Two new species of Morinda L. (Rubiaceae) 
from north-east Queensland 
D.A.Halford 1 & A. J.Ford 2 
Summary 
Halford, D A. & Ford, A.J. (2009). Two new species of Morinda L. (Rubiaceae) from north-east 
Queensland . Austrobaileya 8(1): 81-90. Morinda constipata Halford & A.J.Ford and Morinda 
retropila Halford & A. J.Ford are described, illustrated and diagnosed against allied species. Notes 
on habitat, distribution, and conservation status are provided. 
Key Words: Morinda constipata , Morinda retropila , Rubiaceae, Australian flora, Queensland flora, 
taxonomy, new species 
'D.A.Halford, c/- Queensland Herbarium, Department of Environment and Resource Management, 
Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, Queensland 4066, Australia 
2 A. J.Ford, CSIRO, Sustainable Ecosystems, Tropical Forest Research Centre, PO Box 780, Atherton, 
Queensland 4883, Australia 
Introduction 
The genus Morinda L. comprises between 
30 (Razafimandimbison et al. 2009) and 80 
(Mabberley 1997) species mostly in the Old 
World tropics. Eight described species have 
been recognised for Australia (Halford & Ford 
2004). In this paper we describe a further two 
new species of Morinda endemic to north¬ 
eastern Queensland. 
The species here described as Morinda 
retropila Halford & A. J.Ford has been known 
in the past by the misapplied name Morinda 
hypotephra F.Muell. (= Palmeria hypotephra 
(F.Muell.) Domin) (Reynolds & Halford 1994, 
1997). In 1999, the first author examined 
flowering and fruiting material of this species 
and considered it differed from Morinda 
in having pedicellate flowers arranged in 
fascicles at the branchlet nodes and simple 
drupaceous fruits. Morinda is traditionally 
circumscribed as having sessile flowers 
forming congested capitula and compound 
syncarpous drupaceous fruits (Bentham 1866; 
Backer & Bakhuizen van den Brink 1965; 
Verdcourt 1976; Smith 1988). Uncertainties 
regarding the circumscription of the genus 
Morinda and the authors’ lack of knowledge 
of the morphological variation over the wider 
geographical range of the genus prevented 
the formal naming of the species. It has been 
most recently listed (at BRI) under the phrase 
Accepted for publication 1 September 2009 
name Gen.(Aql24851) sp. (Boonjie L. J.Webb+ 
6837A) (Forster & Halford 2007). 
The other species here described as 
Morinda constipata was first known from a 
single flowering specimen collected in 1974 
and was originally identified as M. umbellata 
L. Examination of targeted and recent more 
ample collections of flowering and fruiting 
material reveal that it is a new and undescribed 
species similarto Gen.(Aql24851) sp. (Boonjie 
L. J.Webb+ 6837A) in having flowers arranged 
in fascicles at the branchlet nodes. It has been 
listed (at BRI) under the phrase name Morinda 
sp. (Bellenden Ker W.Cooper+ 1526) (Forster 
& Halford 2007). 
A recent molecular (rps\ 6 intron, trriT- 
F and nrlTS) study (Razafimandimbison et 
al. 2009) of the Rubiaceae tribe Morindeae 
Miq. s.s. has inferred that Morinda as 
presently delimited is paraphyletic. The 
two new species here described form a 
small subclade with another two Australian 
endemic Morinda (M canthoides (F.Muell.) 
Halford & R.J.F.Hend. and M. jasminoides 
A.Cunn. ex Hook.) that is nested within 
a larger Gynochthodes-Morinda clade. 
Razafimandimbison et al. (2009) propose 
to recircumscribe the genus Morinda 
in a narrower sense and broaden the 
circumscription of Gynochthodes to include 
almost all lianescent Morinda species. Until 
this is formally published and for conformity 
we name the new species in Morinda. 
