Skip to main content

Convex leaf kamala (Mallotus bullatus) resembles M. philippensis var. reticulatus and M. philippensis var. philippensis

Convex leaf kamala (Mallotus bullatus) resembles M. philippensis var. reticulatus and M. philippensis var. philippensis

NEWS - Convex leaf kamala (Mallotus bullatus M.T.An & J.H.Yu, sp. nov.), a species new to science discovered in Guizhou, China, based on morphological, micromorphological, and molecular evidence resembles Mallotus philippensis var. reticulatus and Mallotus philippensis var. philippensis.

Mallotus was established by De Loureiro in 1790 based on Mallotus cochinchinensis Lour. (Loureiro 1790). It currently consists of about 150 species, mostly shrubs or trees, distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Australia, and the Pacific with a few species found in tropical Africa and Madagascar.

In 2023, during a botanical survey at Maolan National Nature Reserve in Guizhou, Ming-Tai An and Jiang-Hong Yu from Guizhou University in Guiyang and colleagues discovered a possible new species of Euphorbiaceae. Field investigations and specimen collection led to the conclusion of the new taxon.

Mallotus bullatus is a shrub, 1.5–2.5 m tall; twigs, young leaves, and inflorescences densely covered with yellowish-brown disc-shaped glandular hairs. Leaves simple, alternate, ovate or lanceolate, 5–18 (-22) × 3–6 cm, thickly papery, apex acuminate, base rounded or cuneate, margins entire or nearly so, sometimes bearing red glands, surface bullate, upper surface glabrous;

Lower surface densely greyish-yellow clustered-tomentose, with long soft solitary or clustered hairs on the veins, and scattered red disc-like glands; basal veins 3, lateral veins 3–4 pairs, looped and joined near the margin; extrafloral nectaries, 2–4, brown, near the base; petiole round 2–5 (-9) cm long, slightly pulvinate at both ends, covered with clustered hairs.

Inflorescences racemose, terminal, solitary or clustered, solely staminate or pistillate, or mixed with pistillate flowers in lower part and staminate ones in upper part; sometimes apparently bisexual flowers also present.

Staminate inflorescences 5–10 cm long, bracts ovate, ca. 1 mm long, pedicel 1–2 mm long, calyx lobes 5, oblong, ca. 2 mm long, densely covered with stellate hairs, with red disc-like glands; stamens 28–30.

Pistillate inflorescences 3–8 cm long, bracts ovate, about 1 mm long; pedicels ca. 1–2 mm long; calyx lobes 4, ovate, densely covered with stellate hairs outside, ca. 3mm long; ovary hairy, stigmas 3 split, 3–4 mm long, stigmas densely set with feather-like papillae on upper surface; some pistillate flowers sometimes bisexual, then with 1 or 2 stamens, the filaments almost as long as the anthers.

Bisexual inflorescences 5–10 cm long, with 3–6 staminate flowers at the apex, lower part entirely pistillate; bracts ovate. Capsule subglobose, with spines, ca. 6–8 mm in diameter, fruit wall thickness ca.1–2 mm, 3 carpellate, densely covered with red disc-like glands; seeds black, ovate or globose, naked with late mature stage.

M. bullatus can be distinguished from M. philippensis var. reticulatus and M. philippensis var. philippensis of leaves with a bullate surface, sometimes containing red glands, male flowers 5 sepals, fruits with spines, tricolporate pollen grains with a clear groove containing a protrusion in the pit, leaf vein hairs scattered and clustered abaxially 0.1–0.8 mm long.

This new species is only known from the karst landscape in Libo County, Guizhou Province, China, at an elevation of 700–900 m. Flowers from April to May and fruits from May to August. "Bullatus" refers to the convex leaf areola. Simplified Chinese: 荔波野桐; Chinese Pinyin: lì bō yě tóng.

During 2023–2024, researchers sampled M. bullatus population and found two additional distribution points near the original discovery site of the species. Each location contained about 30 plants.

The habitat of M. bullatus is mostly in karst scrub, which is spread from the foothills to the middle of the mountains. The habitat of the plant has poor soil fertility, low water retention capacity and frequent drought conditions. The researchers suggest the status of the new species as Data Deficient “DD”.

Original research

Yu J-H, Chen Z-R, An M-T, Yu D-L, Liu F, Xu J, Tang Y-B, Wang Y-R, Zou H-K (2024). Mallotus bullatus (Euphorbiaceae), a new species from Southwest China based on morphological characters and phylogenetic evidence. PhytoKeys 249: 13-25, DOI:10.3897/phytokeys.249.131824

Dlium theDlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...
Read more

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...
Read more

Javanese grasshopper (Valanga nigricornis)

Wooden grasshopper or Javanese grasshopper ( Valanga nigricornis ) is an animal species of Acrididae, grasshoppers that have at least 18 subspecies, insects with very wide diversity in color and size, sexual dimorphism in which females are larger in size and paler in color. V. nigricornis in males has a length of 45-55 millimeters and females 15-75 mm. The head is square and green or yellow or brown or black in color. A pair of antennas has a black color. The eyes are large and gray or white or brownish. The hind legs are very large and have a green or yellow or brown or black color, plain or brindle. The limbs have two rows of large and long spines with black tips facing backward. The wings have a length exceeding the belly, a rough surface and are brown or green or yellow or black in color with pulse lines forming spaces filled with black color. The hind wings are rose red which will be visible when flying. Nymphs are pale green or yellow or brown or blackish in color. Javanese gr...
Read more