Wednesday, July 13, 2016

[Botany • 2016] Popowia bachmaensis • A New Species (Annonaceae) from Bach Ma National Park, Central Vietnam


 Popowia bachmaensis 
Ngoc, Tagane & Yahara
  DOI:  10.3897/phytokeys.65.8792

Abstract

A new species, Popowia bachmaensis Ngoc, Tagane & Yahara, sp. nov. is described from Bach Ma National Park in Thua Thien Hue Province, Central Vietnam. This species is morphologically similar to Popowia pisocarpa (Blume) Endl. ex Walp., but can be readily distinguished from it by its lower stems, smaller leaves, shorter flowering pedicels, shorter carpels, longer sepals and inner petals. A detailed description, comprising illustrations, and supplemented with DNA barcodes of the two regions of rbcL and matK, are provided.

Keywords: Annonaceae, Bach Ma National Park, new species, Popowia, Vietnam


Figure 1. Popowia bachmaensis, sp. nov. a Holotype (KYO) habit flower pedicel and sepals sepals section of flower inner petal fruit on branch dried fruit seed carpel lm stamens.
 Materials from Yahara et al. V2557 (KYO). Scale bars: d–g, i–m =1 mm.
  
DOI:  10.3897/phytokeys.65.8792 

Taxonomy

Popowia bachmaensis Ngoc, Tagane & Yahara, sp. nov.

Diagnosis: Similar to Popowia pisocarpa (Blume) Endl. ex Walp., but distinguished from that species by having small habits (30–60 cm tall vs. 3–7 m tall in P. pisocarpa), smaller leaves (4.6–10.8 cm × 2.0–5.6 cm vs. 5.5–14 cm × 2.5–7 cm in P. pisocarpa), longer petioles (ca. 1.8–3 mm vs. 2–5 mm long) shorter flowering pedicels (2–3.5 vs. 4–7 mm long), longer sepals (ca. 3 mm vs. 2 mm long), longer inner petals (6 mm vs. 3 mm long), shorter carpels (2.1 mm vs. 10 mm long) (The measurements of P. pisocarpa derive from Sinclair 1955).

Type: VIETNAM. Thua Thien Hue Province, Bach Ma National Park, in evergreen forest, 16°13'41.60"N, 107°51'09.35"E (DMS), alt. 485 m, 23 May 2015, with flowers and young fruits, Yahara T, Tagane S., Toyama H., Nguyen Ngoc, Nguyen Chinh, Okabe N. V2557 (holotype: KYO!; isotypes: BKF!, DLU!, FU!, the herbarium of Bach Ma National Park!).

Distribution and habitat: Vietnam (so far known only from its type locality).

Phenology: Mature flowers and young fruits were collected in May.

Etymology: The specific epithet ‘bachmaensis’ is derived from the type locality, Mt. Bach Ma, Vietnam.


Conservation status: Data Deficient (DD). During the botanical inventory carried out from 21 to 28 May 2015 from the foot to the top of Mt. Bach Ma, 15 individuals of Popowia bachmaensis were observed in all. They were found on the slopes of secondary hilly evergreen forest, at ca. 500 m elevation. Among them, only two individuals produced flowers, one produced fruits, and the others are just saplings. According to the population size observed, this species can be qualified as Critically Endangered (CR) (IUCN 2012). However, only a limited area of the forest in the vicinity of the type locality was surveyed, and further field surveys are needed to determine the actual population size within Bach Ma National Park. The forest of the type locality was slightly disturbed in the past, but it is now well-protected from human activities.


Nguyen Van Ngoc, Shuichiro Tagane, Hoang Thi Binh, Hironori Toyama, Norikazu Okabe, Chinh Nguyen Duy and Tetsukazu Yahara. 2016. Popowia bachmaensis (Annonaceae), A New Species from Bach Ma National Park, Central Vietnam.
PhytoKeys. 65: 125-131. DOI:  10.3897/phytokeys.65.8792