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Encephalartos Kisambo

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Encephalartos Kisambo Focus FocusFocus Encephalartos FocusFocus Cycad FocusFocus kisambo FocusFocus Taxonomic History, Conservation Melville’s (1957) comprehensive treatment Uganda (which would later be described Status & Morphologic Affi nities of the cycads of central Africa, in as E. whitelockii P.J.H. HURTER). of Encephalartos kisambo FADEN & Melville’s contribution to Turrill and Milne- THE SPECIES GETS A NAME (OR TWO) Redhead’s (1958) Flora of Tropical East BEENTJE Africa, or in Lewis’s (1960) contribution to Encephalartos kisambo Jody Haynes Flora Zambesiaca. In fact, the fi rst known Faden and Beentje (1989) published published information on the species was their description nearly 20 years after INTRODUCTION in Heenan’s (1977) revision of the central its discovery and a dozen years after and eastern African cycads nearly two Heenan fi rst wrote about it. They credited Encephalartos kisambo FADEN & decades later. Using data and specimens Heenan (1977) for the fi rst report of this BEENTJE, the ‘Voi cycad,’ is a large, stately plant from the Voi region of Kenya (and collected by his son (Heenan, 1977; Dave species in the literature and explained possibly Tanzania [see below and the Heenan, pers. comm.), Heenan reported that ‘kisambo’ is the local name for the article on pp. 6-14, this issue]). Even the following about the “imperfectly plant in the Taita language. They also though it is not typically suitable for small known” species that he referred to simply stated that the plants typically grow in gardens due to its imposing size (Fig. 1), as “Encephalartos sp. ‘B’ (‘Voi’)”: evergreen mist forest and occasionally it has become a fairly common species on exposed slopes in dry bushland at in both private and public collections Trunk up to 2.2 m high, 0.35-0.6 m altitudes of 800-1050 m. According to worldwide. While it is now fairly well- diameter, with a tendency to taper towards the authors, this species was, at that the top. Leaf scars very irregular in size and time, known with certainty only from a known in cultivation, many collectors shape varying from horizontally distended and enthusiasts may not be familiar with very small area—approximately 160 ha in triangles 30 by 60 mm to parallelograms 60 size—in the Maungu Hills. While Heenan the intricacies of its taxonomic history, by 80 mm. The most noticeable feature of (1977) had reported it from two other conservation status, or morphologic this species is the unusually swollen base of affi nities. This article will provide the rachis with the subsequent distinctive locations, Faden and Beentje warned that information from early records of the leaf scars on the caudex. Leaves mainly these additional reports would require species (before it was formally described), oblong, rounded at apex and narrowing confi rmation. from its formal description in 1989 (and gradually to the base, up to 3.7 m long by Faden and Beentje (1989) went 0.65 m wide. Leafl ets linear lanceolate, on to say that Encephalartos kisambo its synonym, E. voiensis MORETTI, D.W. pungent, coriaceous, 250-350 mm long by is “perhaps most closely related to E. STEV. & SCLAVO from later the same year), 30-40 mm wide, overlapping and mainly hildebrandtii,” which they reported and from the recent description of E. subopposite, becoming trifurcate, bifurcate differs from the latter in having falcate kanga from northeastern Tanzania that is and fi nally with up to 15 pairs of spines considered by some to be nothing more terminating about 80 mm from the base leafl ets with fewer marginal serrations, than a reddish-coned population of E. of the greatly swollen rachis, which is not larger male cones with less sharply kisambo. grooved. Median leafl ets usually with 4-6 distinct spines on the upper margin, usually with 3-4 of these spines close to the basal THE DISCOVERY attachment; lower margin entire, sometimes Whitelock (2002) reported that with up to two smaller spines; under-surface Encephalartos kisambo was discovered in clearly striate with 30-45 parallel nerves. 1970 near Voi, Kenya, by Robert Archer, Th[is] species occur[s] ... S.E. of Voi who was an American working in the ..., Kenya in the Maunga Mountains at an East African Herbarium in Nairobi. Jones altitude of about 1000 m [specifi c locality (1993) had earlier given the date as 1973 information intentionally removed]. The and ascribed no one in particular to the colonies are to be found ... growing in partial shade and in open country. It is discovery, while Goode (1989) suggested worth noting that all specimens growing in that the species was discovered during Fig. 1. Three large plants of Encephalartos kisambo the open reached only two-thirds the size in a private garden in Homestead, Florida. one of Heenan’s expeditions into central of those in partial shade with regard to and eastern Africa in 1973-74. If one both trunk and leaf development, probably examines the list of specimens provided in indicative of the more favourable humid the original description (Faden & Beentje, conditions under the forest canopy. 1989), it becomes clear that Archer had, indeed, discovered (and collected Heenan (1977) also provided a sketch (Fig. specimens of) E. kisambo in 1970—prior 2) of a median leafl et of “Encephalartos to Heenan’s expeditions—as had Robert sp. ‘B’ (‘Voi’)” next to leafl ets of his Faden the following year. “Encephalartos sp. ‘A’” (which would Regardless of which of the above later be described as E. sclavoi DE LUCA, dates is correct, it should be no surprise D.W. STEV. & A. MORETTI) and a “form” of Fig. 2. Median leafl ets of Encephalartos kisambo (A), that the species was not mentioned in E. laurentianus DE WILD. from Mpanga, E. sclavoi (B), and E. whitelockii (C) (modifi ed from Fig. 1 of Heenan [1977]). The Cycad Newsletter 32(1) March 2009 Page 15 defl exed bullae, female cones with traditional use. Donaldson also stated shallower bullae and trapezoidal rather that this species did not, at that time, Comments on Encephalartos kanga than rectangular median facets, and occur in any protected reserves. In a later Two years ago another large, narrowly orange-yellow rather than red seeds chapter of the Cycad Action Plan, Walters endemic Encephalartos species was (Fig. 3). It also reportedly differs from E. (2003) stated that E. kisambo was then described from Mt. Kanga in northeastern tegulaneus MELVILLE in having larger, more represented in general collections but not Tanzania (Pócs & Luke, 2007). The authors closely spaced leafl ets that lack serrations in any private or genebank collections. of the new species—which they named E. on the lower margin, male cones with The CITES Signifi cant Trade Review of kanga PÓCS & Q. LUKE after its restricted shorter median sporophylls and bullae Cycads (TRAFFIC, 2003) also listed the region of endemicity—admitted a close that are more defl exed, and female cones species as Endangered and reiterated that morphologic resemblance to E. kisambo with narrower and shallower bullae on there were 5,200 plants in habitat and but believed that the Kanga plant differed the median sporophylls. It differs from E. that it was being impacted by wild trade. in having leafl ets with a prominent bubalinus MELVILLE, then, by having larger Finally, the 2008 IUCN Red List (IUCN, “leafl et shoulder” bearing serrations that leaves and leafl ets, larger male cones 2008) listed the species as Endangered, protrude across the rachis, dark green bearing median sporophylls that are larger provided the same global assessment as rather than “soapy green” leaves, a and proportionately narrower, and female Donaldson (2003), and verifi ed that the smooth and terete rather than somewhat cones with narrower bullae. Finally, the population trend was still decreasing. fl attened and ridged rachis, and several authors reported that E. kisambo differs characters of the female cone. The from E. sclavoi (which had not yet been MORPHOLOGIC AFFINITIES authors also stated that, while P. Vorster described), with the latter having much As mentioned above, Faden and smaller leaves and leafl ets that either Beentje (1989) suggested that their new lack serrations entirely or have only one species had a morphological affi nity to or two on the lower margin. Encephalartos hildebrandtii. Although Interestingly, Faden and Beentje Moretti et al. (1989) admitted that (1989) also mentioned that the only other the relationship of their synonymous specimen that they had seen that may E. voiensis was not completely clear, belong to Encephalartos kisambo was they also believed that it was most collected by Tamas Pócs from the Kanga closely related to E. hildebrandtii based Mountains of Tanzania. Although they on vegetative morphology. The latter believed that the Kanga plant was not E. authors also indicated that the species kisambo based on differences in leafl et shares characters with E. bubalinus, E. morphology, they withheld fi nal judgment gratus PRAIN, and E. tegulaneus and used until cones could be examined. the most obvious differences to create separate diagnostic keys for vegetative, Encephalartos voiensis male cone, and female cone traits (see The synonymous description of below). Encephalartos voiensis later in 1989 Vorster (2004) later created 18 (Moretti et al., 1989) was based on subgroups within Encephalartos based collections made by Jean Pierre Sclavo on shared morphology and geographic and seems to have been published with proximity. His ‘Group 13’ included E. no apparent knowledge of the earlier bubalinus, E. equatorialis P.J.H. HURTER, E. Fig. 3. Illustration of Encephalartos kisambo from description of the same species. The hildebrandtii, E. ituriensis BAMPS & LISOWSKI, the original species description (Fig. 1 of Faden & authors mentioned Heenan’s (1977) brief E. kisambo, E. sclavoi, E.
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