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| Garcinia yaatapsap K. Armstr. & P.W. Sweeney, in Sweeney, Nwe & Armstrong, 2022. |
Abstract
Garcinia yaatapsap (Clusiaceae), a new species from northern Myanmar, is described and illustrated. The new species is most similar to G. stipulata and G. nujiangensis, but differs primarily by its subsessile, subcordate to cordate leaves and strongly angled branchlets (versus petiolate, cuneate leaves and terete branches in G. stipulata and G. nujiangensis).
Keywords: Dicrananthera, Discostigma, Guttiferae, Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary, Sagaing, taxonomy
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| Garcinia yaatapsap K. Armstr. & P.W. Sweeney, A. Branch with staminate flowers. B. Apex of branch showing leaf bases, young leaves, and stipuliform structures. C. Part of staminate infloresence. D. Staminate flower. E. Cross section of androecium and pistillode with close-up views of stamens and an anther. F. Branch with fruits. G. View of abaxial leaf surface. Illustration by Bobbi Angell. |
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| Garcinia yaatapsap K. Armstr. & P.W. Sweeney, A. Apex of branch showing leaf bases, young leaves, and stipuliform structures (indicated by arrow). B. Staminate flowers. C. Branch with fruits. D. Branch with leaves. Scale bars: A, B = 5 mm, C = 1 cm, D = 2 cm. |
Garcinia yaatapsap K. Armstr. & P.W. Sweeney, sp. nov.
Type:—MYANMAR. Sagaing Region: Hkamti District, Hkamti Township, Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary, Just upstream from Nam Eizu camp 1,184 m. a.s.l., 25.537833°, 95.465861°, 11 September 2016, K. Armstrong, D. Daly, P. P. Hnin, T. Y. Nwe, L. Zaw, K. Z. Aung, H. Aung 1406 (holotype NY [NY02654830]!; isotypes E!, RAF!).
Diagnosis:—Garcinia yaatapsap is similar to G. stipulata T.Anderson in Hooker (1874: 267) and G. nujiangensis C.Y.Wu & Y.H.Li in Li (1981: 494), but branchlets distinctly 4-sided and winged on angles (particularly distally) (vs. terete); leaf bases subcordate to cordate (vs. cuneate); leaves nearly sessile, petiole length to leaf blade length ratio smaller (ca. <1:25 vs. >1:16).
Distribution and Habitat:—Garcinia yaatapsap has only been collected four times in the vicinity of Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary (Fig. 3) and is likely to be endemic to this area of the upper Chindwin Basin. This species occurs from 123-184 m a.s.l. in the Kachin-Sagaing low elevation evergreen subtropical rainforest ecosystem (Armstrong et al. 2020; Murray et al. 2020), which is a lowland (ca. 100-300 m a.s.l.) evergreen closed forest ecosystem in northern Myanmar, where there is abundant rainfall (2,000+ mm) and generally moist conditions.
Etymology:—The specific epithet “yaatapsap” is the Shan-ni (Red Shan) vernacular name for the plant, which translates as “medicine to join the liver [back together]”. This epithet is constructed as a noun in apposition. Locally, a tea made from Garcinia yaatapsap is used as tonic for repairing a damaged liver due to drinking excess alcohol.
Patrick W. Sweeney, Thet Yu Nwe and Kate E. Armstrong. 2022. Garcinia yaatapsap (Clusiaceae), A New Species from northern Myanmar. Phytotaxa. 545(2); 121-127. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.545.2.1
