Plant Ecology and Evolution 153(1): 160-166, doi: 10.5091/plecevo.2020.1657
Memecylon afroschismaticum sp. nov. (Melastomataceae–Olisbeoideae) endemic to the East African Rift region of Rwanda, Burundi and western Tanzania
expand article infoRobert Douglas Stone‡
‡ School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa

Corresponding author: Robert Stone ( r.douglas.stone@gmail.com )

© Robert Douglas Stone.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Stone RD (2020) Memecylon afroschismaticum sp. nov. (Melastomataceae–Olisbeoideae) endemic to the East African Rift region of Rwanda, Burundi and western Tanzania. Plant Ecology and Evolution 153(1): 160-166. https://doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.2020.1657
Open Access
Abstract

Background – A new species of Memecylon (Melastomataceae–Olisbeoideae) from Rwanda, Burundi and western Tanzania is described in connection with preparing the family treatment for the Flore d’Afrique centrale.

Methods – Standard herbarium practices were applied.

Key results – Memecylon afroschismaticum R.D.Stone is described and illustrated. This new species is remarkable for being endemic to forests of the East African Rift region avoided by all but a few other species of African Memecylon. A close relationship with M. flavovirens Baker (type of M. sect. Obtusifolia Engl.) is suggested by its corolla being narrowly conical-acute in bud and anther connectives with dorsal oil-gland and acute posterior extremity. However, its elliptic-ovate and distinctly acuminate leaves resemble those of M. myrianthum Gilg (of M. sect. Polyanthema Engl.) and M. verruculosum Brenan (of M. sect. Buxifolia R.D.Stone). The known location in western Tanzania is formally protected within the Mahale Mountains National Park, but the subpopulations in Rwanda and Burundi are unprotected and presumably threatened by high human population density and subsistence agriculture. The estimated area of occupancy is also quite small (12 km2). Memecylon afroschismaticum is thus provisionally assessed as Endangered [EN B1ab(iii)+B2ab(iii)] in accordance with IUCN criteria.

Keywords
Burundi, East African Rift, Melastomataceae, Memecylon afroschismaticum, new species, plant taxonomy, Rwanda, Tanzania

References

  • Bachman S., Moat J., Hill A.W., de la Torre J., Scott B. (2011) Supporting Red List threat assessments with GeoCAT: geospatial conservation assessment tool. ZooKeys 150: 117–126. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.150.2109
  • Burrows J., Schmidt E., Burrows S., Lötter M. (2018) Trees and Shrubs of Mozambique. Noordhoek (South Africa), Print Matters.
  • ESRI (2016) ArcGIS. Version 10.4. Redlands, Environmental Systems Research Institute.
  • Fernandes A., Fernandes R. (1960) Melastomataceae africanae novae vel minus cognitae – IV. Boletim da Sociedade Broteriana, sér. 2 34: 59–89.
  • Google Earth Pro (2019) Available at https://www.google.com/earth/versions/#earth-pro [accessed 10 Sept. 2019].
  • IUCN (2012) IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 3.1 (2nd ed.). Gland (Switzerland) and Cambridge (U.K.), IUCN Species Survival Commission. Available at https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/categories-and-criteria [accessed 7 Oct. 2019].
  • IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee (2019) Guidelines for using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 14. Available at http://cmsdocs.s3.amazonaws.com/RedListGuidelines.pdf [accessed 7 Oct. 2019].
  • Jacques-Félix H. (1978) Les genres de Memecyleae (Melastomataceae) en Afrique, Madagascar et Mascareignes. Adansonia, sér. 2 18(2): 221–235. Available at http://bibliotheques.mnhn.fr/EXPLOITATION/infodoc/ged/viewportalpublished.ashx?eid=IFD_FICJOINT_ADANS_S000_1978_T018_N002_1 [accessed 7 Oct. 2019].
  • Maquet P. (1983) Melastomataceae. In: Troupin G. (ed.) Flore du Rwanda: Spermatophytes, vol. 2: 509–527. Tervuren, Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale.
  • Natural Earth (2019) Natural Earth public domain map dataset, 1:10 million scale. Available at https://www.naturalearthdata.com [accessed 23 Mar. 2019].
  • Ntore S., Fischer E., Sosef M.S.M. (2018) Red List of the endemic and range-restricted vascular plants of Burundi. Scripta Botanica Belgica 58. Meise, Meise Botanic Garden.
  • Renner S.S., Triebel D., Almeda F., Stone R.D., Ulloa C., Michaelangeli F.A., Goldenberg, R., Mendoza H. (eds) (2007 onwards) MEL names – a database with names of Melastomataceae. Available at http://www.melastomataceae.net/MELnames/ [accessed 8 Jul. 2019].
  • Stone R.D. (2006) Phylogeny of major lineages in Melastomataceae, subfamily Olisbeoideae: utility of nuclear glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GapC) gene sequences. Systematic Botany 31(1): 107–121. https://doi.org/10.1600/036364406775971741
  • Stone R.D. (2014a) The species-rich, paleotropical genus Memecylon (Melastomataceae): molecular phylogenetics and revised infrageneric classification of the African species. Taxon 63(3): 539–561. https://doi.org/10.12705/633.10
  • Stone R.D. (2014b) Further studies in Memecylon sect. Afzeliana (Melastomataceae–Olisbeoideae): the type of M. liberiae and its taxonomic implications. Phytotaxa 183(4): 263–271. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.183.4.5
  • Stone R.D. (2015a) Taxonomic treatment of Memecylon section Felixiocylon (Melastomataceae), with descriptions of four new species from Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea (Bioko). Adansonia, sér. 3 37(1): 47–61. https://doi.org/10.5252/a2015n1a5
  • Stone R.D. (2015b) Memecylon trunciflorum sp. nov. (Melastomataceae–Olisbeoideae) from the Udzungwa Mountains, southern Tanzania. Nordic Journal of Botany 33(5): 513–517. https://doi.org/10.1111/njb.00688
  • Stone R.D., Andreasen K. (2010) The Afro-Madagascan genus Warneckea (Melastomataceae): molecular systematics and revised infrageneric classification. Taxon 59(1): 83–92. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27757053
  • Stone R.D., Ghogue J.-P., Cheek M. (2008) Revised treatment of Memecylon sect. Afzeliana (Melastomataceae-Olisbeoideae), including three new species from Cameroon. Kew Bulletin 63(2): 227–241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-008-9033-y
  • Stone R.D., Mona I.G., Ramdhani S. (2017) Revised treatment of Mozambican Memecylon (Melastomataceae–Olisbeoideae), with descriptions of four new species in M. section Buxifolia. Phytotaxa 331(2): 151–168. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.331.2.1
  • Stone R.D., Mona I.G., Styles D.G.A., Burrows J.E., Ramdhani S. (2019) Taxonomic revision of South African Memecylon (Melastomataceae–Olisbeoideae), including three new species. Phytotaxa 418(3): 237–257. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.418.3.1
  • Stone R.D., Walters G.M., Ghogue J.-P. (2006) Memecylon batekeanum, a new species from southeastern Gabon, and a note on the circumscription of Memecylon sect. Mouririoidea (Melastomataceae). Novon 16(2): 276–280. https://doi.org/10.3417/1055-3177(2006)16
  • Werger M.J.A. (1978) The Karoo-Namib region. In: Werger M.J.A. (ed.) Biogeography and ecology of southern Africa: 231–299. The Hague, W. Junk.
  • White F. (1983) Vegetation of Africa: a descriptive memoir to accompany the UNESCO/AETFAT/UNSO vegetation map of Africa. Paris, UNESCO. Available at https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000058054 [accessed 7 Oct. 2019].
  • Wickens G.E. (1975) Melastomataceae. In: Polhill R.M. (ed.) Flora of Tropical East Africa. London, Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations.