Ixora acuminatissima Müll.Arg.
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Authority
Maguire, Bassett. 1967. The botany of the Guayana Highland--Part VII. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 17: 1-439.
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Family
Rubiaceae
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Scientific Name
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Discussion
Ixora gaillardii Standi., Field Mus. Publ. Bot. 11: 218. 1936.
Type. Alto Amazonas, ad Rio Vaupes, prope Panure, Amazonas Brazil, R. Spi'uce s.n.
This species has generally been known in herbaria under the binomial of 7.gaillardii Standley. Careful study of the photograph of the type collection of I. acuminatissima indicates that it and 7. gaillardii are conspecific. Although Miiller-Argoviensis described the corolla tube as glabrous without and the leaves as opposite in 7. acuminatissima, both in the original brief diagnosis and later (Mart. Fl. Brasil. 6(5): 64. 1881), Mr. N. Y. Sandwith carefully has checked the Kew Herbarium specimens in the Bentham herbarium and has verified my supposition that the exterior of the corolla-tube in the Spruce isotype from Brazil is minutely puberulent. According to Sandwith, the Kew isotype collection bears both corollas and fruits, but Miiller-Argoviensis stated in the Flora Brasiliensis (6(6): 65) that ‘‘Corollae et baccae ignotae.”
In Ixora gaillardii the exterior of the corolla-tube is minutely puberulent, as in the isotype specimen at Kew of 7. acuminatissima, and the leaves are usually ternately verticillate. Although the Kew photo of the Spruce isotype of 7. acuminatissima appears to show one group of leaves as opposite, the other as ternate, Mr. Sandwith reports in his letter of March 8. 1965, that what appears to be “a whorl in the middle of the photograph is really 2 pairs of leaves separated by an extremely short internode; the lowest pair of all may have been ternate, as there is some sign of a scar.”
After checking the specimens of the Spruce isotype of 7. acuminatissima at Kew with a Kew specimen of Williams 18122. identified as 7. gaillardii, Mr. Sandwith agreed with my conclusion that the two are conspecific.
The Spruce collections of 3234 and 3675 bear an unpublished herbarium name, "Ixora orinocensis" indicated by Spruce as a new species in manuscript. Standley misidentified specimens from British Guiana and Suriname in using this manuscript name of Spruce. These Spruce collections from Yenezuela are clearly matched with the 7. acuminatissima and 7. gaillardii specimens in herbaria.
Occasional specimens of Ixora acuminatissima have enlarged or monstrous forms of corollas, in which the corolla-tube is inflated. These all show some type of insect damage or disturbance, to which the deformation of the corolla-tube may be traced. The following specimens are examples of the inflated corolla-tube and enlarged corolla-buds: Maguire. Cowan & Wurdack 31022. Williams 11478, Cardona 725. and Killip 87359.
As two essential characters (externally minutely puberulent corolla-tube and ternatelv verticillate leaves) were lacking or mistated in the descriptions of Muller-Argoviensis. an emended description is given in part: Folia plerumque ternatim verticillata interdum opposita: corollae tubo 7-10 mm longo extus papillato-puberulenti intus glabro.