Eugenia caducipetala M.A.D.Souza & Scud., 2015

1. Eugenia caducipetala M.A.D.Souza & Scud. View in CoL , sp. nov.

Type:— BRAZIL. Amazonas: Município de Manaus, Reserva Experimental de Silvicultura Tropical , 02º37’S, 60º09’W, 12 January 1972, A. Loureiro & O. Monteiro 34 (holotype INPA! GoogleMaps , isotypes INPA! GoogleMaps , MG! GoogleMaps , MBM! GoogleMaps ). Figure 1A–B View FIGURE 1 .

Eugenia caducipetala is similar to E. exaltata , and may be distinguished by the inflorescences with arachnoid trichomes (vs. glabrous to glabrescent in E. exaltata ), fruits crowned by small and closed sepals (vs. large and spread), blades chartaceous with flat margins and acuminate to caudate apices (vs. coriaceous with revolute margins, acute to shortacuminate apices), with the abaxial surface with numerous depressed and concave glands giving a finely rugose texture (vs. scattered and slightly raised, the surface smooth), the midvein adaxially convex (vs. depressed or concave) and abaxially with sparse arachnoid trichomes, and finely rugose surface (vs. glabrous).

Tree 7–20 m tall, to 30 cm diam.; trunk cylindrical, the base straight; rhytidome grey to brown, fissured to reticulate, not exfoliating but detaching woody fragments, the inner bark brown; twigs applanate, the surface glabrous to glabrescent, the trichomes brown. Leaf blade elliptic, 86× 40 mm, coriaceous, discolorous in fresh and dried specimens, glabrous, dull brown, somewhat shining and with inconspicuous dark glands adaxially, minutely rough and puberulent abaxially, with salient glandular dots, the base cuneate, the apex acuminate to caudate, the midvein adaxially convex, occasionally concave when dry, the lateral veins straight, ascending, submerged to salient adaxially and barely visible (impressed) or invisible abaxially, the inframarginal vein absent to less than 1 mm from the margin, the intramarginal nerve semi-arching along the lateral veins, 1–3 mm from the margin, the margin itself finely revolute; petioles 4–9 mm long, canaliculate to sulcate, glabrescent. Inflorescence fasciculate, single to superposed, axillary to ramiflorous, with 2–3 flowers, or, occasionally, a short raceme with peduncle 3–5 mm long, usually smaller than the pedicels, these 2–11 mm long, sericeous, with brown to ferruginous trichomes; bracts like scale or orbicular, 1–2 mm long, pubescent; bracteoles deltoid or orbicular, the apex acute, free, the base contiguous, 0.8–1.2 mm long, puberulent to strigose; flower buds globose or subglobose; hypanthium campanulate, 1.2–1.5 × 1.2–2 mm, comprising lower half of the floral bud, strigose, brown to greenish, the margin below the top of the ovary; sepals orbicular, free, in equal or unequal pairs, in this case the largest ones to 1 × 2 mm, the smaller ones to 0.5 × 1.5 mm, ciliate or glabrous to pubescent abaxially, subcarnose, green, in anthesis flat or nearly so, internally white; petals caducous at anthesis, in bud obovate to spathulate, cucullate, glabrous, up to 3 × 2 mm; staminal ring quadrangular, 2–3 mm wide, pubescent; stamens 30 to 40, cream to whitish, the filaments not subulate; anthers setaceous, dorsifixed, 0, 4 mm, with one conspicuous gland, impressed to globular; style 4 mm, the stigma capitate to discoid; ovary bilocular, with ca. 12 ovules per locule. Fruit subglobose, 9–13 mm diam., black with glabrous surface when ripe, rough and glandular, slightly fleshy, crowned by the sepals; seed 1, subglobose, 6–10 mm in diam., hard with and the surface smooth; cotyledon fused, the hypocotyl not visible.

Distribution and habitat:— Eugenia caducipetala is known only from Brazilian Amazonia (Amazonas and Pará states), being found in dense humid forests, on plateau habitat on terra firme (upland terrain) and on hillsides.

Phenology:—Flowers were collected from September to March; ripe fruits were collected in June.

Etymology:—The epithet is a reference to the caducous petals that fall immediately following anthesis.

Conservation status:— Eugenia caducipetala can be considered as IUCN category DD data deficient ( IUCN 2014), due insufficient information regarding range and abundance.

Affinities:— Eugenia caducipetala is morphologically similar to E. exaltata Richard ex O.Berg (1869: 687) , from which it is distinguished by the characters cited in the diagnosis.

Paratypes:— BRAZIL. Amazonas: Itapiranga, rio Urucará , 11 September 1968, Silva 1916 ( MG!) ; ibidem, 12 September 1968, Silva 1921 ( MG!) ; ibid., 12 September 1968, Silva 1926 ( MG!). Manaus, Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke , 1 September 1966, G.T. Prance et al. 2145 ( INPA!) ; ibid., 2 September 1966, G.T. Prance et al. 2173 ( INPA!) ; ibid., 14 December 1966, G.T. Prance et al. 3644 ( INPA!) ; ibid., 19 June 1995, J. Ribeiro et al. 1658 ( INPA!) ; ibid., March 1997, J. Ribeiro et al. 1886 ( INPA!, SEL!) ; ibid., 30 July 1963, W. Rodrigues 5408 ( INPA!) ; ibid., 16 October 1963, W. Rodrigues 7358 ( INPA!) ; ibid., 13 April 1964, W. Rodrigues & A. Loureiro 5755 ( INPA!) ; ibid., 19 December 1996, M.A.D. Souza & P.A.C.L. Assunção 297 ( INPA!) ; ibid., 2 September 1994, M.A.D. Souza & C.F. Silva 587 ( INPA!). Pará: Altamira, BR230, km 20 entre Altamira-Itaituba , 31 October 1977, G.T. Prance et al. 24729 ( MG!) .