Miconia tetrazygioides Urb. & Ekman, Ark. Bot.

Miconia tetrazygioides Urb. & Ekman, Ark. Bot. View in CoL 22A(17):37. 1929.

TYPE: Haiti: Massif de la Hotte, western group, Les Roseaux,rocky ledge at Zanite , 1300 m,fr, 16 Sep 1928, E.L.Ekman H10684 ( LECTOTYPE, here designated: S # 04–415 ,internet image! ; ISOLECTOTYPES: K #0000535940 ,internet image! , NY #00658666 ,internet image! , US #00731038 !).An image of the lectotype is available at http://herbarium.nrm.se/specimens .

Miconia cineana Majure,Judd, Ionta,& Skean.Syst.Bot. View in CoL 39:910.2014. TYPE. Haiti. Département du Sud: Massif de la Hotte, Parc National Pic Macaya, Bwa Formon, in rak bwa on hills in vicinity of Ville Formon, 930–960 m, 1 Feb 1984, veg, Judd 3939 ( HOLOTYPE: FLAS!; ISOTYPE: NY!).

Evergreen shrub or tree to 5 m tall. Young stems elliptical to lens-shaped in cross-section, with 2 sharp to blunt ridges, each extending longitudinally below the point of petiole attachment, but becoming terete with age, the indumentum of dense, ferrugineous, matted, globular-stellate hairs, 0.08–0.2 mm across, internodes 0.7–9.7 cm long, nodal line present. Leaves equal to slightly anisophyllous, i.e., large leaf/small leaf quotient, 1–1.6; petiole 0.8–2.6 cm long, the indumentum of dense, matted, globular-stellate hairs; the blade 4.5–16.7 × 1.5–5.2 cm, ovate to elliptic or oblong, coriaceous, the apex obtuse or acute to slightly acuminate, the base cuneate or acute to obtuse or rounded, the margin plane to slightly revolute, entire or shallowly undulate to obscurely and remotely blunt-dentate, the largest teeth to 0.1 mm; secondary veins 2 pairs, 1 conspicuous and 1 inconspicuous, acrodromous, basal, but often appearing suprabasal, the innermost pair joining midvein 2–8 mm above the leaf base, the conspicuous secondary veins spaced 1.2–5 mm in from margin, the inconspicuous secondary veins intramarginal to 1.5 mm in from margin, tertiary veins percurrent, oriented subperpendicular to midvein, 1–6 mm apart, connected by quaternary veins or separated by poorly developed composite inter-tertiary veins, the higher order veins reticulate, ± obscure, the midvein, major secondary veins, and tertiary veins slightly to moderately impressed, minor secondary and quaternary veins flat to slightly impressed, remaining veins flat on adaxial surface, the midvein conspicuously raised, the major secondary and tertiary veins moderately to slightly raised, the minor secondary and quaternary veins slightly raised to flat, the higher order veins flat, ± obscure on abaxial surface; adaxial surface green, shiny when living, appearing slightly wrinkled after drying, with scattered druse crystals, the indumentum initially of moderate, globular-stellate hairs to 0.1 mm across, but quickly glabrescent; abaxial surface with dense, ferrugineous to pale ferrugineous, stellate-peltate hairs, i.e., peltate scales, usually 0.1–0.2 mm across, occurring over both veins and lamina surface (which is thus totally obscured); hair-tuft domatia absent. Inflorescences terminal, with shoots producing numerous nodes before becoming reproductive, paniculate to elongate-paniculate cyme, 4.5–8 cm long, 2–5 cm across, with numerous flowers and 4–6 major branch pairs, with pedicel 0.6–1.9 cm long; proximal segment of lowermost inflorescence branches 9–22 mm long, with dense, matted, globular-stellate hairs, the ultimate axes (pseudopedicels) very short, to 0.2 mm long, and flowers congested; bracts 0.6–1.5 × 0.2–0.6 mm (but probably also larger), not involucrate, triangular to narrowly triangular, with acute apex, ± deciduous, with globular-stellate hairs; bracteoles 0.4–0.6 × 0.15–0.4 mm, ± triangular, with acute apex, ± deciduous, with few globular-stellate hairs. Flowers not seen, but the following floral characters assessed from slightly immature fruits; 4-merous, ± sessile; hypanthium 1.8–2 mm long, terete, the free portion 0.3–0.5 mm long, 1–1.4 mm wide at the torus, the outer surface with globular-stellate hairs, the inner surface smooth, glabrous, androecial fringe absent; calyx lobes 4, apically separate, i.e., not calyptrate, the tube 0.17–0.2 mm long, not tearing between lobes, the lobes 0.15–0.2 × 0.5–0.6 mm, ± triangular, the apex acute to acuminate, abaxially glabrous or with hairs similar to those of hypanthium, and adaxially glabrous; calyx teeth present, 4, each represented by an inconspicuous dorsal bump, 0.1–0.15 mm long, with blunt apex, with sparse globular-stellate hairs; petals, stamens, and style not seen; ovary 2-locular, 3 ⁄ 4 to 2 ⁄ 3 inferior, the apex without a collar or crown, apically glabrous, with axile placentation, the ovules numerous, borne on a placenta that slightly extends into each locule. Berries 1.7–2 mm long, 2–2.3 mm in diameter, globose to subglobose, probably blue, with moderate globular-stellate hairs, the hypanthium/calyx not constricted above ovary. Seeds 0.3–0.45 mm long (slightly immature), angular obovoid, with flat ± rectangular hilum-raphe region, the testa ± smooth. See photos in Majure et al. (2014; Fig. 4 A, C, F, G).

Distribution and habitat.— Miconia tetrazygioides is endemic to Hispaniola ( Haiti), in the Massif de la Hotte, in often-disturbed moist broadleaved forest over karst limestone (rak bwa) at 930–1300 m.

Specimens examined. HAITI. Departement du Sud: Formón,Bois Cavalier,al sur de Kay Michel, 18°19'47.2"N, 74°01'38"W, 1100 m, 2 Feb 2006, Clase   GoogleMaps 4161 ( FLAS, JBSD); Massif de la Hotte   GoogleMaps , Macaya Biosphere Reserve   GoogleMaps , Ville Formon   GoogleMaps , 8 Jan 2013, Ionta   GoogleMaps 2023 ( FLAS, NY, herbarium of American University of Les Cayes   GoogleMaps ); Massif de la Hotte   GoogleMaps , Parc National Pic Macaya   GoogleMaps , ca. 0.5 km on the Morne Formon   GoogleMaps side of Sou Bwa (trail between Ville Formon and Sou Bwa), 950–970 m, 1 Jan 1987, Skean & Lobassiere 2080 ( EHH, FLAS, S). The species has only been collected four times since the initial gathering in 1928.

Miconia tetrazygioides is one of 36 taxa of the megadiverse genus Miconia endemic to the Massif de la Hotte, a reduction by one from the number reported in Judd (2019). The La Hotte Mountains are a region of exceptional taxonomic diversity ( Judd 1987; Majure et al. 2013; Timyan et al. 2017), especially for Melastomataceae . Many of these species are treated in Liogier (2000).