Four new species of Eugenia (Myrtaceae) from the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil
Author
Coutinho, Karoline
Author
Oliveira, Marla Ibrahim Uehbe De
Author
Funch, Lígia Silveira
text
Phytotaxa
2015
2015-11-18
234
3
215
226
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.234.3.2
journal article
302079
10.11646/phytotaxa.234.3.2
92c68aec-df05-46cc-90fc-718bea47f260
1179-3163
13633042
2.
Eugenia funchiana
Coutinho & M.Ibrahim
sp. nov
.
, (
Figures 2
and
5
)
This species is similar to
Eugenia dentata
Niedenzu (1897: 82)
, but differing from the latter by the undulate margin of the leaf; petiole
1–2 mm
long; pedicels
13–15 mm
long; and hypanthium not costate.
Type:—
BRAZIL
.
Bahia
: Monte Santo.
10°27’00”S
39°20’00”W
.
21 February 1974
.
R.M. Harley 16431
(
holotype
CEPEC!,
isotype
RB! MO, NY).
Tree
4 m
high; young twigs brownish, pilose, adult branch grayish–brown, glabrous.
Leaf blades
16–24 ×
8–13 mm
, hyaline, membranaceous, ovate or lanceolate; apex acute; base cuneate; margin undulate, glabrous or pilose; glandular dots impressed,
0.05–0.1 mm
diam., ca. 16 per square millimeter; venation brochidodromous; midvein sulcate in the proximal portion and impressed in the distal portion of the adaxial, prominent below, glabrescent; lateral veins 8–13, rarely curved, sub–erect, leaving the midvein at 35°–40°, glabrescent; marginal vein formed by secondary veins; petiole 1–2 ×
0.2–0.3 mm
, channeled, pubescent.
Inflorescences
axillary; 2–4 flowered, rachis absent at
0.9 mm
; pedicels 13–15 ×
2–4 mm
, glabrous; bracts ca.
3.5 mm
, spatulate, apex acute, pilose, glandular dots present; bracteoles not seen; buds 4.9 ×
2.7 mm
; calyx lobes four, 2.5–2.9 ×
1.1–1.2 mm
, ciliate, apex cuneate, glabrous, glandular dots present; petals four, 3.4–3.5 ×
0.8–0.9 mm
, spatulate or linear, undulate or ciliate, apex acute or rounded, glabrous, without glands; hypanthium 1.2–1.3 × 1.0–
1.2 mm
, not costate, pubescent; staminal ring
2.8–3 mm
diam., glabrous; stamens 60,
1.9–3.4 mm
; glabrous, anthers elliptic; style
3–3.3 mm
, glabrous, stigma punctiform; bilocular, pluriovulate, glabrous.
Fruit
not seen.
FIGURE 2.
Eugenia funchiana
Coutinho & M.Ibrahim.
A
. Habit.
B
. Detail
of inflorescence (scale 1 cm).
Etymology:—
The species epithet is in honor of professor and researcher Ligia Silveira Funch, who has contributed significantly to our knowledge of the vegetation of the semiarid region of
Bahia State
.
Phenology:—
Flowers in February.
Distribution and habitat:—
This species was collected at
610 m
elev. on a quartzite rock substrate in the municipality of Monte Santo, in the semiarid region of northern
Bahia State
. The climate there is tropical semiarid with an average annual precipitation of
750 mm
and an average annual temperature of 26 °C (
Velloso
et al
. 2002
). The predominant phytophysiognomy of this region is shrub caatinga, although the native vegetation is rapidly being substituted by plantations and pastureland.
Morphological comments:—
Eugenia funchiana
is similar to
Eugenia dentata
Niedenzu
in terms of the placement of their leaves on the branches, and spatulate petals. Although they share these characteristics,
E
.
funchiana
has oval or lanceolate leaves with undulate margins, visible veins on both faces, hypanthium not costate and pubescent.
E. dentata
, on the other hand, has oblong–lanceolate or oblong leaves, with repand–dentate margins, veins not visible on the adaxial surface, and the hypanthium is costate and glabrous.
Conservation status
:—The municipality of Monte Santo covers
3186 km
² (IBGE 2015) with 1047 collections of this species according to the Species link website (
CRIA 2015
), generating an average of 0.3 collections/km². However, as the rarity of this species may be attributed to few collections, it seems more appropriate to adopt the IUCN category DD (deficient data;
IUCN 2012
).