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 Bāthie 1447 (lectotype, here designated, P).
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 Bāthie 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 Bāthie 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).
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.
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.
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 Bāthie (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 Bāthie, 1952a), Jumelle
& Perrier de la Bāthie (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 Bāthie (1955), only Perrier de la Bāthie 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 Bāthie prior to 1909 (1047, 1447bis), and almost certainly used for the species description, should be considered syntypes.
Perrier de la Bāthie (1952a) did not indicate types of Adansonia fony Baill. ex H. Perrier at the time of publication. Perrier de la Bāthie (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 Bāthie, 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.
