Capparis gialaiensis Sy

Fig. 15

Capparis gialaiensis Sy (Sy et al. 2015: 219).

Type material

VIETNAM – Gia Lai Province • K'Bang District, Son Lang Commune; 23 May 2013; T. T. Bach et al. VK 5402; holotype: HN; isotype: KRIB.

Other material examined

VIETNAM – Gia Lai Province • K'Bang district, Son Lang commune; 23 May 2013; T. T. Bach et al. Thuong 60; HN • K'Bang district, Son Lang commune; 19 Nov. 2013; T. T. Bach et al. Quang 68; HN.

Description

Shrubs up to 10 m high. Twigs pubescent. Stipular thorns recurved, 0.5–1 mm long. Petiole 1.2–1.5 cm long, hairy. Leaf blade subcoriaceous, ca 1.5–2 times as long as wide times as long as wide, 5–5.5 × 3–3.5 cm, widest at or below the middle; base rounded or acute, top acuminate, tip ca 0.5 cm long; upper surface hairy on the nerves, lower surface glabrous, nerves 3–5 pairs. Flowers in terminal or axillary corymbs; pedicels 1.5–1.6 cm long, hairy; sepals 6–6.5 × 3–3.5 mm, pubescent outside, glabrous inside; petals white, oblong, 12–13 × 4–5 mm, hairy on the surfaces and margins; stamens 21–22, with filaments 3.7–4 cm long; gynophore 3–3.5 cm long, glabrous; ovary ellipsoid, ca 2 × 1 mm, glabrous. Fruit globose, 3.5–3.8 cm in diameter.

Distribution and ecology

Vietnam. Known from two locations of the Gia Lai Province, at 14°20′44.8″ N, 108°34′46.7″ E and 14°21′02.1″ N, 108°33′00.9″ E. Basaltic soil in open, secondary forest, at 810–910 m elevation (Sy et al. 2015).

Phenology

Flowering in May–July, fruiting in May–November.

Provisional conservation status

Capparis gialaiensis is so far known from two close locations, where few individuals were observed. Sy et al. (2015) underlined that the population could be easily affected by human activities. Following the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria (IUCN 2012), the species is assessed as Vulnerable (VU D2).