Baum, 1995, A
Systematic Revision of Adansonia (Bombacaceae), Ann Miss Bot Gard,
82:440-470

Adansonia rubrostipa Jum. & H. Perrier, Mat. Grass. Jan
1909: 8. Adansonia fony var. rubrostipa (Jum. & H. Perrier)
H. Perrier, Notul. Syst., 14: 300. 1952. TYPE: Madagascar. Tsingy de Namoroka
(Ambongo), May 1904, Perrier de la Bâthie 1447 (lectotype, here designated,
P).

Adansonia fony Bail]. ex H. Perrier, Notul. Syst., 14: 304. 1952
(nom. superfl. based on Baillon's provisional and hence invalid publication,
Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Paris, 2: 845-8-16. 1890.). TYPE: Madagascar.
Morondava, Apr. 1869, Grandidier 39 (lectotype, here designated, P).

Small to large deciduous trees (5-20 m) with cylindrical,
bottle-shaped, or, rarely, tapering trunks, usually with a distinct
constriction beneath the branches. Crown irregular, major branches most often
horizontal becoming erect distally, rarely conical spines on upper surfaces of
branches. Bark usually reddish brown and exfoliating. Leaves (3-) 5-foliolate;
petioles thin and tapering, 3-7 cm x 0.5-1 mm, glabrous; stipules caducous;
leaflets sessile, medial leaflet 4-6(-8) x 1-2 cm, elliptic with acute apices;
margin distinctly serrate (teeth ca. 1 mm). Flowers emerging when in leaf;
buds ± horizontal, elongated-cylindrical, 16-28 cm; flower stalk 1-2.5 cm,
green. Calyx lobes (3-)5, linear, 15-25 cm x 7-12 mm, reflexed and twisted
tightly at the base of the flower, subglabrous, yellowish green with faint,
reddish stripes outside, bright red and sparsely villous within. Calyx tube
fitting tightly around the petal bases and lacking a distinct annular
swelling. Petals bright yellow to orange-yellow, spreading, linear with
expanded overlapping bases, significantly shorter than the androecium, 12-16
cm x 1.5-2.5 cm. Androecium pale yellow, comprising a long, ± cylindrical
staminal tube, (3-) 6-10 cm long, 1-1.2 cm diam., surmounted by 100-150
filaments 10-12 cm long, the outer free and spreading, the inner 10-20 erect
and united into a central bundle ca. 6 cm beyond the top of the tube. Ovary
broadly rounded-conical, 7.5 x 9.5 mm, with dense upward-pointing golden
hairs. Style bright pink, straight, 20-25 cm long, tapering gradually toward
stigma; dense upward pointing hairs at base, glabrous above, fitting tightly
in staminal tube and falling with it. Stigma red, blackening with age, 5-8
irregular spreading lobes. Fruit ± globose, calyx caducous; pericarp 4-5 mm
thick with few longitudinal fibers and a dense reddish brown indumentum. Seeds
reniform and laterally flattened, size variable, up to 16 x 12 x 8 mm.
Germination phanerocotylar.

Representative specimens examined.
MADAGASCAR. Mahajanga Province: Soalala District: Village of Baly, 4 June 1930
(1, fl), Decary 7842 (P). Besalampy District: Besalampy, Sep. 1914 (fr),
Perrier de la Bâthie s. n. (P). Antsalova District: basalt slabs SW of Cap
Kimby, Antsalova, 1 Apr. 1966 (I, fl), SF(Capuron) 24622 (P, TEF). Toliara
Province: Morondava District: 0.1 km E of Swiss Summer Camp, Kirindy forest, 5
km E of Morondava to Belo-sur-Tsiribihina road, 42 km from Morondava, 44°39'E,
20°02'S, alt. ca. 15 m, 27 Feb. 1989 (1, fl), Baum 313 (MO, P, TAN). Morombe
District: Ambohibitika (Mangoky), Sep. 1911 (1, fl), Perrier de la Bâthie 8175
(P). Toliara District: 36.6 km N of Toliara, 22 Mar. 1985 (I, fl, imm. fr),
Dorr 4113 (BR, K, MO, P, US); 3 km from La Table towards Toliara, N of road,
21 Mar. 1988 (1, fl), T. Willing 72 (P). Betioky District: near Lac
Tsimanampetsotsa, 14 Feb. 1947 (1, fl), Humbert 20224 (P); R.N. 10, Soalary,
Betioky, 21 Mar. 1953 (fl), Ravelonanahary 4992 (K, P, TEF). District of
Ampanihy: 13 km N of Itampolo on road to Beheloka, 24°34'5, 43°56'E, alt. 100
m, 8 Feb. 1990 1990 (1, fl), P. B. Philippson 3468 (P).

Distribution (Fig. 4).

Figure 4. The distribution of Adansonia
rubrostipa in
Madagascar. Collection sites are marked with a
circle.
When more than one collection is made from the same

locality the number of separate collections is
indicated.

Adansonia rubrostipa
extends along the west coast of Madagascar from near Itampolo in the southwest
to Soalala in the northwest. It mainly occurs in spiny forest and dry
deciduous forest on well-drained calcareous soils and on karstic limestone.

Phenology. Leaves November to April. Flowers February to April
(rarely as late as June). Fruit ripe October-November.

Cytology.Miege (1974) reported a chromosome count for A.
rubrostipa as 2n = 72, whereas Mangenot & Mangenot (1962) and Baum
& Oginuma (1994) found 2n = 88.

Taxonomy and nomenclature.
Adansonia rubrostipa is a well-supported exclusive group with a unique
combination of characters, including two strong autapomorphies: serrate
leaflets and a central bundle of filaments fused beyond the top of the
staminal tube. Perrier de la Bâthie (1952a, 1955) recognized two varieties of
A. rubrostipa (under the name A. fony): the northern variety
rubrostipa and the southern variety fony. However, the single feature
distinguishing the two varieties, staminal tube length, shows much variation
and does not support the recognition of subspecific taxa. In view of the
exclusivity of A. rubrostipa and the absence of any subdivision, I believe its
specific status to be well supported.
The earliest description of
Adansonia rubrostipa was by Baillon (1890b), who gave it the name A.
fony: "On le croit bien distinct de I'A. madagascariensis, et nous
le nommerons, provisoirement, A. fony." However, according to the Code
(Greuter et al., 1988: Art. 34.16) names suggested provisionally are invalid
and, hence, this epithet must be rejected. By the time A. fony was
validly published (Perrier de la Bâthie, 1952a), Jumelle & Perrier de la
Bâthie (1909a) had already published the name A. rubrostipa, giving the
latter name nomenclatural priority.
Of the two "types" of Adansonia
fony var. rubrostipa mentioned by Perrier de la Bâthie (1955), only
Perrier de la Bâthie 1447 was collected prior to the original 1909 description
of A. rubrostipa, and this is here designated the lectotype of A.
rubrostipa. Two other specimens collected by Perrier de la Bâthie prior to
1909 (1047, 1447bis), and almost certainly used for the species description,
should be considered syntypes. Perrier de la Bâthie (1952a) did not indicate
types of Adansonia fony Baill. ex H. Perrier at the time of
publication. Perrier de la Bâthie (1955) designated two "types," Greve 38 and
Grandidier 39. Of these, the latter is the more complete specimen and is here
designated lectotype of A. fony, with Greve 38 being a syntype.

Ethnobotany. Adansonia rubrostipa has edible fruits,
seeds, and roots (Perrier de la Bâthie, 1952b, 1953), but there is no
documentation of them being utilized extensively in Madagascar. In Toliara,
A. rubrostipa fruits are sometimes sold in the market. They are
collected by climbing the small trees, often with the aid of wooden pegs
hammered into the trunks. In the vicinity of Morondava, the wood of
fire-killed trees is used as thatching (in the same manner as A.
grandidieri). A species of fungus, with an edible and much sought after
fruiting body, is said to grow only on dead A. rubrostipa and A.
grandidieri trunks (Cabanis et al., 1970; pers. obs.). De Bry (in Ted,
1979) mentioned, in the annotation to a drawing that clearly corresponds to
A. rubrostipa, that it was used to make canoes. The wood of baobabs is
not suited for this use and, hence, this comment is mistaken.

Conservation. In view of its extensive geographical
distribution Adansonia rubrostipa is conservationally secure, although
some populations, such as those 30 km north of Toliara, are threatened by
forest destruction for charcoal extraction. In western deciduous forests close
to Morondava, A. rubrostipa is the dominant tree species and provides
an important resource for lemurs (nectar, gum, insects) and insects (sap,
nectar, leaves, seeds, and pollen) and probably other animals as well.

Subscribe!

Enter your
email to join baobab
list!

or go to www.topica.com/lists/baobab and
subscribe.
Welcome aboard!

Home · Catalog & Orders · Adansonia seeds pictures · Adult trees pictures· Forum · Taxonomy · Links
Contact
us