Malanea martiana Muell .Arg. ( Mueller 1875: 453)

Roxo, Rafaela Sales Pereira & Barbosa, Maria Regina de Vasconcellos, 2023, The genus Malanea Aubl. (Rubiaceae) in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Plant Ecology and Evolution 156 (3), pp. 257-275 : 257

Malanea martiana Muell.Arg. ( Mueller 1875: 453)

Figs 3E-F , 4A-E

Type.

BRAZIL • Bahia, Ilhéus; s.d.; Martius 394; lectotype (designated here): M [M0198135]; isolectotypes: BR [BR0000005314775, BR0000005315109, BR0000005315437], F [F0 BN000418 ], F frag. [V0069707F], G [G00237739, G00237740], GH [GH00096449], K [K000015350], L [L0057647], NY [NY00132152], W [W 0028443, W 1889-0287298] .

Description.

Liana or scandent shrub up to 15 m tall; branchlets greyish with elliptical to circular lenticels, glabrous. Stipules triangular-lanceolate, 6-8.5(-10) × 1-3 mm, acute, strigose. Leaves with petioles (0.2-)0.3-0.5 cm long, glabrescent at base; blades obovate to elliptic, 5.5-13 × 3.4-5.5 cm, cuneate to attenuate at base, acute to cuspidate at apex, margin flat, chartaceous, discolorous, glabrous above, lustrous, sparse pubescent below, trichomes adpressed; secondary veins 4-5 on each side of the midrib, impressed above, prominent below; tertiary veins inconspicuous. Inflorescence paniculate, 5-12.5 cm long, 1 per axil, glomerules 3-5(-7), with 13-18 flowers each; peduncle 2.5-6.5 cm long, sericeous; bracts triangular, 2-2.9 mm long, glabrescent; bracteoles inconspicuous, triangular, puberulent. Flower buds strigose. Calyx dentate, teeth triangular, 0.4-0.8 mm long, glabrescent. Corolla yellowish, tube 1.4-4 mm long, externally glabrescent to strigose, internally lanate; lobes rounded, 1.5-2.9(-3.5) mm long, externally strigose, internally villous. Stamens with filaments 1-1.5 mm long; anthers 0.7-1(-2) mm long, curved. Style 2.5-3.3(-4) mm long. Fruits fusiform, 8-14 × 2-3 mm, purple or black, glabrous; persistent calyx lobes glabrescent.

Distribution.

It occurs in the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Pernambuco, and Sergipe (Fig. 1C ).

Habitat and ecology.

It is found in moist forests or forests bordering restinga areas.

Phenology.

Flowers in June, and from September to October; fruits in July to August, and from December to April.

Etymology.

The epithet martiana honours Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794-1868), the collector of the type material.

Preliminary IUCN conservation assessment.

Vulnerable (VU) B2ab(iii). The extent of occurrence (EOO) of this species was calculated as 104,959 km2, qualifying it for the category Least Concern (LC). The area of occupancy (AOO) was estimated as 100 km2, falling into the category Endangered (EN) ( Bachman et al. 2011; IUCN 2012, 2022). Malanea martiana is known from eight locations that occupy a considerable area, however only few populations were sampled in the northern portion of the Atlantic Forest domain (states of Alagoas, Pernambuco, and Sergipe), where forests were largely replaced by plantations of sugarcane ( Targino et al. 2010), leaving only small forest fragments located in areas unsuitable for cultivation ( Barbosa and Rios 2006). However, considering that extraction of wood persists in the area ( Machado 2008), threatening the local biodiversity, we categorize it as Vulnerable (VU) according to the IUCN criteria ( IUCN 2012, 2022).

Notes.

Müller (1875) described Malanea martiana refering to Malanea sarmentosa Mart. in Herbarium Florae Brasiliensis as a synonym. Consulting Martius (1839), we found that he had identified his collection 394 as Malanea sarmentosa Aubl., not intending to describe a new species. We found specimens of Martius 394 in several herbaria. We designate here M0198135 at M as the lectotype because it shows Müller’s determination handwritten by him and is the best preserved and complete specimen.

Comment.

Malanea martiana is heterostylous, but the size of the calyx, corolla, and androecium do not vary between the two forms in the analysed specimens. Only the style length varies. Malanea martiana is distinguished from the other studied species by its acute stipules, the paniculate inflorescence larger than 5 cm, and the dentate calyx.

Material examined.

BRAZIL - Alagoas • Maceió, Serra da Saudinha; 18 Sep. 2009; fb.; Chagas-Mota 5529; MAC. - Bahia • Cairu, Litoral Sul; 13°29'S, 39°2'W; 28 Sep. 2001; fl; Guedes 9229; ALCB • Conde, Mata da Maré; 12°02 ’27” S, 37°43 ’30” W; 14 Dec. 1995; fr.; Bautista 1748; ALCB, CEPEC, IPA, HUEFS, RB • Cravolândia, povoado Três Braços, Ilha Formosa; 13°30'S, 39°42'W; 15 Jan. 1994; fr.; França 913; HUEFS • Feira de Santana, BR 234, km 35; 5 Jan. 1981; fr.; Gusmão 504; ALCB • Feira de Santana, BR 234, km 35; 17 Sep. 1980; Gusmão 471; ALCB, UB [111794] • Igrapiúna, Reserva Ecológica da Michelin: Cachoeira da Pancada Grande; 13°46 ’57” S, 39°10 ’00” W; 4 Dec. 2015; fb., fl.; Silva 668; JPB • Ilhéus, Mata da Esperança. 3 km da Rodoviária, mata ao N do reservatório; 14°46 ’54” S, 39°04 ’08” W; 17 Jan. 1995; fr.; Thomas 10799; CEPEC, NY • Ilhéus, Rodovia Uma, próximo à Olivença; 14°33'S, 39°56'W; 17 Jan. 1999; Argôlo 02; ALCB • Itacaré, ao SW da Rod. Itacaré /Ubaitaba, ao S da foz do Rio de Contas; 14°11 ’24” S, 39°00 ’59” W; 29 Jan. 1977; fr.; Harley 18383; CEPEC, RB • Itacaré, trilha em direção a Faz. Prainha; 19 Aug. 2010; st.; García-González 1496; RB • Itacaré, Serra Grande, trilha dentro da Fazenda Miranda; 22 Jan. 2022; fr.; Roxo 44; JPB • Itanagra, Fazenda Brejo Verde; 9 Aug. 1975; fr.; Gusmão 145; ALCB • Ituberá /Grapiuna, Michelin, Faz. Biriba, na margem da estrada; 13°43'S, 39°8'W; 23 Sep. 2006; fb.; Guedes 12602; ALCB • Maraú; 14°14 ’42” S, 39°00 ’56” W; 27 Jul. 2000; fr.; Mattos-Silva 4376; HUEFS • Olivença, Mata do Balneário Tararomba; 15°26'S, 39°06'W; Sep. 2016; fl.; Guedes 24971; ALCB • Porto Seguro, Parque Nacional do Pau-Brasil, trilha do Muçununga, próximo à margem de rio; 16°26 ’06” S, 39°19 ’30” W; 91 m; 19 Jan. 2022; st.; Roxo 35; JPB • Porto Seguro, Parque Nacional do Pau-Brasil, trilha do Muçununga; 16°26 ’06” S, 39°19 ’30” W; 91 m; 19 Jan. 2022; fr.; Roxo 37; JPB • Porto Seguro, Trancoso, 16°23'S, 39°08'W; 2 Oct. 1997; fb., fl.; Guedes 5333; ALCB, IPA • Salvador, Região Metropolitana de Salvador; 12°58'S, 38°30'W; 19 Apr. 2011; fr.; Guedes 18773; ALCB, PEUFR • Taperoá, Ramal da Faz. São Braz, c/ entrada no km 6 Rod; 13°32 ’17” S, 39°05 ’54” W; 21 Sep. 1988; fb.; Mattos-Silva 2566; CEPEC • Una, Reserva Biológica do Mico-leão (IBAMA), entrada no km 46 da Rod. BA-001 Ilhéus /Una; 15°09'S, 39°05'W; 8-12 Mar. 1993; fr.; Amorim 1095; CEPEC, NY • Una, rodovia Una-Comandatuba, fazenda de Antônio Pimenta; 26 Oct. 1971; fl.; Pinheiro 1658; CEPEC • Uruçuca; 14°35 ’54” S, 39°17 ’44” W; 12 Feb. 2004; fr.; Amorim 3919; CEPEC, RB • Uruçuca, 7.4 km N de Serra Grande Rod. P/ Itacaré. Faz. Lagoa do Conj. Sta. Cruz. Inventário; 14°42 ’33” S, 39°06 ’05” W; 8 May 1995; infl.; Thomas 10823; CEPEC, NY • Uruçuca, ca 5 km de Serra Grande; 14°47 ’22” S, 39°02 ’17” W; 135 m; 1 Oct. 2008; fl.; Queiroz 13848; CEPEC, HUEFS • Uruçuca, distrito de Serra Grande, 7.3 km na estrada Serra Grande/ Itacaré, Fazenda Lagoa do Conjunto Fazenda Santa Cruz; 14°25'S, 39°01'W; 7 Sep. 1991; fb., fl.; Carvalho 3644; CEPEC • Uruçuca, Serra Grande, caminho do mirante II; 14°17'S, 39°03'W; 2 Mar. 2018; fr.; Guedes 30341; ALCB • Valença, RPPN Água Branca, estrada de Valença para Guaibim, ca 2 km; 13°19 ’44” S, 39°05 ’25” W; 26 Jun. 2004; fl.; Fiaschi 2345; CEPEC, NY. - Pernambuco • Igarassu, Mata de Piedade; 7°49 ’48” S, 34°59 ’55” W; 2 Mar. 2010; fr.; García-González 1448; JPB, UFP • Igarassu, Usina São José; 7°42 ’12” S, 34°58 ’11” W; 22 Dec. 2007; fr.; Araújo 556; IPA, UFP. - Sergipe • Santa Luzia do Itanhi, Entrada a 1 km a esquerda da estrada Sta. Luzia/Crasto, ca 1 km adentro; 11°35 ’07” S, 37°44 ’82” W; 29 Nov. 1993; fr.; Sant’Ana 439; CEPEC, NY.

Figures

Figure 1. Geographical distribution of the species of Malanea in Atlantic Forest based on georeferenced localities of herbarium specimens. A. M. evenosa (yellow circles) and M. forsteronioides (pink diamonds). B. M. macrophylla (blue circles). C. M. harleyi (turquoise diamonds) and M. martiana (orange circles). D. M. revolutifolia (red diamonds) and M. spicata (green circles).

Figure 3. A - D. Malanea macrophylla. A. Habit. B - C. Stipule. D. Adventitious roots. E - F. Malanea martiana. E. Stipule. F. Fruit. Photos by Rafaela Roxo, 2022.

Figure 4. Species of Malanea from the Atlantic Forest. A - E. M. martiana. A. Habit (Guedes 24971). B. Lower surface of leaf (Sant'Ana 439). C. Stipule (Guedes 24971). D. Flower (Guedes 24971). E. Fruits (Bautista 1748). F - J. M. revolutifolia. F. Habit (Popovkin 25). G. Lower surface of leaf (Ferreira 721). H. Stipule (Ferreira 721). I. Inflorescence (Ferreira 721). J. Fruits (Gusmao 469). K - N. M. spicata. K. Lower surface of leaf (Nunes 751). L. Stipule (Thomas 9885). M. Flower (Carvalho 214). N. Fruits (Fiaschi 1106).