t12 PRINCIPES lYr::lr.42

ences, which nevertheless further coniirm the 10-25 cm above the base of the stems (see Fig. same characters as for I. polymorpha (other than 1); there were of course others interfoliar, await- the undivided ) with its range of variations. ins leaf abscission. Their stems were ca. 2 cm rn In Malaysia, this entire-leaved form has also diameter, and were not as robust as mentioned been seen sympatrically with the usual pinnate by Hodel for his holotype. Inescapably, I was re- ones, as collected by Dransfield & Saw (JD7620, minded of the giant forms of I. polymorpha from K, KEP) at Ulu Besut, Terengganu. I would re- Upper Belum in Perak, which also had long duce the new taxon in rank as a variety, and nine-branched in{lorescences. I believe that a given the options in , name it under further collection and examination of the irr- Iguanura polymc,rpha Becc. with an epithet that Iructescence and drupes are needed to confirm identifies the undivided . Hodel's diagno- this new taxon. sis serves the determination at tl'risrank, and his specimen 1628 at BK as the holotype for the var. IGUANURATENUIS nov.; other reference collections have been men- Iguanuratenuis Hodel, The Palm Journal 136: tioned above. This is undoubtedly a palm (to- il (ree7). gether with other related lguanura taxa) that may need urgent and enhanced protection in the This is another new soecies that has been rec- wild, for obvious reasons. ognized from its finely branched , collected from Takua Pa. near Khao Sok. It has Iguanura polymorpha Becc. var. integra been described as clustering, but is otherwise C.K. Lim var. nov. I. speciosaD. Hodel, The similar to the solitary palmlet commonly seen at Palm Journal 134: 29-30 (1997), synon. the nature reselve. This difference in habit is nov. Type: D.R. Hodel et o,l. 1628 (Holotype Br(). important within this , as separate forms could be distinguished and justified by this IGUANURADIVERCENS character. On the basis of Hodel's evidence thaL L tenuis is caespitose,I propose to recognize an- Iguanura divergens D. Hodel, The Palm Jour- other solitary taxon at varietal rank, to be named nal 136: 7-B (1997). Iguanura tenuis var. hhaosokensis(see below). As mentioned, the species has pinnae similar to This is a handsome new taxon with clustering I. polymorpho, but with the branched inflores- stems, which may provide clues about transfor- reminiscent of elegant forms of L nal- mations between the unllichiana and polymor- cences, the sheaths do not peal pha types in the genus, if speculations may be lichiano, interfoliar-as regular polymorpha countenanced; the branched rachillae are in- off as neatly as with the deed reminiscent of I. ruallichiana, whereas the types, and may persist and shred, nevertheless trapezoidal leaflets of the pinnae are clearly leaving clean stems. In passing, it might be men- similar to larger forms of L p,r,,lymr.,rpha.Hodel tioned that between 1994 and l,ate1997. the un- describes the leaves as marcescent, and the in- derstory palm population at Khao Sok appears to florescences as inter{bliar. and states that the have declined significantly. Along ihe matn stems are apparently quite robust, up to 3.5 cm rrails, Igua,narrz numbers seem to have reduced in diameter, reaching to 3 m in height. Regret- to a quarter, and likewise for the Pino,ngn and tably no had been collected; this is unfbrtu- Licuala spp. The only two WlLir:hia specimens nate, as lloral features tend to be indistinguish- that I had noted previously are also no longer to able in lguanura. I viewed the holotype at BK, I)e seen. and would have liked to see more specimens. Initially I thought that there might well be a con- Iguanura tenuis Hodel var. khaosokensis nection with the new species that I have de- C.K. Lim var. nov. scribed, I. perclana, from Perak, which is, how- A varietate typica habitu solitario bene distincta. usually solitary, but sometimes occurs with ever, Typns:Thailand, Surat'fhani, Khao Sok, 1997, C.K. basal growths. After viewing two fine live speci- Lim H1993 (holotypusBKF, isotypusKEP). mens cultivated at Nong Nooch, I must note cer- tain discrepancies from Hodel's descriptions: Hodel'sdescriptions of the speciesare fully the leaf sheaths abssise, revealing prominently applicableto the variety,which I would recog- infra{oliar , some growing a mere nize on the important difference of its solitary

lt4 PRINCIPES IYor.42 habit (see Fig. 2), after observingthe sizeable 20-30 cm long, fruit ovoid, white to pink unripe, populationat Khao Sok.This characterin Igua- similar in size to I. belumensr,s. nura is indeed distinct, as observedin other Distribution: Thailand, Phuket, Ranong, species, and is quite different from forms of Chumpon. Habitat: Hill , 200 m and stemswith basal suckersor forms that are cae- above. Locally not rare. spitose;of courseadjacent seedlings growing en- Type:Thalland, Phuket, Khao Pra Taew,1997 twined could give a false impression.The new C.K. Lim H1995 (holotype BKF, isotypus KEP) variety has been observedgrowing to 2 m and Other specimens seen: Chumpon, Kao Num sometimesfruiting at less than 1 m. The leaf Sao, 1927, Kerr 12024 (BK) (24793); Ranong, sheathsmay shredrather than fall off neatly; this Muang Len, 1966, Hansen & Smitinand 11960 aspectis unlike thosein the regularpolymorpha (BKF) (37263); Khao Pra Mi, 1966, Hansen & group in Malaysia and accountsfor the interfo- Smitinand 11829 (BKF) (40006), 1972, Larsen liar inflorescences.The trapezoidalpinnae are et al. 30843 (K, BKF) Q7a3Q; Kaper, Khao indistinguishablefrom the latter. It should be Pawta Luangkaew, 1929, Kerr 16918 (K), 1973 notedthat specimensin cultivationcan be quite Geesink and Santisuk 5147 (BKF) (56635), robust, and branched inflorescencesbecome 1979 Shimizu et al. 26758 (BKF) (76638); less delicate or filiform and quite similar to Mueang Chon, l9B7 |Yiyondham et al. 1436 (K); "L those of I. wallichiana (as in specimensof Phuket, Khao Pra Taew,1994, C.K. Lim H1615 wallichianavar. minor" ). Floral budswere noted (KEP, PSM Collection), Ht73I (PSM Collec- to be yellowin color,and the drupesare similar tion). to I. polymorpha, often ovoid and slightly The enithet refers to the location where I first curved,ripening from white to pink and black. obrerued the palm; Thalang was the earlier name The epithethelps to honorone of the geographic for Phuket. The species is apparently quite centersof this variety. widespread with several collections having been Distribution: Thailand, Surat Thani, Khao made from the Ranong area. It is probably not Sok, Takua Pa. Habitat: Limestonehill foresr, uncommon, but appears to be relatively rare in l00m and above.Locally not rare. its type location at 200 m within a hill re- Type:Thailand,Surat Thani, Khao Sok, 1997, serve, where P inan g a p atula v ar. mer guens is and C.K. Lim H1993 (holotypeBKF, isotype KEP). another new species of Pinanga are also found. Othercollections seen: Surat Thani, (Pangnga) The taxon is similar in habit and appearance Takua Pa, 1968, Beusekon & Phengklai 706 ro I. tenuis var. khaosokensis, with which it BKF(a70fB); Takua Pa, ).972,Larsen 30BB (K); makes an interesting comparative pairing in in- BangTa Khun, Ban Klong, 1986, Smith & Suma- florescence differences, in parallel with 1. nong GC60 (K); Bang Klong Yee Chang,Klong geonomiformis and L wallichiana, with their spi- Saeng, 1986, Smith & Suma,wongGC62 (K); cate (or forking) and branching rachillae, re- KhaoSok, 1994, C.K. LimHI6IS (KEP),HI724 spectively (see Figs. 3 and 4). The spicate stalks in taxa (PSMCollection). are often vertical; the inflorescences both are interfoliar and the leaf sheaths tend to shred IGUANURA THALANGENSIS rather than to abscise"but do not seem to be lin- geringly marcescent as for L nallichiana. The Iguanura thalangensis C.K. Lim sp. nov. more profuse and infrafoliar infructescences of I. tenuis affinis sed habitu solitario. inflorescentiisque I. belumensis are quite different and recogniz- spiciformibusvel bifurcatis dilfert. Typus:Thailand, Phuket, able from the I. tenuis variants. So far, this 'laew,1997, Khao Pra C.K. Lim H1995 (holotypusBKF, iso- Malaysian relative has not been found in Thai- typus KEP). Iand, and vice versa; the two Thai taxa are thus endemic within the national boundarv. Solitary, stilt-rooted, stem grey or brown, 1.5 cm diameter, erect to 2 m (fruiting from 50 cm height), leaves nine or more in crown. pinnate, An InterimChecklist of IguanuraTaxa in 60 x 24 cm, with usually four pairs of leaflets, PeninsularThailand trapezoidal as in L polymorpha, leaf sheaths Fromviewing collections at BK, BKF,K, KEP, brown shreddingor abscising,internode 1*1.4 SING and with the benefitof recentfield obser- cm, inflorescencestwo or more usually interfo- vations,I would Iist the followingnine taxa(with liar, spicate or bifurcating, sometimesto four, thosenot foundin Malaysiaunderlined):