Ocotea tsaratananensis van der Werff

34. Ocotea tsaratananensis van der Werff

(Fig. 10)

Novon 6: 472 (1996).

TYPUS. — Madagascar. Massif de Tsaratanana, aux abords de l’Andohanisambirano, 2450 m, 8.XI.1966, fls, Service Forestier (Capuron) 27010 (holo-, MO!; iso-, P [P00074158, P00074159], TEF).

SELECTED SPECIMENS SEEN. — Mahajanga. Fiv. Bealanana, Commune Mangindrano, massif du Tsaratanana, Razafitsalama et al. 259 (MO, P); Antsiranana. Tsaratanana massif N of Mangindrano, Lowry et al. 5397 (MO, P[P01977634]); Antsiranana, Fiv. Ambanja, Comm. Marotolana, forêt de Montagne de Bepiana, Ludovic et al. 336 (MO, P, TAN).

DISTRIBUTION. — This species is known from few collections, made on the upper slopes of the Massif de Tsaratanana, at 2300-2500 m elevation.

PHENOLOGY. — Flowers: November; fruits: April, November.

DESCRIPTION

Tree, to 10 m (said to reach 15-20 m in valleys). Twigs angular, brown tomentellous when young, glabrescent with age, with conspicuous scars from fallen twigs or bracts; terminal buds densely tomentellous. Leaves alternate, coriaceous, 3-5.5 × 2-2.5 cm, (broadly) elliptic, base acute, obtuse or rounded, tip obtuse or acute, glabrous on both surfaces or with a few hairs along midrib on lower surface, midrib and lateral veins immersed on both surfaces, reticulation immersed or weakly raised on both surfaces, lateral veins 4-5 on each side, poorly visible, domatia as deep pits present in the axils of the basal lateral veins, sometimes smaller pit domatia present in axils of distal veins, margin of domatia glabrous. Petioles 0.7-1.0 cm long, with similar indument as twigs or, on older twigs, darker in color than the twigs. Inflorescences to 5 cm long, densely pubescent, mostly in axils of deciduous bracts. Tepals 6, pubescent at base, becoming glabrous towards the tip, inner surface glabrous or nearly so, c. 2 mm long. Stamens 9, 4-celled, glabrous or with a few hairs near base of filaments, c. 1.5 mm long, staminodia 3, stipitiform, pubescent. Pistil and inside of the deep receptacle glabrous. Cupule flat, c. 1.1 cm in diameter, pedicel strongly swollen, 0.8 cm long; fruit roundish, 1.6 × 1.4 cm, almost completely exserted.

REMARKS

Ocotea tsaratananensis differs from the other montane, small-leaved Ocotea species with pit domatia in its tomentellous terminal buds, young twigs and inflorescences. The other species in this group are either glabrous or have some appressed pubescence, but never the erect, dense pubescence of O. tsaratananensis. The large number of scars from fallen leaves and bracts are also striking and suggest this is a slow-growing species. It is likely that on trees growing in more sheltered places, this character is less pronounced.