Vol. 80 No. 2 (2025)
Articles

Haplocoelum aurantium, Sapindaceae, a new tree species from submontane forest in Cameroon

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  • Xander van der Burgt,
  • Eric Ngansop Tchatchouang,
  • Barthélemy Tchiengué
Xander van der Burgt
Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, TW9 3AE, United Kingdom
Eric Ngansop Tchatchouang
IRAD – National Herbarium of Cameroon, PO Box 1601, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Barthélemy Tchiengué
IRAD – National Herbarium of Cameroon, PO Box 1601, Yaoundé, Cameroon
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/jopt-17848

Published 2025-07-18

Keywords

  • Africa,
  • endemic,
  • Haplocoelum,
  • Sapindaceae,
  • vulnerable

How to Cite

van der Burgt, X., Ngansop Tchatchouang, E., & Tchiengué, B. (2025). Haplocoelum aurantium, Sapindaceae, a new tree species from submontane forest in Cameroon. Webbia, 80(2), 239–244. https://doi.org/10.36253/jopt-17848

Copyright (c) 2025 Xander van der Burgt, Eric Ngansop Tchatchouang, Barthélemy Tchiengué

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Haplocoelum aurantium Burgt, Ngansop & Tchiengué, Sapindaceae, is described and illustrated. It is a tree, to 18 m high, with a stem to 50 cm diameter, often overhanging. On mature trees the leaves usually have 8–18 leaflets; 40% of leaves have 14 or 16 leaflets. 28% of leaves have an odd number of leaflets. The leaflets are opposite, sub-opposite, or alternate. The flowers are unknown. The fruits are indehiscent, orange and globular, 1.5–2.3 cm diameter. Haplocoelum aurantium occurs in submontane forest, at 700–1400 m elevation. The tree species is endemic to Cameroon, in parts of the Littoral Region, Southwest Region and West Region. Twelve herbarium collections have been made, in an area of 7500 km2. Haplocoelum aurantium is provisionally assessed as Vulnerable.

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