C. longiflora is so closely related to C. angolensis that the differences are not clear from the descriptions. Some of the plants which I observed in the Belgian Congo agreed equally well with the descriptions of each and it seems possible that future investigation will result in the synonymizing of C. angolensis with the earlier described C. longiflora. H. Kohl (1909, p. 166) states that C. longiflora differs specifically from C. physinodes and C. angolensis " in the sparse, short pilosity of the style, which is very strikingly narrowed toward the apex." The style of C. physinodes is described as glabrous, which is also the case with C. acutiflora and C. subuliflora. C. angolensis, however, agrees with C. longiflora in having the style pilose, as was mentioned in the original description and as I have observed in my Congo specimens. Cuviera macroura K. Schumann "Branches slender, not fistulose nor swollen, cylindrical, even the young ones flattened and glabrous. Leaves short petiolate, lanceolate or suboblong-lanceolate, subacuminate, acute at the base, margined, glabrous on both sides, somehow folded by drying. Stipules tubulose-connate, bidentate, accrescent, finally pierced by the inflorescences and withering away, villose inside. Flower panicle tripartite from the base, with many or dense flowers, glabrous, Bracts linear, acuminate. Ovary 5celled. Sepals linear, acuminate, glabrous, united at the base into a cupule. Lobes of the corolla with very long appendages. Style hirsute. "The flowering branches are 30 cm. long and only 3 mm. thick at the base; they are covered with brownish-black bark. The petiole is 3 to 5 mm. long and flattened above; the blade has a length of 9 to 15 cm. and in the middle is 2.5 to 4 cm. wide; it is crossed on each side of the midrib by 6 to 7 stronger veins which are prominent on both surfaces, but almost more so on the upper side; in dried condition it is black green above, leather-yellow below. The stipules are 7 mm. long. The 3 bracteoles are about 1.5 cm. long. The calyx has a total length of 1.6 cm., of which 1.3 cm. is to be allowed for the lobes. The corolla is 2 cm. long, half of this belonging to the appendages of the lobes. The stamens and anthers measure 1.5 mm. "The species strikingly differs from all the West African ones in its small leaves and the long appendages of the corollar lobes" (K. Schumann, 1903). Southern Nigeria: Lagos (Millen). Cuviera minor Wright "Differs from the other species in its smaller, membranous leaves. "A small tree. Branches ash-colored. Leaves ovate or oblong-ovate, acuminate, slightly uneven-sided, rounded or short cuneate at the base, glabrous; with about 6 lateral veins on each side of the midrib; 11.5 cm. long, 4.5 cm. broad. Petiole grooved above, slender. Stipules broadly triangular, dropping. Inflorescences axillary, with many flowers, 4 cm. long. Bracts oblong, narrowed at the base and at the apex, 8 mm. long. Lobes of the calyx 5, subfoliaceous, lanceolate, 8 mm. long. Tube of the corolla 4 mm. long, inside near the base with a ring of hairs bent downward. Lobes of the corolla triangular, acuminate-caudate, 1 cm. long, pilose externally, yellowish. Stamens 5, inserted between the lobes of the corolla; anthers sagittate, twice as long as the filaments. Ovary 5-celled, each with one ovule. Style 8 mm. long; stigma flask-shaped" (C. H. Wright, 1906). Gold Coast: Kimaha (Johnson). Cuviera nigrescens (Scott-Elliot) Cuviera nigrescens (Scott-Elliot) Wernham, 1911, Journ. of Botany, London, XLIX, p. 321. Vangueria nigrescens Scott-elliot, 1894, Journ. Linn. Soc. London, Botany, XXX, No. 206, p. 81. Oliver, 1894, in Hooker's 'Icones Plantarum,' XXIII, pt. 4, Pi. MMCCLXXXIII. Cuviera trichostephana K. Schumann, 1897, Engler's Bot. Jahrb., XXIII, 4, p. 461. "A shrub with terete, grayish, glaucous branches, in youth black and covered with lenticels. Leaves becoming black by drying, very glabrous (except in the axils of the veins where they are hirsute), oblong-ovate or obovate, obtusely acuminate, subcuspidate, with coriaceous margin, narrowed at the base; 5 to 8 cm. long and 2 to 3 cm. broad; 5 or 6 pairs of lateral veins; petiole 6 to 8 mm. long. Stipules hirsute inside, rounded at the base, elongate-acuminate along the back, 3 to 5 mm. long. Peduncles faintly pilose, 5- to 10-flowered, 8 mm. long. Pedicels about 6 mm. long. Bracts ovate, obtuse, with reticulate venation, 8 to 9 mm. long and 4 mm. broad. Calyx with 5 large lobes, which are lanceolate, subacute, 8 to 9 mm. long and 2 mm. broad. Lobes of the corolla caudate-acuminate, 15 to 17 mm. long (the acumen 3 to 4 mm.), sparsely hirsute on the outside with white hairs 1 mm. long, internally with a ring of reflexed pile. Filaments 2 mm., anthers 1 to 2 mm. long. Stigma cylindric, large, 1 to 2 mm. long and 1 mm. broad. Ovary 5-celled" (Scott-Elliot, 1894). Sierra Leone: in the forest between 1000 and 3600 feet; near Kafogo in Limba and near Falaba (C. F. Scott-Elliot). Liberia: Golah Forest (Bunting). The Liberia specimens differ from those of Sierra Leone only in the length of the caudae of the corolla-lobes, which in the former appear to be longer and more setaceous in character (Wernham). Both Scott-Elliot and Oliver compare this species with the two other Vanguerix with caudate corolla-lobes: V. velutina Hiern, which has densely tomentose leaves and inflorescences; and V. pauciflora Schweinfurth, with solitary or geminate flowers and truncate calyx. This species was evidently redescribed by K. Schumann, in 1897, as Cuviera trichostephana, on part of the material collected in Sierra Leone by Scott-Elliot. For the sake of completeness, Schumann's description of C. trichostephana is translated here: A woody plant with slender, terete or subtetragonal branches, very glabrous even in youth. Leaves on the specimen examined not completely developed, petiolate, oblong, shortly and obtusely acuminate, acute at the base and often suhoblique, glabrous on both sides, but the axils of the veins with minute hairy domatia; stipules lineate-subulate, with triangular base. Axillary cyme with few flowers, glabrous; ovary 5-celled, glabrous; calyx with foliaceous or membranaceous, oblong, sharp lobes. Corolla divided to beyond its middle, with a corona of decumbent hairs inside, pilose at the outer side, with very long, caudate, linear-lanceolate lobes. The branch at hand is 15 cm. long and at most 2 mm. thick at the base. The petiole reaches a length of 1 cm. and is slightly excavated above. The blade is 4 to 9 cm. long and 2 to 4 cm. broad in the middle; traversed by 5 stronger veins on each side of the midrib; black when dried; herbaceous in the specimen studied, but the leaves are apparently not yet fully developed. The stipules reach a length of 7 to 8 mm. The entire inflorescence is about 3 cm. long. The pedicels of t'ie flowers reach a length of 5 mm. The ovary is semiglobose and 1.5 mm. long. The lobes of the calyx reach 10 mm. in length and 3 mm. in width. The corolla is 2.2 to 2.5 cm. long, of which the tube takes 9 to 10 mm. only. The anthers are 2 mm. long, placed on filaments 3 to 4 mm. long, exserted from the tube and curved. The style is 1.7 cm. long. This species is easily separated from all others by the corolla covered with hairs, the smaller leaves, and the short inflorescences. It has more the appearance of the genus Vangueria, so that it makes the generic limits less distinct. Sierra Leone (C. F. Scott-Elliot). Cuvieraphysinodes K.Schumann Cuviera physinodes K. Schumann, 1891, Pringsheim's Jahrb. Wiss. Bot., XIX, pp. 55-56; 1891, in Engler and Prantl, 'Die Naturl. Pflanzenfam.,' IV, pt. 4, p. 12, fig. 5,1. Cuviera physcinodes H. Kohl, 1909, Natur u. Offenbarung, LV, pp. 162-163. "Leaves large, 20 to 30 cm. long, 7.5 to 11 cm. broad, with thick petiole, ovateoblong or oblong, shortly and obtusely acuminate, equilateral at the base, coriaceous, glabrous on both sides. Ovary 5-celled; stigma glabrous. Drupe oblong, 3 cm. long, about 1 cm. in diameter, acute at the apex, acuminate at the base, without ribs. "It is a tree-like shrub about 3 m. high, with large, leathery leaves. The cymes are axillary, with many flowers, short, ramified; only a few of the greenish white flowers produce fruit, though all seem to possess well-developed ovaries. The cylindrical internodes, covered with gray bark, are regularly thickened in their upper part, but do not develop swellings there. The swellings are situated rather above, and close to the nodes" (K. Schumann, 1888). Gaboon: Sibange farm, type locality (Soyaux). The myrmecodomatia of this species have been briefly described by K. Schumann from dried specimens. One of the hollow, nodal swellings had a length of 3.5 cm. and greatest diameter of about 1 cm., the wall being about 1.5 mm. thick. The inner cavity was nearly spindle-shaped and ended slightly below the node; three openings led into the cavity; one of these, 2 mm. long and 1.5 mm. broad, was probably alone used as entrance, while the two others were reduced to mere slits, 1 mm. long and hardly 0.5 mm. wide. Traces of former holes, evidently closed by callus growth, could be seen on two other spots. A few remains of ants were found inside the swellings. Cuviera plagiophylla K. Schumann "A shrub with thick, fistulose-inflate branches, which, even when young, are glabrous. Leaves strictly sessile, linear-oblong, short acuminate, rounded at the base, strongly inequilateral, glabrous on both surfaces. Stipules tubular, villose internally. Flower panicle axillary, with many flowers. Bracts very long, linear, acuminate. Ovary 5-celled. Sepals free almost to their base, linear, acute. Corolla with very short tube; the lobes acuminate, moderately appendiculate, cristate dorsally. Style glabrous. "The bush reaches a height of 5 m. The leaves are 28 to 30 cm. long and 8 to 9 cm. broad; they are crossed on each side of the midrib by about 16 stronger veins, which are more prominent on the under side, as are also the reticulate veins; they are black when dry. The stipules are 9 mm. long. The lobes of the calyx are 11 mm. long and somewhat obtuse. The corolla is greenish-white, 15 mm. long, of which 2 mm. is to be allowed for the tube; the appendages measure 5 mm.; the keels on the dorsal face of the lobes make the bud sharply 5-ribbed. "The species is very distinct by the strictly sessile, very oblique leaves and the acutely keeled corolla-lobes" (K. Schumann, 1903). Cameroon: Bipindi, near Lokundje (Zenker). Cuviera subuliflora Bentham Cuviera subuliflora Bentham, 1849, in Bentham and Hooker, 'Niger Flora,' p. 407. Hiern, 1877, in Oliver, 'Flora of Tropical Africa,' III, p. 157. "An arborescent shrub or small tree of 15 feet, glabrous. Branches subterete, smooth, opposite. Leaves oblong, shortly acuminate, oblique and hollowed or rounded or somewhat narrowed at the base, chartaceous, rather paler beneath, 6 to 15 by 2 to 4% in.; lateral veins about 12 to 14 pairs, slender; petiole \\ in. long; stipules deltoid, connate at the base, keeled near the apiculate apex, ){ to % in. long, hairy within. Flowers numerous, on short pedicels, in divaricately branched axillary and lateral, subsessilc, dichotomous panicles of 2 to 3 in. diameter; bractcoles linear, narrowed at both ends, % to l% in. long, accrescent as well as the calyx-segments. Calyx whitish; segments narrowly or at length broadly linear, ranging up to 1 in. long. Corolla green; segments about }i in. long, lanceolate, caudate-acuminate. Style glabrous. Ovary 5-celled. Fruit 1 in. long, obliquely egg-shaped" (Hiern, 1877). Fernando Po; on the sea shore (Vogel). Southern Nigeria: Abo (Vogel). Cuviera triloculare Hiern Cuviera trilocularis Hiern^ 1877, in Oliver,'Flora of Tropical Africa,' III, p. 157. "A small glabrous tree. Branches subterete, smooth. Leaves ovate-oval, acuminate, rounded and suboblique at the base, thinly coriaceous, glossy, of nearly the same color on both sides, 4 to 5 by 1% to 2 in.; lateral veins about 8 to 10 pairs; petiole % to }i in.; stipules apiculate, ovate, keeled, ){in. Flowers on short pedicels, several together, in the terminal or subterminal axils; panicles l)i to 2 in. diameter; common peduncle about )i in., bracteoles lanceolate, % to % in. long. Calyx-segments greenish white, % in. long or rather more, linear-elliptical, acute, narrowed toward the base. Corolla shorter than the calyx; lobes lanceolate, caudate-acute. Style glabrous: stigma 10-sulcate. Ovary 3-celled" (Hiern, 1877). Southern Nigeria. Old Calabar (W. C. Thomson). Ecology Of Cuviera In The Belgian Congo The representatives of this genus observed by me mostly occurred in low-lying or moist places, though not in those apt to be frequently flooded; raised river banks are favorite sites. Usually growing as shrubs or bushes, 2 to 4 meters high, under favorable conditions they may become small, pyramidal, bushy trees of 5 to 7 meters. The trunk is slender, erect, and destitute of branches below where it often, but not always, bears opposite, decussate, very sharp spines, 2 to 5 cm. long. The long, slender branches spread more or less horizontally and their tips hang down somewhat. In accordance with the decussation of the leaves, they are placed opposite each other in four regular rows. As a rule the upper part of the plant is unarmed, though in some specimens one finds in the axils of the leaves heavy, straight spines, evidently modified, aborted branches.1 The leaves are very large, 10 to 25 cm. long, 5 to 11 cm. broad, borne on a short petiole (of about 1 cm.), entire and simple, thinly coriaceous, smooth and glabrous on both sides, dull green above, paler below; usually cuspidate or more or less acuminate at the apex, oblique and rounded or slightly heart-shaped at the base. The lateral nervures are rather thin, more conspicuous on the under side of the leaf, and number 8 to 10 on each side of the midrib. The stipules are connate into a short, loose sheath, which is keeled, acuminate, and about 0.5 to 1.5 cm. long. The base of this stipular sheath persists on older branches. The plant is not often seen blossoming. Welwitsch, in Angola, found flowers in April and May and fruits in August; while in the Belgian Congo, flowering specimens were seen by Dewevre in March (Lukolela) and by me in February (Penge), July (Kunga), and December (between MasisiandWalikale); fruits were found in January, 1915, between Walikale and Lubutu on a plant not in flower. From these very incomplete data, which may relate to different species, it would appear that Cuviera blossoms from December to July, yet it is quite possible that there is no definite flowering season, as is so often the case with bushes and trees of tropical rain forests. < Dewevre in his field-notes accurately describes the flowers of C. angolensis. They are large, conspicuously colored, and placed as many as a dozen together in axillary, polygamous panicles, toward the upper end of the younger branches. The common peduncle is 0.5 to 4 cm. long, while the pedicels are very short, the flowers being subsessile in the axils iKohl (1909, p. 164) and De Wildeman (1906, p. 297) also note that the branches of certain specimens of Cuviera angolensis are unarmed, whereas in others they are spinose. There is a possibility that these differences are of specific value. |