Tropicos | Name - Baphia cymosa Breteler

Project Name Data (Last Modified On 12/21/2017)

Acceptance : Accepted

Taxon Profile (Last Modified On 10/29/2021)

Description: Treelet 3-4 m tall. Branches rather soon longitudinally fissures, bark peeling off in thin, long, narrow flakes. Branchlets densely brown-tomentose. Stipules not observed, very early caducous, leaving a rimlike scar. Leaves: petiole with contiguous pulvini, 5-10 mm long, grooved above, subappressed-short-brown-hairy, blade elliptic, 7-12 x 2-4 cm, (2.5-)3-4 times as long as wide, cuneate at base, obtusely acuminate at apex, the acumen 0.5-1(-1.5) cm long, glabrous above, sparsely sub-appressed-short-hairy beneath, more densely so on midrib, glabrescent, lateral nerves thin, 5-7 pairs, not or only slightly prominent, the midrib plane to impressed above, prominent beneath. Flowers mostly arranged in 2-several-flowered, once to repeatedly branched, brown-tomentose cymes, sometimes single, peduncle up to 2 cm long, bracts and bracteoles broadly ovate, concave, ca. 1.5 x 1.5 mm, mostly early caducous, flower buds somewhat sickle-shaped, pedicel up to ca. 2 cm long, calyx up to ca. 15 mm long, appressed-brown-short-hairy outside, glabrous inside, spathaceous, splitting down one side, corolla white, glabours, standard +- sessile, broadly obovate, ca. 15 x 13 mm, +- flat, but with the margin in upper part curved inwards, with a 2-2.5 mm long split apically, wings folded +- lengthwise, 17 x 8 mm when unfolded, very shortly clawed, top obtuse, notched or not, keel petals 13 x 5-7 mm, united in the middle, shortly clawed, +- flat, stamens 10-13.5 mm long, shortly coherent at base, glabrous, anthers 2.5-3 mm long, +- basifixed, pistil ca. 15 mm long, gently curved, style +- glabrous, ovary appressed-short-hairy, 6-ovuled. Fruits unknown.

Habitus: Shrub up to 7 m

Phenology: Flowers have been observed in march and november. Fruits are unknown.

Habitat: Known from wetland and riverside rainforest (Breteler 1994, 2016), between 25 to 50 m in elevation.

Distribution: Gabon (endemic)

Distribution Note: The species is endemic to Gabon and known from three collections. The first collection was made in 1986 at Lambaréné in the Moyen-Ogooué, the second in 2004 within the Loango National Park in the Ogooué-Maritime and the third at Rougier (Ivindo) in 2015.

Phytogeographical type: Domaine bas-guinée, type phytogéographique côtier.

Literature:

Case Study: Lower-Ogooué

Conservation assessment (Last Modified On 10/29/2021)

Red List Category: Endangered

Status of Conservation Assessment: Published on the Red List

Date of assessment: 11 June 2020

Assessment rationale: Baphia cymosa is a shrub or a small tree to 7 m tall, known from wetland and riverside rainforest, between 25 and 50 m elevation. The species is endemic to Gabon and is known from three collections which represent three occurrences. The first specimen was collected in 1986 at Lambaréné in the Moyen-Ogooué, the second in 2004 within the Loango National Park in the Ogooué-Maritime and the third in 2015 at Rougier (Ivindo). Given their recent date of collection, we estimate none of the occurrences as extirpated. Based on a 2 x 2 km cell size, the AOO of this species is estimated to be 12 km², below the upper threshold of the Endangered category under Criterion B2. The EOO is estimated to be 12,342 km², below the upper threshold of the Vulnerable category under Criterion B1. These three occurrences represent three distinct subpopulations, of which one occurs within a protected area, the Loango National Park in the Ogooué-Maritime province (Mouandza Mbembo 46). The occurrence from Lambaréné (van der Maesen 5306) is located in the vicinity of the Schweitzer Hospital, on the edge of the city, and is highly threatened by increasing urbanization, which we believe will cause the subpopulation to disappear in the future. The occurrence from Rougier-Ivindo concession (MBG transect 2536), located near the inner boundary of the forestry concession, could be threatened by timber exploitation, which may lead to the decline in the quality of its habitat. Considering the other occurrence located within th Loango National Park and according to the main threat which is urbanization, the three occurrences of Baphia cymosa represent three locations (sensu IUCN 2019) which falls within the limits of the Endangered category under subcriterion a. Based on the future disappearance of the occurrence in Lambaréné, we infer a current and continuous decline in the EOO, AOO, the extent and the quality of its habitat, the number of locations and the number of mature individuals of the species. Baphia cymosa is thus assessed as EN B2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v).

Red List DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T173476614A174513140.en.

Disclaimer: This assessment was prepared on 11 June 2020. The map proposed below is only based on the specimens available on Tropicos, therefore, may not correspond to the information provided in the assessment rationale.

Conservation measures: One occurrence of Baphia cymosa occur within a protected area in Gabon, the Loango National Park in the Ogooué-Maritime province. That protected area does not appear under threat. There are no conservation measures currently in place for the two other occurrences (van der Maesen 5306 and MBG transect 2536) of the species. Since Baphia cymosa is threatened by urbanization and to a lesser extent by logging, various conservation measures must be considered. First, it should be regarded as an HCV1 (High Conservation Value), and as a consequence, should be included in the management plan of the logging concessions within which it occurs. Second, it should be included in Gabon’s list of protected species, and the destruction of its habitat and possible harvesting must therefore be limited. Third, ex situ conservation should be tested, both within Gabon and internationally. Finally, a public awareness campaign must be conducted involving logging companies and other private actors, NGOs, scientific institutions, and the Gabonese government, to ensure that the species is taken into consideration when decisions are made that could impact its conservation.