Ptychococcus Lepidotus N=16 New Guinea 9259 E
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
10 PR1NCIPES [Vol. 9 The Coconut Industry Board of Ja air-tight "pill" vials containing pre-dried maica has been shipping pollen from silica gel and gelatin capsules. The re distant places for their work on the hy sults obtained from pollen sent in by bridization of coconut varieties (White Dr. Moore are tabulated in Table I and head, 1962). They report that they are documented in figures 1-4. using a freeze-drying technique which permits long-term storage of the viable Literature Cited pollen in quantity. However, for the Read, R. W. 1964. Palm chromo purpose outlined in the present paper, some studies facilitated by pollen cul the equipment and skill needed seem ture on a colchicine-lactose medium. unnecessary in collecting pollen from Stain Technology 39: 99-106. palms while in the jungle many miles Whitehead, R. A. 1962. Room-tem from civilization. The technique de perature storage of coconut pollen. scribed herein requires only a few small Nature 196: 190. Haploid place of Moore Arecoideae number origin voucher a. Rhopaloblaste ceramica n=16 Cultivated at Singapore 9077 b. Carpentaria acuminata n= 16 Australia 9228 c. Laccospadix australasica n= 16 Australia 9240 d. Ptychococcus lepidotus n=16 New Guinea 9259 e. Archontophoenix Alexandrae n=16 Australia 9249 f. Ptychosperma elegans n=16 Australia 9245 g. Veitchia sessilifolia n=16 Fiji Islands 9348 h. Veitchia vitiensis var. Parhamiorum n=16 Fiji Islands 9358 l. Gulubia Hombronii n=16 Solomon Islands 9296 j. Gulubia costata n=16 New Guinea 9273 k. Taveunia trichospadix n=16 Fiji Islands 9345 I. Heterospathe humilis ? n=16 New Guinea 9289 Caryotoideae m. Wallichia densiflora n= 16 Cultivated in Australia 9256 Lepidocaryoideae n. Calamus caryotoides n = 13 Australia 9241 o. Calamus Muelleri n = 13 Australia 9230 Table I. Chromosome counts of palms obtained from pollen-tube mitotic studies of air-mailed pollen. Voucher specimens are on deposit at the 1. H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Ptychococcus lepidotus - A New Species from New Guinea HAROLD E. MOORE, JR. The genus Ptychococcus is related to doxus, has been grown in botanic gar Ptychosperma in the tribe Ptychosper dens for many years but most of the meae of the subfamily Arecoideae. Few others are known only from incomplete of the species have been adequately de specimens in herbaria. Two of the seven scribed. The original species, P. para- validly described species - P. Guppy- 1965J '\oORI':: PTYCHOCOCCUS 11 anus and P. Kraemerianus - are known rounded and densely pale lepidote·tom. with certainty only from fruits, and entose below, more or less densely cov another - P. Sehumannii - appears to ered above with pale membranous lac have been described from Inixed speci erately interlocking scales when young mens representing more than one spe or their darker bases when old; rachis cies. Nonetheless, comparison of speci 2.5-3 m. long, rounded centrally and mens collected in New Guinea during channelled toward the margin below, 1964 with descriptions and specimens scaly like the petiole above and helow of known species leaves little doubt hut when young, the margins f1attish toward that they represent still another specie~. the base and the upper surface chan· Seeds and seedlings have been intro nelled on each side of a median rounded duced into cultivation and the chromo ridge. becoming nearly deltoid in sec some number is reported elsewhere in tion at mid·leaf and to the apex where this issue by Mr. Read (p. 10). It is scales are often deciduous and the sur advisable, therefore, to provide a name. face only dark punctate; pinnae 41-4.7 The epithet lepidotus has been chosen on each side of the rachis in regular, because of the tiny scales on the petals mostly alternate arrangement at inter of flowers of both sexes.·* vals of .')-6 cm. near the middle, the blade PTYCHOCOCcus LEPIDOTUS H. E. Moore, nearly horizontal basally but twisting up· sp. nov. (Fig. 5) ward at about a 90 0 angle with the apex Caulis ca. 5 m altus. Folia breviter arcuately curved, the lower pinnae 50-65 petiolata pinnis utrinque 41-47. In/lor cm. long, 2.1-4.3 cm. wide, median pin. eseentiae /useo·tomentosae, ad maturi nae 68-78 cm. long, 6-9 cm. wide, apical tam glabratae, petalis /lorum maseu pinnae 37-42 cm. long, 3.5-6 cm. wide, lorum et /oemineorum dense lepidotis, all with very oblique (basal) to nearly staminibus 85-110, /rueto rubro 4.1-5 truncate (apical) sharply divided and em. longo, 3.4-4 em. diam., endoearpio toothed apex, very narrowly reduplicate et semine 5-lobatis, carina eurvata pro at the base where densely and minutely minente. red-brown lepidote above and paler Trunk solitary, slender, gray, ca. 5 lepidote on the prominent midnerve m. high or perhaps more, ca. 10 em. in above, the lower surface densely and diameter. Leaves ca. 12, spreading or minutely red-brown or pale Ie pidote ascending; sheath ca. 6 dm. long, green with a line of twisted basifixed red with indument of dark brown membran brown membranous scales to ca. 13 111m. ous scales margined with appressed soft long on the midnerve, these sparser to interlocking hairs forming a dense tom ward the apex. Inflorescences 9 (on entum at first but the hairs deciduous in type tree), stiff, densely clustered be· part leaving only the membranous cen low the crownshaft, those in flower hori ter or the base of the scale at length, zontal, those in fruit drooping; lower especially on marginal or unprotected bract ca. 42 em. long, 7 em. wide in areas, the margins oblique without lig. bud, densely pale lepidote.tomentose, ules; petiole short, 5-20 em. long. ancipitous-margined and acute, enclos· 'Support of the National Scielw" Foundation ing the upper bract, the entire inflor for trav,,1 undf'r Grant numuer GB-1354 i" escence red-brown tomentose in bud but gratefully af'knowledged a~ is that of the John Simon Guggenheim M"morial I~ollndalion the axes becoming sparsely hairy to which enaul" tIll' author to "Iudy tn"''' of nearly glabrate at maturity; peduncle Ptychococcus among Bf'ccari\ collection~ at the htituto Botanico, Florence, Italy, in 1956. dorso-ventrally compressed, 9.5-15 em. 12 PRINCIPES [Vol. 9 long, 4 em. wide; rachis 25-40 em. long, TERRITORY OF NEW GUINEA. Morobe angled as are the ca. 17 branches, the District: ridge trail southwest of Bupu lower few again twice·branched with ul Village on track to Engebu above Warn timate flowering axes 14-23 em. long, pit River, alt. 2500-2800 ft., 3 March those above once-branched to furcate 1964, H. E. Moore, Jr., &A. Millar 9259 or unbranched. Flowers in triads of a (BH, type; LAE, isotype); mixed for central pistillate and two lateral sta est at upper limit of Araucaria zone, inate nearly throughout the axes; stam Bulolo-Watut divide, alt. ca. 3600 ft., inate flowers green, drying brown, ca. 11 March 1964, H. E. Moore, Jr. & J. S. 15 mm. long, 7 mm. in diam. or smaller Womersley 9281 (BH; LAE); disturbed when dry, the sepals 5-6 mm. high, 7 forest near airstrip at Wagau, alt. 3400 mm. across, keeled dorsally toward a ft., 14 March 1964, H. E. Moore, Jr. & gibbous base, ciliate marginally, petals J. S. Womersley 9293 (BH; LAE). ca. 15 mm. long, 7 mm. wide, very Vernacular names: val (Bupu); wa slightly asymmetric apically with a kal (Wagau). dense cover of minute brownish mem Trunk said to be used for spears and branous scales, stamens 85-110, whitish bows. Infrequent in the forests. at anthesis, the anthers emarginate to Fruits of this species vary when fresh acute apically, deeply bifid basally, the and mature from 4.1 em. long, 3.4 em. lageniform pistillode as long as the sta in diameter. (Moore & Womersley 9393) mens; pistillate buds ca. 10 mm. high, to 5 em. long, 4 em. in diameter with the sepals minutely brown hairy, the corresponding differences in size of en petals densely lepidote and pale brown docarp and seed. Only ripe fruit was when dry, the sepals in fruit ca. 7 mm. collected at Wagau but a plant grow high, petals 11 mm. high, 2 em. broad, ing near the airstrip was clearly the forming a cupule ca. 2.5 em. across, same as that seen at Bupu and Bulolo staminodes 3 and more or less united and the associated palms - Gronophyl in a low semicircle in fruit. Fruit lum sp., Helerospalhe humilis ?, Calyp orange-red or crimson, 4.1-5 em. long, trocalyx sp., Areca sp. - were the same 3.4·4 em. in diam. when fresh, smooth as those at Bupu. and rounded, ovoid with slightly excen The densely scaly petals of male and tric apical stigmatic scar, drying 4-4.5 female flowers readily distinguish P. em. long, 2.5-3 em. wide without cupule, lepidotus from P. Archboldianus, P. prominently angled and wrinkled, the arecinus, P. elatus and P. paradoxus, all endocarp ca. 4 em. long, 2.6-3.2 cm. of which have glabrous petals. The wide, with walls 2·3 mm. thick, promi much smaller fruit eliminates P. Schu nently and narrowly keeled on the ra· mannii as amended by Burret (Repel' pheal side with a hollow below the torium Specierum Novarum 24: 262. curved tip and the 3-ridged, 2-grooved 1923). Two remaining species - P. ventral surface, laterally with a 2-ridged, Guppyanus and P. Kraemerianus I-grooved flange on each side; seed 2-3 have the seed prolonged in a very nar em. long, 1.5-2 em.