Paranecepsia alchorneifolia Radcl. -Sm.

Kew Bulletin 30: 684 (Radcliffe-Smith 1975 publ. 1976).

Material examined

Type

MOZAMBIQUE ‒ Niassa Province • into a forest gallery of a dried stream, at side of the road Negomano- Mueda, ca 30 km N of Chomba; 11°20′ S, 38°30′ E; 11 Nov. 1959; staminate fl.; A. Gomes e Sousa 4514; holotype:K[K000425585],K[K000425586](image!); isotypes: COI [COI00077121], COI [COI00077122] (image!), EA n.v., LISC[011861], PRE[PRE0659451 -0] (image!), SRGH[SRGH0106464 -0] (image!).

Note: the holotype consists of two sheets with cross labelling as “sheet 1” and “sheet 2”, both with a “ holotype ” annotation in A. Radcliffe-Smith’s handwriting, and they should be taken to constitute a single specimen according Turland et al. (2018, Art. 8.3). There are several variations of the type collection label, the most specific of which is typewritten in Portuguese on COI [COI 00077121] and indicates “Á beira de um rio seco, a poucos metros da ponte da estrada Mueda-Negomano, cerca de 30 kms oeste de Chomba [On the edge of a dry river, a few meters from the Mueda-Negomano highway bridge, about 30 kms west of Chomba], 11°20′ S, 38°30′ E. The label coordinates are clearly very inaccurate (in Tanzania, ca 100 km from Chomba) but from Google Earth imagery the closest match to this bridge locality is 36 km NNW of Chomba at 11°15′49.54″ S, 39°10′55.09″ E, in an area presently very degraded by agricultural activity.

Other material

MOZAMBIQUE ‒ no locality; 4 Apr. 1960; sterile; A. Gomes e Sousa 4514A; COI, K, LISC [011862]. ‒ Maputo Province • gallery of the river Ridi, westwards Porto Amélia town; 12°55′ S, 40°15′ E; alt. 15 m; 1 Oct. 1964; sterile; A. Gomes e Sousa 4831; BR, COI, K. – Cabo Delgado Province • Macondes, andados 30 km de Chomba para Negomano, ao longo do rio Matiu; alt. 300 m; 13 Apr. 1964; sterile; A.R. Torre & J. Paiva 11880; LISC.

TANZANIA ‒ Lindi Region • Nanjilinji Division, Likawage Ward, ca 6 km E of Liwiti Village, Dagano ya Kiyenje na Mavunji [Junction of Ndagano and Mavuji Rivers]; 9°7′ S, 39°10′ E; alt. 60 m; 14 Nov. 2005; staminate fl.; C.J. Kayombo, P. Ezrom, H. Makelele and A. Mabruki 5203; MO [5940755] • Namatimbili Forest; alt. 250 m; 26 Nov. 2001; pistillate fl.; F.Mbago and B. Mpanda 2244; K. ‒ Morogoro Region • Kilombero Game Control Area; alt. 300 m; 2 Nov. 1998; fruit; A.S. Mkeya and P. Metele 1062; MO [5677723], NHT • ibid.; staminate fl.; A.S. Mkeya and P. Metele 1063; K, MO [6575002], NHT • Kilombero Game Control Area (near Mofu village); alt. 550 m; 4 Oct. 1998; pistillate fl.; H.O. Suleiman / Frontier team 934; DSM • Selous Game Reserve, Kigombe River; alt. 430 m; Nov. 1970; fruit; A.F. Rees T56; K • Vigade, Kidodi, Kilosa District; Nov. 1952; staminate fl.; S.R. Semsei 1046; K • Selous Game Reserve, Mlahi; 8°17′ S, 37°05′ E; alt. ca 275 m; 15 Oct. 1975; sterile; K.B. Vollesen MRC 2838; DSM, WAG • Selous Game Reserve, Lukula; ca 9°30′ S, 36°50′ E; 19 Nov. 1976; fruit; K.B. Vollesen MRC 4128; DSM, K • Selous Game Reserve, ca 4 km E of Mlahi; 8°17′ S, 37°07′ E; 31 Oct. 1977; staminate fl.; K.B. Vollesen MRC 4746; DSM, K.

Distribution, habitat, and phenology

Paranecepsia alchorneifolia is only known from southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique (Fig. 2), in gallery forest, bush savannah, and wooded grassland, between 15 and 550 m. Flowering specimens were collected in October and November, and fruiting ones in November.