Paramapania parvibractea

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Paramapania parvibractea

Description

Forming compact, 3-angled clumps. Leaves linear, flat or somewhat folded lengthwise, very gradually or (in broad-leaved specimens) rather suddenly narrowed into a subfiliform, scabrous point, antrorsely aculeate- scabrous on the margins and on the midnerve beneath in the upper part, up to 70(-100) by ¾-1½(-2) cm, the base strongly conduplicate, with reddish brown or purplish, scarious margins. Inflorescence corymbiform, simple or compound, with few to many spikelets, rarely in some of the scapes reduced to a single spikelet, up to 3½ by 7 cm, the lower branches divaricate, up to 3 cm long, the upper ones suberect, very short. Flowers 1¾-2(-3) mm long; Stamens 2, very rarely 3; Fruiting spikelets subglobose, ellipsoid, or oblong-ovoid, 3-6(-10) by 3-4 mm.

Distribution

Amboina present, Asia-Tropical: Borneo present; Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia present); Maluku (Maluku present); Philippines (Philippines present), Ceram present, E. Peninsula present, Johore present, Kelantan present, Lingga Archipelago present, Luzon present, Mindanao present, Morotai present, New Guinea and adjacent islands present, P. Gebe present, Pacific: Fiji (Fiji present); Samoa (Samoa present), Samar present, Sandakan present, Solomons present, Talaud Is present, W. Carolines present, W. Sumatra present
W. Carolines, Solomons, Samoa, Fiji; in Malesia: W. Sumatra, Lingga Archipelago, Malay Peninsula (Kelantan, Johore), Borneo (Distr. Sandakan), Philippines (Luzon, Samar, Mindanao), Celebes (E. Peninsula), Moluccas (Talaud Is., Morotai, Amboina, Ceram, P. Gebe), New Guinea and adjacent islands.

Notes

The type collection (GIULIANETTI s.n., K) is said to be collected on Mt Scratchley at 12.200 ft, i.e. in the subalpine zone. See, however, .
The type collection of P. lucbanensis (ELM.) UITTIEN is ELMER 9116 from Lucban, prov. of Tayabas, Luzon (E). It belongs undoubtedly to P. parvibractea. UITTIEN, who did not see the type, took RAMOS 23642, distributed as Thoracostachyum lucbanense, but which belongs to P. rostrata, for P. lucbanensis. See also under P. rostrata.
Originally UITTIEN distinguished between P. johorensis from the Malay Peninsula and P. parvibractea (= P. amboinensis UITT.) by the number of flower-scales (6 in P. johorensis, 5 in P. parvibractea), and the smaller number of spikelets to the inflorescence in the former. Later on he referred specimens from P. Lingga, with 5 scales and inflorescences bearing up to 20 spikelets, also to P. johorensis on account of the globose, stipitate nut. As I fail to see any essential difference in the nuts, and the number of scales is variable also in the eastern part of the area, I refer P. johorensis to the synonymy of P. parvibractea.
More deviating from typical P. parvibractea is P. longistyla (KÜK.) UITTIEN, only known from two New Guinea collections: LEDERMANN 19586 (L, P!) and 19728 (ƒ. parva KÜK., not seen). The leaves are up to 2 cm wide, rather suddenly acuminate, the flowers about 3 mm long, with 6 scales and 3 stamens, the style is distinctly scabrid on the angles, and the nut somewhat larger. In P. parvibractea, however, the width of the leaves is very variable, 3 mm long flowers with 6 scales and 3 stamens are also found in narrow-leaved specimens, and the style is more or less scabrid. Provisionally I consider P. longistyla a local race of P. parvibractea, the polymorphism of which Néerls further study.

Citation

KÜK. 1924 – In: Bot. Jahrb.: 54
OHWI 1942 – In: Bot. Mag. Tokyo: 209
S. T. BLAKE 1947 – In: J. Arn. Arb.: 209
Merr. 1923 – In: En. Philip.: 132
Ridl. 1916 – In: Trans. Linn. Soc.: 243
UITTIEN 1936 – In: Rec. Trav. Bot. Néerl.: 141
VALCK. SUR. 1912 – In: Nova Guinea: 709
KERN 1958 – In: Blumea: 217