Rhaphiolepis philippinensis
Content
Description
Shrubs or small trees up to 10(—18) m, bark flaky.
Leaves oblong or obovate-oblong to lanceolate, rarely elliptic, 5-17 by 2.5-5 cm, base tapering or more rounded, margin sometimes entire, mostly variously incised, at least in the upper part, apex acute or rounded and acuminate, coriaceous, with 7-12 pairs of nerves, often a smaller nerve of about the same strength between two primary nerves, venation finely reticulate, woolly hairy when young on lower surface and near midrib above, indumentum (almost) disappearing with age.
Stipules triangular, 2.5-4 by 0.7-1.5 mm, usually rather long persistent.
Inflorescences 2-7.5 cm long, with up to 8 branches, the lower ones often in the axils of leaves, up to 6 cm long, all rachises including the 2-10 mm long pedicels densely woolly.
Sepals triangular, 1.5-3.5 by 1.2-2 mm.
Petals elliptic to suborbicular, up to 6.5 by 4.5 mm, white or whitish.
Stamens 16-20, filaments up to 3.5 mm, glabrous, anthers 0.5-0.8 mm long.
Ovary 2-celled, styles free or shortly cohering, up to 4 mm long, sometimes glabrous but usually with some hairs at base.
Fruits ovoid to subglobular, 6-9 by 4-9 mm when dry, with a more or less flattened top but sepals and hypanthium rim sometimes dropping off late, exocarp hairy to glabrous, dark purple when ripe, the mesocarp thin and fleshy, stony when dry, the endocarp thin.
Seeds 1 or 2 per fruit, rather large, with thin but firm testa.
Distribution
Asia-Tropical: Borneo present (Sabah present); Philippines (Philippines present), several islands, also on Palawan present
Malesia: Philippines (several islands, also on Palawan), Borneo (only seen from Sabah).
Ecology
Several specimens seen were collected on ultramafic soil. For some other collections bearing no notes this may also be the case.
Notes
It is certainly not impossible that a future monographer will decide that this species has to be included in Rhaphiolepis indica. The differences are vegetative and unimpressive but that holds for all species recognized in the genus up till now.
The leaves of the Philippine specimens are aver-agely shorter than those in Sabah, but the overlap is large: Philippines 5-14 by 2.5-5 cm, Borneo 11-17 by 3.5-5 cm.
The leaves of the Philippine specimens are aver-agely shorter than those in Sabah, but the overlap is large: Philippines 5-14 by 2.5-5 cm, Borneo 11-17 by 3.5-5 cm.