Raphia matombe De Wild.

Raphia matombe De Wild. (De Wildeman 1916: 144) Fig. 14 Description. Palms 4–5 m high, gregarious. Stipes clustered, with 2–6 stipes joined at the base. Fibres hanging, belt-like, in broad segments up to 6 cm wide, breaking down to form smooth fibres 3–4 mm wide. Leaves intertwined from the base and obscuring the stipe, 6.4–10.5 m long. Petiole yellow to pale green when young; red when mature, 1.98–4.45 m long; split from the base to almost the middle then cylindrical or fully split, not spiny; DP 30 between 4.1–6.7 cm. Rachis 3.93–7.38 m long. Leaflets 108–172 × 4.2–6.6 cm, 3–15 in the R 0–30 area of the rachis. Inflorescence 179 × 25 cm long. Infructescence 5–9 per individual, 145–155 × 36–48 cm (including 25 cm peduncle). Bract 25 × 15 cm, persistent, reddish brown on the inner side, folded and with acumen of 5.2–6.2 × 1.9–2.6 cm. Partial inflorescence 30–36 × 13 cm, with rachillae inserted in more than one plane, layered on top of each other. Secondary and final branches 6–8 cm long, occasionally up to 10 cm, inserted at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the first-order branches. Fruits ellipsoid, 4.5–5 × 2.7–3 cm, green when immature and yellow at maturity, with a 5–8 mm long beak. Ecology. Swamps close to mangroves and edge of seasonally flooded watercourses in savannas. The species flowers in September and fruits in September and October. Distribution. Angola (including Cabinda), Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Republic of the Congo (Mbandu Luzolawo et al. 2020); in Republic of the Congo: Kouilou, Niari. IUCN conservation assessment. Raphia matombe was assessed by Cosiaux et al. (2018 d) as Data Deficient (DD). The authors called for intensive surveys which will contribute to improving the species’ morphological description and better understanding of its distribution and threats. Uses. The sap is tapped and used as Raphia wine called Younga in Vili (Bas-Kouilou). Vernacular names. Mòkòngo in Vili and Loumbou (Bas-Kouilou, Kouilou); Konga in Vili (Ditadi, Niari). Notes. In the Republic of the Congo, this species seems to be restricted to an area within 100 km of the coast, but more fieldwork is required for a better understanding of the species’ distribution in the country. Stauffer et al. (2017) also suggested that it would be interesting to investigate in detail the growth form of this species as it was not known. The species is recognized by its petiole which is yellow and pale green when young and red when mature. This character also appears on the composite plate of the species in the Uíge Province in northern Angola as reported by Lautenschläger et al. (2019) on page 3365. In all our collections, Raphia matombe is the sole species recorded in swamps close to, but not in mangroves in the Republic of the Congo. Another species of Raphia growing in mangroves, Raphia zamiana, was described from Cameroon (Kamga et al. 2018). This species differs from R. matombe by its straight fibres covering the stipe and the lack of conspicuous and persistent bracts on the infructescence. Specimen examined. Republic of the Congo. • Kouilou. Bas-Kouilou, about 1 km SE of the bridge on the Kouilou River, 04°28.92'S, 011°43.40'E, 10 m, 27 Sep 2019, Ndolo Ebika & Harris 2739 (HICPC, E); • Niari. Ditadi, 200 m NE of the road and 12 km SE of Dolisie, 04°16.24'S, 012°45.22'E, 400 m, 4 Oct 2019, Ndolo Ebika & Harris 2761 (HICPC, E).