Volume 16 > Part 1 > Year 2022 > Page 79 > Annonaceae > Desmos

1. Desmos chinensis Lour.wfo-0000642348

Fl. Cochinch. 1: 352. 1790; Saff., Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 39: 506. 1912; Ridl., Fl. Malay Penins. 1: 46. 1922; Craib, Fl. Siam. 1: 37. 1925; Ast in Humbert, Fl. Indo-Chine Suppl. 1: 67. 1938; J.Sinclair, Gard. Bull. Singapore 14: 266. 1955; Grierson in Grierson & D. G. Long, Fl. Bhutan 1(2): 241. 1984; H.Huber in Dassan. & Fosberg, Revis. Handb. Fl. Ceylon 5: 9. 1985; Hô, Câyco Viêtnam 1(1): no. 851. 1991; K. W. Ng, Systematics of Desmos (Annonaceae) in Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra (M. Phil. Thesis, University of Hong Kong) 57. 2010; P.T.Li et al. in C.Y.Wu et al., Fl. China 19: 682. 2011; P. P. Kurmi in M. F. Watson et al., Fl. Nepal 3: 14. 2011; I.M.Turner, Gard. Bull. Singapore 64: 395. 2012; Gard. Bull. Singapore 70: 455. 2018.— Unona chinensis (Lour.) A.DC., Syst. Nat. 1: 495. 1817. Plate IX: A–B.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Synonyms & Citations :

Description : Woody climber or scandent shrub to 8 m high. Twigs appressed-pubescent to glabrate. Leaves chartaceous, rarely subcoriaceous, often glaucous below, oblong to broadly lanceolate, 4.5–15.5 by 2–6.5 cm, 1.9–3.2 times as long as wide, base rounded, truncate, or subcordate, apex acuminate, glabrate above, sparsely appressed-pubescent to glabrate below, secondary veins 7–14 per side, tertiary venation weakly percurrent; petioles 3–7(–10) mm long, glabrate. Inflorescences supra-axillary to internodal, pedicels green to purplish red in vivo, 17–45(–70) mm long, sparsely pubescent to glabrate with 1 linear to lanceolate bract 3–7(–10.5) mm long near or just below the midpoint. Sepals spreading to slightly reflexed, with apex sometimes recurved at maturity, lanceolate, 4–6(–11) mm long, apex acute. Petals yellow, sometimes reddish at the base, membranous, oblong-lanceolate to elliptic, acute to gradually obtuse, margin undulate, venation raised; outer petals 24–73(–95) by 7–18 mm; inner petals (16–)22–50 by 3–11 mm, with basal claw ca 2.5 mm wide. Stamens clavate, 0.8–1.2 mm long, anther connective apex truncate, glabrous. Carpels with ovaries oblong, sericeous, stigmas globose, glabrous. Fruit of up to ca 30 monocarps borne on a pedicel 24–53(–61) mm long, sepals not persistent. Monocarps red to black, moniliform, 0.6–5 by 0.4–0.7 cm, segments subglobose to ellipsoid (6–9 by 5–7 mm), smooth to slightly verrucose, sparsely hairy to glabrate, apiculate, base rounded, contracted into a stipe 4–15 by 0.7–2 mm. Seeds up to 8, commonly 4–6, ellipsoid to oblong-ellipsoid, 5–8 by 4–6 mm.

Thailand : NORTHERN: Chiang Mai, Nan, Sukhothai, Phitsanulok; NORTH-EASTERN: Nong Khai; EASTERN: Nakhon Ratchasima, Ubon Ratchathani; SOUTH-WESTERN: Kanchanaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan; CENTRAL: Saraburi, Nakhon Nayok, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok) (cultivated), Samut Prakan; SOUTH-EASTERN: Prachin Buri, Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi; PENINSULAR: Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani, Phangnga, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Trang, Satun, Songkhla, Yala, Narathiwat.

Distribution : India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Myanmar, China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, the Philippines.

Ecology : Moist or seasonal evergreen forests, sometimes disturbed or secondary growths, occasionally along streams, sea level to 900 m alt. Flowering: March–September; fruiting: August–March.

Vernacular : Khruea khao klaep (เครือเขาแกลบ)(Loei); sa lao (ส่าเหล้า)(Prachuap Khiri Khan); sai yut (สายหยุด)(Central); sao yut (สาวหยุด)(Central, Peninsular).

Notes: Desmos chinensis is widely planted in Thailand, and it is unclear to what extent it occurs as a wild plant, or how much of its variability is the result of horticultural modification. For example, Smith 648 and Winit 620, collected from cultivated individuals, have notably small leaves. A second variant, based on the collections Niyomdham et al. 189 and Phengklai et al. 3713, has denser indument of the leaf blade, petioles, pedicels, and flowers, a cuneate leaf base, and broader petals, and was distinguished under an unpublished name, Desmos latipetalus K.W.Ng, (M. Phil. Thesis, University of Hong Kong, 2010). The two collections on which this name was based are from widely separated areas, Prachin Buri and Phuket provinces, and no fruit is known. This variant deserves additional field study. The synonymy for D. chinensis largely follows Turner (2018).