In Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. Pl. 1: 423 (1862); Keay in Hutch. & Dalz., Fl. West Trop. Afr., ed. 2, 1: 736 (1958).
— Type: Mann 941, Equatorial Guinea / Gabon, Gaboon R., lat. 1˚ N., ♀ fl. July (holo-, K).
Trichoscypha atropurpurea Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 36: 222 (1905); Keay in Hutch. & Dalz., Fl. West Trop. Afr., ed. 2, 1: 736 (1958). — Type: Dinklage 2082, Liberia, Fishtown, ster. Oct. (holo-(?), B; iso-, A), see note.
Shrub to small tree up to c. 10 m tall, trunk to 10 cm in diam. Leaves up to 11-jugate, usually with hispid petiole and rachis, the lowest pair of leaflets close to the stem or not; leaflets papery, oblong-elliptic, often narrowly so, usually slender-tipped and with long hairs on main nerves beneath, the midrib impressed and hispid above. Inflorescence (sub) terminal or not, shorter than the leaves, hispid. Flowers (Aug.-Nov.) relatively large, dark red. Fruits (Nov.) subovoid, 2-2.5 × 1- 1.5 cm, dark-red, sparsely hispid, glabrescent. — Figs. 2 A-B, 9.
HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION. — Rain forest from Liberia to Ghana. Also in Lower Guinea.
SPECIMENS EXAMINED. — CÔTE D’ IVOIRE: Bégué 2960, Yapo, ster. May (P); Breteler 6090, 48 km N of Abidjan, fr. Nov. (WAG); Chatelain & Téhé 816, Agboville, ster. Nov. (G, WAG); J.J. de Wilde 579, Yapo, y.fr. Sep. (WAG); Nozeran s.n., N’zida, ♂ fl. Aug. (P); Versteegh & Den Outer 739, Anyama-Adzopé Rd., ♂ fl. Sep. (WAG). — GHANA: Vigne 1439, Axim, ♂ fl. Nov. (K). — LIBERIA: Baldwin 10283A, Javajai, ♂ fl. Nov. (K); Dinklage 2082, Fishtown, ster. Oct. (A, B); Linder 1122, Kolubanu, ♂ fl. Oct. (K).
NOTE. — The sterile specimen Dinklage 2082 received on loan from B may be a duplicate of the original material of T. atropurpurea, which was described with male flowers.