Table Of ContentBLUMEA 36 (1991) 161-164
Notes on Ericaceae from Papua New Guinea
J.F. Veldkamp
Rijksherbarium /HortusBotanicus,Leiden, TheNetherlands
Summary
Onenew speciesis described in the generaAgapetesandVaccinium,each. Vaccinium acutis-
simumF.Muell. var.pilosistylum israised tospecificrank. An intersubsectional hybridbetween
Rhododendron alticolum Sleum.and R.rubellum Sleum. is noted.
1. Agapetes kudukii Veldk., spec. nov.
Acongeneribusnovoguineensibusinfoliisbasi valde adprofundecordatis differLPraeterea inno
vatio,ramulus,latuslaminae superior,corolla extus glabra,folia ovata,pedicellusad ultimum fun-
dumbracteolisprovisus supraeasetinfracalycemarticulatus,limbuscalycissub anthesic.2,5mm
longustubo 5- sulcatodimidio longior,corolla 28-35 mm longa5-10 mm lata, filamentus theca
(incl. tubulo)0,25-0,28-plobrevior, thecaprocesso basali muricato ceterum laevis. —Typus:
Veldkamp& Kuduk 8531 (L, holo;iso tobe distributed),PapuaNew Guinea,Central Prov.,Mt
Yule,3270 m,edgeofscrub, common, 15October 1989.
Erect to scrambling shrub, up to 5 mlong, glabrous. Petioles2.5-8mm long.
Leavespatent,slightlycurved,ovate,3.5-10.5by 2-6cm,belowwithafewblackish
redhairlets,basecordatetodeeply so,belowwithoutspots, margin crenate,teethwith
blackish redhairlets, apexacuminate, nerves atbase with3 pairs, moreor less fan-
shaped, higherupwith1 or2pairs.Flowers 1 (or2or3) together. Pedicelarticulated
atbaseandunderthecalyx, 15-25mmlong, bracteoles basal.Calyx tubeellipsoid,
5-sulcate, constricted immediately belowtheexpanded limb,5-5.5 mmlong; limb
c.2.5mm long, patenttoslightlyrecurved atanthesis, atanthesis abouthalfaslong
as thetube. Corollatubular,curvedtoslightly S-shaped, 28-35by 5-10mm, out-
sidecompletely glabrous, dirtygreenpurple topink,lobestriangular, c. 3by 3mm.
Disk glabrous. Filamentsadherentatbase in bud, free,7-7.5mmlong, 0.25-0.28
timesas long as the anthers(incl. the 10-12mmlong tubules);anthers25-27mm
long, subsmooth, basal processes slightly turnedin, muriculate,thecae c. 15 mm
long. Ovary 5-locular. Style 33-35mmlong, glabrous. Fruitwoody, purple black.
Distribution - Papua New Guinea: Central Province, Mt Yule, 8° 12'37" S,
146°47'E.
Habitat- Edgeofscrub,common, 3270m.
Notes - Plantscollectedin August 1968by Woods (2966-b,L) aboveWoitape
(8° 33'S, 147°15' E), about65 km to the SEofMt Yule, and cultivatedin the
Royal BotanicGardensofEdinburgh (acc. no. 710179-G49) have thesametype of
leaves, buttheflowersare significantly smallerwitha corollaofc. 23 by 10mm,
18-20mmlongantherswith9-11 mmlong thecaeand8-9mmlongtubules.
162 BLUMEA VOL. 36, No. 1, 1991
A somewhatsimilarfan-shaped basalnervature oftheblades,butnot the cordate
base, is foundinA.sclerophylla Sleum.(seeSleumer: 1967,fig. 118, 119).
Agapetes shungolensis Stevens (1973)differsby apparently being atreelet,blades
oblong toobovate-oblong, 11-17mmwide,basecuneate,nerves pinnate, bracteoles
insertedabovethebaseofthe 12-15mmlongpedicels, calyxtube urceolate,terete,
narrowed belowthe limb, 3-4.25mmwide, limb 1.2 mm long, corollac.3 mm
wide,filaments8-10mmlong, connateforthemajorpart,anthers 22-24mmlong,
thecae 10-12mmlong, muriculateallover.
Agapetes carriiSleum.has somewhatsimilarleaves,buta hairy, 18-20mmlong
corolla, c. 2mmlong filaments, markedly granular, 6-7 mmlong anther-cells, tu-
bules9-10mmlong, styles c. 17 mmlong.
NamedafterMr.MaxKudukoftheBotany Department, University ofPapua New
Guinea, PortMoresby, whose companyI enjoyed duringour trips to Mt Falaand
MtYule.
2. Rhododendron (180) alticolum Sleum. x Rhododendron (74) rubel-
lumSleum.
Rhododendronalticolumwas placed insectionVireyasubsectionEuvireya series
Buxifolia by Sleumer(e.g. 1966:597,no. 180),butVanRoyen (1982:1667)regarded
itasamemberoftheseriesJavanicabecauseadditionalcollectionswereofspecimens
withleavesup to8(-9) cm long. Mr.MaxKuduk andI collectedthis species onMt
Yule,apparendy anewrecord(Veldkamp &Kuduk8505, L).
ThesubsectionEuvireya hassessile, 'star-shaped' scales; theleavesfeelsmooth.
Rhododendronalticolumhas smoothbranchlets,leaveswithacuneate baserunning
downalong thepetioleforabit, anessentially glabrous corolla,the fewscalesentire,
andanovary coveredby scalesonly, whilethestyle is glabrous.
In thesamearea R. rubellum(Sleumer, 1966:526, no. 74)ofthesection Vireya
subsectionPhaeovireya wasfound(Veldkamp & Kuduk8506,L).
The subsection Phaeovireya has dendroidscales, i.e. scales placed on top ofa
distinctpersistent stalkortubercle, whereby theleavesfeelscabrid, especiallybelow.
Rhododendronrubellumhas pusticulate branchlets, leaveswitharather abruptly
cuneate to subtruncatebase, a corollawithappressed fimbriatescales, andanovary
andthelowerpartofthe style coveredby bothscales andstiffhairs.
Veldkamp &Kuduk8505-A and-B (L) apparently representhybrids betweenR.
alticolumand;R.rubellum.Theleaveshaveamixedindumentofsubsessileandshortly
stalked subentirescalesandarerough tothetouch.Thebranchletsare nearlysmooth,
thebladeshavethe baseofR. alticolum, thecorollahasappressed entiretoslightly
stellatescales, and8505-Aa styleandovary as inR. rubellum. Veldkamp &Kuduk
8505-B hasanovary withmuchsmallersetae, only slightly longer thanthe scales
andthusapproaches R.alticolummore.
Inthecollectionswemadethereare also differencesin theaspectoftheleaves.
ThoseofVeldkamp &Kuduk8505(R. rubellum) areratherthick, greyish aboveand
yellowish greenbelow,also thenerves, withstrongly involutemargins afterdrying.
InVeldkamp & Kuduk8506(R. alticolum) andVeldkamp & Kuduk8505-A and -B
(the putative hybrid) they are lessthick, olivegreenabove,andbrownishbeneathwith
J.F.Veldkamp: Notes on Ericaceae from PapuaNew Guinea 163
dark nerves because thesubentire scales havea larger surface thanin the fimbriate
onesofR. rubellum; themargins are only slightly revolute. Thusto thenakedeye
thespecimens of8505-A,-fl, and8506arevery similar, butwiththelenstheindument
places 8505-A and-B muchcloserto8505.
If8505-Aand-B hadbeentheonly collections, they mighthavebeenmistakenor
R. culminicolumF. Muell.var. culminicolum, whichisknown tooccur intheOwen
StanleyRange, although notyetseenfromMtYule. Inthistaxon,.however,the scales
are quiteappressed against bladeandcorolla,andmoreregularly circularinoutline.
Shortsetaeontheovary similarto8505-Bwereobserved inSzent-Ivany5andLAE
(Stevens& Coode)51392 (bothinL) fromMtStrong, Nof MtYule.
3. Vaccinium (§ Oarianthe) candidum Veldk., spec. nov.
Vaccinio sororio J.J.Smith similis, sed in marginibusfoliorum 2-4 paribus glandularum
minutarum,floribus candidis,filamentis basi paulodilatatislaevibus,styloglabradiffert.—Typus:
Veldkamp& Kuduk 8324 (L,holo; iso tobe distributed),Papua New Guinea,Central Prov., Mt
Fala, 8°58'S, 147°38' 30"E, 2785 m, 6 October 1989.
Shrublet, c. 30 cm high. Blades (obovate-)elliptic, 7-10by 5-6mm,base cun-
eate, marginentire, slightly involutei.s., with2-4 glandular dots,apexrounded,
acumenbluntly acute.Pedicelsandpeduncles 3-5mmlong. Calyx glabrous, tube2
by 1.75-2mm,limb1-1.25mmlong, lobes 1-1.25by 1.75-2mm,acutish, margin
ciliolate.Corolla urceolate,6-7by 3-4.75mm,white,outside glabrous,insidepilose
inthe upperhalf, lobes c. 1.2mm long, revolute.Disk glabrous. Filaments 1.75-
2.5mmlong, pilose;anthers1.1-1.25mmlong, muricate, tubules0.3-0.4mmlong.
Styleglabrous or withafewhairs atbase.
Distribution- Papua NewGuinea: CentralProvince, MtFala.
Habitat- Hummocksinmarshy, subalpine grassland,2785 m.
Collector'snotes - Shrublet.Branches castaneous.Leaves erecto- patent,above
dark green,shiny, below black-dotted(invisible i.s.). Flowers pendulous, white.
Common.
Notes- SimilartoV. sororiumJ.J.Smith,but therethe marginofthebladeshas
a distinctglandabovethebase,theflowersarereddishtopink, thefilamentsaredilated
atbase,muriculate,andthestyleis hairy.
Namedforitswhiteflowers.
4. Vaccinium (§ Bracteata) obedii Veldk., nom. et stat. nov.
Vaccinium acutissimum F.Muell. var.pilosistylum Sleum.,Blumea 11 (1961)70;Fl.Males. I,6
(1967)831; Royen,Alp. Fl.New Guinea 3 (1982) 1842,t. 563. —Type: Brass& Collins
31014 (K, holo, L, fragm.;CANB, LAE,US), Papua New Guinea,EHighlands Prov., Mt
Otto, 5°58' 37"S, 145° 39'30"E, 3540 m, 12 August 1959.
Shrub,up to3m. Innovationsgreypuberulous. Blades (ovate-) elliptic, upto 20
by 12mm, abovedirty greyish olive(i.s.), belowgreenish to chocolatebrown(i.s.),
base rounded,margins entire, revolute, apexacuminate.Inflorescence patently grey
puberulous. Floralbracts early caducous. Calyxlobeseglandular. Corollaobconical
to oblong-urceolate, narrowedbelow the erect torevolute lobes, 6 by 3mm, tube
164 BLUMEA VOL. 36,No. 1, 1991
glabrous, smooth,lobesc. 1mmlong, 0.2timesaslong asthetube.Filamentshaiiy
atbase;anthercellsc. 1mmlong; tubulesc.0.5mmlong, inbudwith 1-fewerectflat
lobesat theupper margin, goneat anthesis. Disk glabrous. Style glabrous, in the
lowerpart microscopically papillose.
Distribution Papua NewGuinea; EHighlands Province, MtOtto.
-
Habitat- Subalpine scrub, c. 3500m.
Collector'snotes- Branchesascending. Leaveshorizontal.Inflorescenceserect,
flowers horizontal.Corollabloodred. Frequent.
Notes- Sleumer(1961,1967),followedbyVanRoyen(1982), regarded thistaxon
from theEasternHighlands as a varietyofV.acutissimum fromtheCentralProv.,
differing by the pilosediskandstylebase.Comparison ofVeldkamp & Obedi8651
withthefragmentof thetypeinL(notthebasisofVan Royen's plate!) showedagood
match,but anabsenceofthepilosity. Thestyle atbase has microscopic glands, but
nothairs.Thetubuleshaveno glands attheapex, as shouldbepresentin V.acutis-
simum,but someflatappendages thathave disappeared atanthesis. This,therefore,
is adistinctspecies.
As thevarietalepithetis misleading, ithas notbeenretainedatthespecific level.It
is nownamedafterMr.SimonObedioftheBotanicGardeninLae,whosecompany
Ienjoyed duringatriptoMtOttoin 1989.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TheseFieldstudies onMtFala,Mt.Otto, and MtYule in 1989 couldnothavebeen madewith-
outthefacilitieskindlyextendedby thePost&Telecommunications Corp., PapuaNew Guinea,the
cooperationoftheForestResearch Institute,Lae,and theBotanyDepartment,University ofPapua
New Guinea,PortMoresby,whicharegratefullyacknowledgedhere.
REFERENCES
ROYEN, P.van.1982. AlpineFlora ofNewGuinea 3: 1842,L 563. Vaduz.
SLEUMER, H. 1961.Florae malesianae precursores. XXVIII.The genus Vaccinium in Malaysia.
Blumea 11:70.
SLEUMER,H. 1966-1967. Ericaceae. Fl.Males.I,6:831,878-885, figs. 116-119.
STEVENS,P.F. 1973.Notesonthe inffagenericclassification ofAgapetes,with four newtaxafrom
NewGuinea. NotesRoy. BoL Gard.Edinburgh32: 13-28.
