21. Ocotea macrocarpa Kosterm.

(Fig. 8)

Notulae systematicae 8: 90 (1939).

TYPUS. — Madagascar. Forêts montagneuses de l’Est. Service des Forêts 81 (holo-, P [P00541601]!; iso-, P [P00541566, P00541567]!).

SELECTED SPECIMENS SEEN. — Toamasina. Mantadia National Park, 13 km N of Andasibe, Malcomber & Hemingway 2748 (MO, P[P02008110]); between 9.5-11 km N of Andasibe, Birkinshaw et al. 290 (MO); Moramanga, Andasibe, Menalamba, 11 km E of Ampitambe, Rakotovao & Edmond 1848 (MO, P[P06837213]).

DISTRIBUTION. — Most collections with adequate label information are from Périnet, Analamazaotra, Moramanga, road Moramanga-Anosibe and R. N. III. Altitude, when indicated, is about 800 m. There is a single collection from Zahamena, north of Perinet.

PHENOLOGY. — Flowers: February-March and July-August; fruits: May.

VERNACULAR NAMES. — Varongy mavo, varongy, varongy fotsy, varongy mainty, varongy ravimanga.

DESCRIPTION

Tree, to 25 m. Twigs angular, densely (rufous) brown-tomentellous, often with conspicuous scars of old leaves or bracts, becoming glabrous with age; terminal buds densely tomentellous. Leaves alternate, subcoriaceous, lanceolate-elliptic to elliptic, 8-15 × 2-5.5 cm, base acute, apex acute or slightly acuminate, margin flat or slightly inrolled, but base of leaves plane, upper surface glabrous, lower surface sparsely appressed pubescent or glabrous, lateral veins 8-11, immersed on both surfaces and poorly visible, reticulation immersed, not or scarcely visible, domatia absent. Petioles tomentellous, glabrous with age, 1.5-2.5 cm long, striate, flat on upper side. Inflorescences along leaf less short shoots, or in axils of bracts near tip of twigs, brown-tomentellous, 3-8 cm long. Flowers 8-9 mm in diameter, tepals 6, equal, pubescent on both surfaces, 3-4 mm long; stamens 9, 4-celled, 1.5 mm long with short (0.5 mm), pubescent filaments, inner three with 2 globose glands, near the base, staminodia 3, minute pubescent; pistil glabrous, ovary gradually narrowed into style, receptacle deep, densely pubescent inside. Tepals deciduous in old flowers. Fruits ellipsoid, 25 × 18 mm, cupule cupshaped, 2 cm in diameter, 1 cm deep, the pedicel not thickened.

REMARKS

Characteristic for O. macrocarpa are the tomentellous twigs, densely pubescent inner surface of the receptacle and narrowly elliptic leaves with a flat (not inrolled) base. This species resembles O. auriculiformis, but that species has inrolled leaf bases. These two species have a different distribution. O. macrocarpa is only known from Périnet-Moramanga or further north, while O. auriculiformis occurs from Ambositra southwards. Kostermans (1957) cited also SF 5238 under O. macrocarpa; this collection however has a glabrous interior wall of the receptacle and I exclude it from O. macrocarpa.