Mucuna mooneyi T.M.Moura, Gereau & G.P.Lewis

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation

Predicted extinction risk: threatened. Confidence: confident

de Moura, T.M., Gereau, R. & Lewis, G.P. 2015. Mucuna mooneyi (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae), a new species from Ethiopia Kew Bulletin 70: 32. DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-015-9581-x

Morphology General Habit

Herbaceous climber; young branches pubescent

Morphology Leaves

Leaves: stipules not seen; pulvinus cylindrical, c. 10 × 3 mm, pubescent; petiole 8 – 9 cm long, pubescent; rachis c. 2 cm long, pubescent; stipels linear, 6 – 7 mm long, pubescent; petiolules c. 5 mm long, pubescent; apical leaflet broadly elliptic, 9 – 11 × 8 – 12 cm, rounded at base; lateral leaflets 10.5 – 12 × 7 – 9 cm, asymmetrical, rounded at base; all leaflet blades acuminate at apex (acumen 4 – 5 mm), adaxially with appressed trichomes, abaxially densely pubescent; venation eucamptodromous, secondary veins in 6 to 8 pairs

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence an axillary, pendent pseudoraceme, 30- to 50-flowered, two flowers fasciculate at each node; peduncle c. 12 cm long, pubescent; axis c. 18 cm long, densely pubescent, the secondary axes not evident; bracts not seen; pedicels 5 – 7 mm long, densely pubescent; bracteoles not seen

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers 4 – 4.5 cm long; calyx campanulate, with long, appressed trichomes on both surfaces, lobes 4, the adaxial lobe discrete, formed by two entirely connate sepals, the lateral lobes c. 2 × 1 mm, acute apically, the abaxial lobe c. 4 × 2 mm, acute apically; standard petal dark violet, c. 3 × 2 cm, broadly elliptic, basally acute, apically rounded, the claw 1 – 3 mm long, glabrous; wing petals very dark violet, c. 4.5 × 1.5 cm, oblong-obovate, basally attenuate, apically rounded, pubescent at base, the claw 2 – 5 mm long; keel petals abaxially red-violet, adaxially light violet, c. 4.7 × 1 cm, oblong, attenuate at base, acute at apex, glabrous, the claw c. 4 mm long; filaments c. 4.5 cm long, glabrous, 9 filaments fused from base for 65 – 70% of their length, vexillary filament free; 5 larger anthers oblong, basifixed, 2 – 3 mm long, the 5 smaller anthers orbicular, dorsifixed near base, c. 1 mm long; gynoecium c. 5 cm long, ovary sessile, oblong, c. 10 × 2 mm, sericeous, 2- to 5-ovulate, style 3.7 – 4 cm long, sericeous, glabrescent at apex, stigma peltate, villous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruits 9 – 10 × 2 – 2.5 cm; pod surface covered with golden irritatant hairs; seeds discoid, c. 1.5 × 1 cm; hilum c. 2 mm long

Note

Mucunamooneyi is distinguished from the other Ethiopian species, M. pruriens (L.) DC. and M. melanocarpaHochst. ex A. Rich. by the dense pubescence on the abaxial surface of the leaflets. Its fruits are larger than those of M. pruriens, and the seeds are discoid not reniform (as in M. pruriens). The morphological characteristics, including the herbaceous climbing habit, flowers 4 – 4.5 cm long, and seeds with a short, c. 2 mm long hilum place this new species in Mucunasubg. Stizolobium (P. Browne) Baker. Previously, Thulin (1989) recognised only two species of Mucuna as occurring in Ethiopia: M. pruriens and M. melanocarpa and in herbaria our new species was found identified under both names. Although both M. pruriens and M. melanocarpa have flowers 3.5 – 5 cm long and dark coloured corollas, the abaxial surface of their leaflets is not densely pubescent as in M. mooneyi. In addition, the fruits of M. mooneyi are larger than those of M. pruriens, and the seeds are discoid and not reniform (as found in M. pruriens). A taxon with similar pubescence on its leaflets is M. poggei var. pesa, but in that variety the flowers are white, greenish white, or pale green, not purple. The maximum length of the flowers of M. poggei var. pesa is slightly longer (4 – 6 cm long) than in M. mooneyi (4 – 4.5 cm long). The morphological differences among these taxa are presented in Table 1. M feroxVerdc. is also morphologically similar to M. mooneyi, especially in leaflet indumentum, but the species is even closer morphologically to M. poggei var. pesa, and we are investigating whether the two names should be treated as synonyms. The species is named for H. F. Mooney, who collected the type specimen. Herbert F. Mooney (1897 – 1964) was Irish and worked as forest adviser in the British Middle East Office (beginning in 1951). He first visited Ethiopia in 1953 and made a series of collections, a set of which were presented to the then University College of Addis Ababa in 1959 to form the foundation of what was to become the National Herbarium of Ethiopia. (See Mesfin Tadesse 1991). Collected in flower in August and November and in fruit in October and December.

Ecology

The species is known only from Ethiopia, in Arussi, Kaffa and Nadda provinces.

Conservation

Based on the six known collection points, Mucunamooneyi has an Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of 29,831.243 km2 and an Area of Occupancy (AOO) of 16 km2 using the standard grid cell size of 4 km2 (IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee 2014). With a very small number of collection localities, this suggests that M. mooneyi might be assessed as Endangered under the B2 criterion (IUCN 2012), but this would require knowledge of threats to the species in its natural habitat and continuing decline in habitat quality, and no data are available about such threats. Lacking the knowledge of even a plausible threat that would be needed to assess it as Vulnerable (VU D2), we here assess it to be Data Deficient (DD).