2011 ; Barangay Catanico, Agoo 11-402 ( PNH), Aug.2011 ; Barangay Cugman, Sitio Malasag, Mapawa Nature Park , Timola 001 ( PNH), Sept. 2011 .

Notes — The species can be distinguished from the other Philippine species by a combination of characters: long leaves, long petiole with very few to no spines, undulating leaflets, megasporophyll lamina with semi-orbicular to orbicular base, which then gradually narrows to a triangular tip with 7–9 well-defined lateral spines, and further narrowing into an apical spine.

Leaflet undulation is a consistent character for all the individuals observed in its entire range of distribution. Lindstrom et al. (2008) noted that C. vespertilio has undulating leaflets but our observations show that this character is not consistent for this species.

The seeds of C. sancti-lasallei are larger than C. vespertilio . The spongy endotesta of C. sancti-lasallei is also 2 – 3 times thicker than the sclerotesta while that of C. vespertilio is very thin. The seeds float in water.

A specimen ( NSW 403470) from a cultivated plant by S. Walkley of Burpengary, Queensland of unknown provenance in the Philippines resembles this species. Another specimen ( Lastimoso & Callado s.n.) from a female plant cultivated in Calinog, Iloilo, Panay Island also shows similarities with this species, however, its provenance also cannot be verified or confirmed.