Malesian Euphorbiaceae Descriptions

95. STROPHIOBLACHIA (Euphorbiaceae)

N.N. Thin, V.H. Duc & P.C. van Welzen

Thin, N.N., V.H. Duc & P.C. van Welzen. 1998. A revision of the Indochinese-Malesian genus Strophioblachia (Euphorbiaceae). Blumea 43: 479–487.

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Genus description

Species description

Strophioblachia Boerl.

    Strophioblachia Boerl., Handl. Fl. Ned. Indië 3, 1 (1900) 235; Pax & K.Hoffm. in Engl., Pflanzenr. IV.147.iii (1911) 35; Merr., Enum. Philipp. Fl. Pl. 2 (1923) 455; Gagnep. in Lecomte, Fl. Indo-Chine 5 (1926) 408; Airy Shaw, Kew Bull. 37 (1982) 36; Alph. Enum. Euphorb. Philipp. Isl. (1983) 45; G.L.Webster, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 81 (1994) 107; Thin, Duc & Welzen, Blumea 43 (1998) 484; Radcl.-Sm., Gen. Euphorbiacearum (2001) 305; Welzen in Welzen & Chayam., Fl. Thailand 8, 2 (2007) 559; G.L.Webster in Kubitzki, Fam. Gen. Vasc. Pl. 11 (2014) 176. — Type species: Strophioblachia fimbricalyx Boerl.

Small shrub to treelet, monoecious. Indumentum consisting of simple hairs, glabrescent. Stipules absent, but bracts of axillary buds persistent and stipule-like, glabrous to hairy, stiff chartaceous. Leaves simple, alternate; petiole not to basally and apically slightly pulvinate; blade panduriform to cordate to obovate, papery, symmetric, not punctate; base emarginate to rounded; margin entire, flat; apex acuminate to caudate, very apex rounded to acute; venation pinnate, basally with 2 (or 4 when cordate or panduriform) footnerves, nerves looped and closed near the margin, veins and veinlets indistinctly reticulate. Inflorescences terminal racemes to thyrses, either staminate (with up to more than 10 flowers, each alternate or up to 5 per cymule), pistillate (up to c. 5 flowers, often more per node), or mixed with the pistillate flowers basally and the staminate ones apically, the latter appearing later, axes short, glabrous to pilose, glabrescent. Bracts ovate to usually obovate and leaf-like, pilose with simple cilia or glandular hairs. Flowers actinomorphic, petals shorter than sepals; sepals 5, imbricate, free, ovate. Staminate flowers: sepals hairy to glabrous; petals (0 or) 5, reduced to fully developed, obovate or obdeltoid, glabrous, membranous; disc lobes episepalous, 5 (or 10), bilobed, trilobed, or separate, glabrous; stamens 15–50, filaments filiform, often adnate to others, glabrous, anthers basifixed, 2-locular, opening latero-extrors with a longitudinal slit; pistillode absent. Pistillate flowers: sepals glabrous except when young, 5-nerved, margin usually fringed with long glandular fimbriae in 1 (or 2) rows, when (partly) absent margin densely pilose or subglabrous; petals absent (to seldom present and sepal-like); disc ring-like, glabrous; ovary glabrous, 3- (or 4-)locular, ovules one per locule; style present, short; stigmas split except for the basal part, spreading horizontally, glabrous above, few hairs present, persistent. Fruit a 3- (or 4-)lobed rhegma, outside and inside glabrous, dehiscing septicidally and loculicidally; wall thin, woody; pedicel elongated; sepals persistent, accrescent, glabrous; column after dehiscence basally slightly thickened, apically somewhat broadened with 3 or 4 traces of veins per septum, margins with narrow fibrous strips of septa remnants. Seeds usually 3 per fruit, marbled, carunculate, endotesta fibrous. Embryo flat, erect, anatropous, surrounded by copious endosperm.

    Distribution — Monotypic, found in SE Asia main land (S China, Thailand, Kampuchea, Vietnam) and Malesia: Philippines and Sulawesi.

Strophioblachia fimbricalyx Boerl.

    Strophioblachia fimbricalyx Boerl., Handl. Fl. Ned. Indië 3, 1 (1900) 236, 284; Merr., Philipp. J. Sci. 4 (1909) 284; Pax & K.Hoffm. in Engl., Pflanzenr. IV.147.iii (1911) 36; IV.147.v (1912) 285; Merr., Enum. Philipp. Fl. Pl. 2 (1923) 455; Airy Shaw, Kew Bull. 25 (1971) 544; Anonymous, Icon. Corm. Sinic. 2 (1972) 609, fig. 2948; Airy Shaw, Kew Bull. 37 (1982) 36; Alph. Enum. Euphorb. Philipp. Isl. (1983) 45; Ho, P.-h., Ill. Fl. Vietnam 2 (1992) 348, fig. 4362; Thin, Duc & Welzen, Blumea 43 (1998) 485, Fig. 1–4, Map 1; Welzen in Welzen & Chayam., Fl. Thailand 8, 2 (2007) 559, Fig. 84-86. — Strophioblachia fimbricalyx Boerl. var. fimbricalyx: Airy Shaw, Kew Bull. 25 (1971) 544. — Neotype (designated by Thin et al., 1998): Forsten s.n. (L, holo, barcode L 0023492; iso in L, barcodes L 0023493–6), Sulawesi.

    Strophioblachia glandulosa Pierre ex Pax in Pax & K.Hoffm. in Engl., Pflanzenr. IV.147.iii (1911) 36, fig. 10; Gagnep. in Lecomte, Fl. Indo-Chine 5 (1926) 409, fig. 48: 1–4; Airy Shaw, Kew Bull. 25 (1971) 544; Kew Bull. 26 (1972) 341; Ho, P.-h., Ill. Fl. Vietnam 2 (1992) 348, fig. 4363. — Strophioblachia glandulosa Pierre ex Pax var. glandulosa: Airy Shaw, Kew Bull. 25 (1971) 544. — Type: Pierre 588 (P, holo; iso in BO, UC), Cochinchina (Kampuchea / Cambodia), Prov. Tpong (= Shrok Thpong).

    Strophioblachia glandulosa Pierre ex Pax var. tonkinensis Gagnep. in Lecomte, Fl. Indo-Chine 5 (1926) 410. — Syntypes: All Vietnam (all P): d’Alleizette 456, Quang-yen; Balansa 707, Tankeuin; Bon 1967, Kien-khé; Bon 2083, Kien-khé; Bon 2571, Lat-son; Eberhardt 1542, Thua-thien; Eberhardt 3232, Langson; Eberhardt 4537, Prov. Bac-kan, Cho-moi; Eberhardt 4550, Prov. Bac-kan, Cho-moi; Eberhardt 4750, Prov. Bac-kan, Ba Be; Pétélot 832, Cho-ganh; Poilane 1235, Quang-tri Prov., Huyen-huong-hoa; Poilane 1654, Prov. de Thanh-hoa, Phong-y; Poilane 4692, Nha-trang; Poilane 10407, Quan-tri Prov., Dent du Tigre; Poilane 10496, Quan-tri, Dong-ché.

    Strophioblachia fimbricalyx Boerl. var. efimbriata Airy Shaw, Kew Bull. 25 (1971) 544. — Type: Morse 435 (K, holo), China, Kwangsi Prov., Lungchow.

    Strophioblachia glandulosa Pierre ex Pax var. cordifolia Airy Shaw, Kew Bull. 25 (1971) 545; Kew Bull. 26 (1972) 34. — Type: Kerr 20481 (K, holo), Thailand, SE. Region, Rachasima Circle, Ban Pai, Kawn Ken (near Korat).

Small shrub to treelet, up to 2 m high, dbh up to 5 cm; flowering branches 1.5–3 mm thick, smooth, glabrescent. Bark rough. Leaves: petiole 0.5–7 cm long, glabrous to pilose, glabrescent; blade 6–19 by 1.3–9.5 cm, index 2–2.3, glabrous to subpilose and glabrescent on lower surface, venation flat above, raised below, nerves 6 or 7 per side between footnerves and apical sinus. Inflorescences up to 7 cm long, axes green. Bracts up to 13 by 2.5 mm. Staminate flowers 4–4.5 mm in diam.; pedicel 5–20 mm long, subpilose; sepals 3–4 by 2–3.5 mm, (green to) cream-white, glabrous when older; petals (0–)1–2.8 by (0–)1.2–3.8 mm; disc lobes 0.7–1.2 by 0.3–0.8 mm; stamens white to light yellow, filaments 1.8–2.8 mm long, anthers 0.3–0.6 by 0.3–0.5 mm. Pistillate flowers 5–15 mm in diam.; pedicel up to 13 mm long; sepals and fimbriae green to pale yellow, blade 4–8.5 by 2.8–4 mm, fimbriae up to 1 mm long; (petals ovate to elliptic, c. 4.5 by 2 mm); ovary 1.2–2 by 1.7–2 mm; style 0.9–2 mm long, stigmas 2.5–4.5 mm long, united in lower 0.5–1.4 mm. Fruit 11–13 by 8–10 mm, dark brown when dry, (dark) green when fresh, wall less than 1 mm thick; pedicel up to 23 mm long; sepals 12–15 by 7.5–10 mm with the fimbriae up to 4.2 mm long; column after dehiscence 6.5–7 mm long. Seeds ± globose, 6–7 by 5.5–6 by 4.5–5 mm. Embryo seen immature.

    Distribution — Thailand (Northeastern, Central, Southeastern), China (Kwangsi), Kampuchea (Shrok Thpong), Vietnam and Malesia: Philippines and Sulawesi. A typical dry monsoon distribution.

    Habitat & Ecology — Solitary to common plant, usually found in secondary forest, but also at the margin of primary forest, in dry Dipterocarp forest, deciduous forest, and (occasionally burned) bamboo forest. Soil: rocky, calcareous or sand. Altitude: sea level up to 250 m. Flowering and fruiting almost the whole year through (less so in November to January).

    Vernacular names — Philippines: Sallapigo, salsaligau (Iloko; Merrill 1923).

    Uses — In the Philippines, Mindoro, dry seeds are used in fermented drinks.