Eugenia caatingicola Coutinho & M. Ibrahim, 2015

Coutinho, Karoline, Oliveira, Marla Ibrahim Uehbe De & Funch, Lígia Silveira, 2015, Four new species of Eugenia (Myrtaceae) from the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil, Phytotaxa 234 (3), pp. 215-226 : 216-218

1. Eugenia caatingicola Coutinho & M. Ibrahim , sp. nov. ( Figures 1 and 5 .)

This species is similar to Eugenia subreticulata Glaziou (1905: 233) , differing by the fissured texture of the periderm on older branches; the acute and retuse apex of the leaves; petioles 2–5 mm long; and sericeous hypanthium.

Type: — BRAZIL. Bahia: Mun. Rui Barbosa, Serra do Orobó, trilha para o Pátio das Orquídeas, 230 m elev., 12°18’09’’S, 40°29’16’’W, 17 January 2006 (im. fr.), L.P. de Queiroz & D.B.O.S. Cardoso 12045 (holotype HUEFS!, isotype HUFSJ).

Tree ca. 4 m high; young branches brownish, puberulous, hairs whitish, becoming reddish to grayish and glabrous with age. Leaf blades 25–70 × 10–25 mm, chartaceous, lanceolate or ovate, rarely obovate; apex acute and retuse; base rounded or cuneate; margin slightly revolute or undulate, glabrescent; glandular dots impressed on both sides, 0.1–0.2 mm diam., ca. 14 per square millimeter; venation brochidodromous; midvein sulcate above, prominent below, hairs present on midvein and lateral veins; lateral veins 13–20, erect, leaving the midvein at 25°–35°, all confluent with the first marginal vein; marginal vein doubled, intramarginal 1.8–3 mm from the border and second 0.3–0.4 mm from the border; petiole 2–5 × 0.9–1.3 mm, channeled. Inflorescences terminal or in the axils of the leaves; 2–4 flowered; rachis 2–3 mm, subglabrous; pedicels 15–29 mm, brownish, pubescent; bracts not seen; bracteoles not seen; buds not seen; calyx lobes four, oblong or deltoid, ciliate, unequal, the larger ones 6 × 4 mm, rounded, the smaller ones 5–5.1 × 4 mm, acute, pubescent, glandular dots absent; petals four, 7–9 × 4–5 mm, clavate or spatulate, ciliate, apex acute or rounded, hairs brownish within, glandular dots visible on both faces; hypanthium 3.8–4.3 × 4.4–5.2, not costate, sericeous; staminal ring ca. 4 mm diam., squared, pubescent; stamens 5–6.5 mm, glabrous; anthers 0.6–0.7 × 0.4–0.6 mm, elliptic; style 8–9 mm; stigma punctiform. Fruit globose, sericeous, glandular dots absent; seeds unknown.

Etymology:— The specific epithet alludes to the biome where this species occurs.

Phenology:— Old flowers collected in November, with immature fruits collected in November and January.

Distribution and habitat:— Eugenia caatingicola are restricted to the Brazilian semi-arid region. It was collected only in semideciduous forest in Serra do Orobó, Bahia State, and in transition areas between Caatinga and Cerrado vegetation in Serra das Confusões, Piauí State.

Morphological comments:— Eugenia caatingicola resembles Eugenia subreticulata in shape and size, but its apex is acute and retuse (acuminate in E. subreticulata ). Other differences between the leaves of these two species refer to the presence of an intramarginal vein in E. caatingicola (absent in E. subreticulata ) and the length of the petiole (2–5 mm long in E. caatingicola versus 8–13 mm long in E. subreticulata ). Although the hypanthium is also sericeous in E. plicata Niedenzu (1897: 91) , E. piresii Mattos (1989: 3) , and E. neosilvestris Sobral (1995: 36) , this structure is longer in E. caatingicola , with whitish instead of ferruginous hairs.

Conservation status:— Eugenia caatingicola was collected at Serra do Orobó, in the municipality of Rui Barbosa which occupies 2171 km ² (IBGE 2015). According to the Species Link website ( CRIA 2015), 1357 specimens have been collected; other collections were made in Serra das Confusões, which extends through 12 municipalities in Piauí State, thus totaling 29,537 km ² and 4967 collections, yielding an average of 0.2 collections per square kilometer. 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).

Paratype:— BRAZIL. Piauí, Serra das Confusões, 680 m elev., 09°09’52”S, 43°23’04.5”W, 23 November 2010 (fl., fr.), E. Melo et al. 8831 (HUEFS!).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Eugenia caatingicola Coutinho & M. Ibrahim. A. Habit. B. Lower leaf surface. C. Fruit immature (scale 1 cm).

FIGURE 5. Distribution map of Eugenia caatingicola Coutinho & M. Ibrahim, E. funchiana Coutinho & M. Ibrahim, E. coccinea Coutinho & M. Ibrahim, and E. potiraguensis Coutinho & M. Ibrahim in Brazil.