You ‘Sau’ Me! A new species and a rediscovery in the genus Saurauia (Actinidiaceae) from Zamboanga Peninsula, Mindanao Island, Philippines

Abstract

Abstract. A new species and a rediscovery in the genus Saurauia (Actinidiaceae) from Zamboanga Peninsula, Mindanao island, Philippines are presented here. The new species, Saurauia abbreviata, closely resembles Saurauia lanaensis Merr. but can be differentiated by having longer petioles, uniformly setose adaxial leaf surface, longer and wider leaves, more lateral veins, 3 styles, and a 3(–4)-locular ovary. This discovery raises the current number of recognized Saurauia in the Philippines to 57 following an 87-year gap in the taxonomic study of this genus in the country. S. longipedicellata Merr. is also rediscovered after almost a century. A lectotype is here assigned for this name selected among the syntypes. Photographs, ecological notes, and an amended description are also provided to aid taxonomic identification.
 
 Abstrak. Usa ka bag-ong species ug nadiskobrehan pag-usab sa genus nga Saurauia (Actinidiaceae) gikan sa Zamboanga Peninsula, isla sa Mindanao, Philippines ang gipresentar dinhi. Ang bag-ong species, Saurauia abbreviata, nahisama pag-ayo sa Saurauia lanaensis Merr. apan ang bag-ong species adunay labi ka taas nga mga petioles, uniformly setose ang ilalom nga dahon, mas taas ug mas lapad nga dahon, labi pang mga lateral veins, 3 styles, ug 3(–4)-locular nga obaryo. Ang nadiskobrehan nagdugang sa kadaghanon sa mga giila nga Saurauia sa Pilipinas ngadto sa 57 human sa 87 ka tuig nga gintang sa taxonomic nga pagtuon sa kini nga genus sa nasud. Ang Saurauia longipedicellata Merr. nadiskobrehan usab pagkahuman sa hapit usa ka gatus ka tuig. Ang tipipikasyon gihimo dinhi aron mapalig-og ang ngalan. Mga litrato, mga notang ekolohikal, ug giusab nga hulagway alang sa maong species makita usab dinhi.

Comparative analysis of the leaf architectural characters of Saurauia bontocensis Merr. and Saurauia polysperma (Blanco) Merr. with the application of Digital Image Analysis Software

“…The genus Saurauia Willd., which belongs to the family Actinidiaceae, has around 56 known species widely distributed in the Philippines (Pelser et al 2011). In 2021, a new Saurauia species, Saurauia abbreviata K.R.Mazo, was discovered in Zamboanga Peninsula, Mindanao Island (Mazo et al 2021). This clearly indicates that several Saurauia species have yet to be discovered in the country.…”

“…On a negative note, the extent of morphological variation within species has largely remained unknown, restricting progress in Saurauia taxonomy. This has made species description challenging and recognizing undescribed taxa difficult particularly in the Malesian Region, where a large diversity of this taxon is still unknown (Conn and Damas 2013;Mazo et al 2021).…”