Eugenia grandissima Sobral, Mazine & E.A.D.Melo, 2016

Sobral, Marcos, Mazine, Fiorella F., Leoni, Lúcio, Souza, Marcelo C. & Melo, Eugênio A. D., 2016, Five new southeastern Brazilian Myrtaceae, Phytotaxa 253 (1), pp. 57-70 : 63-66

4. Eugenia grandissima Sobral, Mazine & E.A.D.Melo , sp. nov.

Type:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: mun. Ipatinga, bairro Ipanemão , 19°25’10.8” S, 42°09’50.2” W, February 2016, M. Sobral & E.A.D. Melo 15783 (holotype IAC! ; isotypes BHCB !, HUFSJ! , RB! , SORO! ). Figures 4–7 .

This species is apparently related to Eugenia umbrosa , differing by the pilose twigs and leaves (versus glabrous in E. umbrosa ), larger leaves (petioles 15–25 mm and blades 450–550 × 110–180 mm versus petioles to 8 mm and blades 180–200 × 46–50 mm) with the midvein plane or markedly raised adaxially (vs. impressed adaxially), marginal vein to 14 mm from the margin (vs. marginal vein up to 5 mm from the margin) and longer bracteoles (to 15 mm vs. to 2 mm).

Tree 3–5 m, the trunks slender, rarely more than 100 mm in diameter at body’s height. Twigs moderately applanate, sometimes slightly longitudinally striate, densely covered with simple brown trichomes to 0.8 mm, the internodes to 6 × 8–10 mm. Leaves with petioles 15–25 × 5–6 mm, terete or slightly canaliculate adaxially, moderately pilose as the twigs; blades lanceolate-oblong, 450–550 × 110–180 mm, 3.3–5 times longer than wide, concolorous or slighlty discolorous when dry, adaxially with simple brown trichomes 0.8–1 mm mostly along the midvein, scattered along the surface and somewhat denser over the lateral veins and margin, abaxially uniformly covered by trichomes to 1 mm or occasionally with irregular and scattered denser tufts of trichomes to 1 mm in diameter that may simulate large glandular dots; glandular dots about 0.1 mm in diameter, 10 to 15/mm², scarcely visible on both sides and more evident through light; apex acute; base cuneate; midvein plane to visibly raised adaxially, strongly raised abaxially; lateral veins 28 to 30 at each side, visible on both sides and raised abaxially, leaving the midvein at angles 45–60°; marginal vein 5–14 mm from the margin, sometimes a second outer vein visible, 2–3 mm from the margin, the margin itself moderately to markedly revolute and with a brown girdle to 0.4 mm wide. Inflorescences axillary or ramiflorous, racemiform, with 6 to 10 flowers, the axis 10–90 × 3–5 mm, densely covered with red brown simple trichomes to 0.5 mm; bracts at the base of the inflorescences in 2 to 4 series, the most proximal ones widely triangular, to 2 × 3 mm, the medial ones triangular, to 5 × 4 mm and the most distal ones narrowly triangular, to 9 x 4–5 mm, usually deciduous but sometimes persisting along anthesis, densely covered with brown trichomes to 0.5 mm, more densely so abaxially; bracts at the base of the pedicels widely triangular, to 2 × 3 mm, pilose as the other bracts; pedicels 14–40 × 1.5–2 mm, pilose as the axes; bracteoles elliptic, 10–15 × 5–8 mm, the apex sometimes shortly apiculate, at anthesis separate and deciduous, when very young connate between them, pilose as the bracts; flower buds obovate, 12–13 × 10 mm, densely and uniformly covered with brown trichomes 0.3–0.5 mm; calyx lobes four, glabrous adaxially, usually tearing transversely proximally after anthesis, unequal, the outer ones ovate, 7–8 × 8–10 mm, the inner ones ovate-triangular, 8–11 × 6–9 mm; petals four, elliptic, 15–20 × 11–14 mm, white, glabrous; stamens about 200, the filaments 5–6 mm, the anthers 1–1.2 × 0.3–0.4 mm, white, with one conspicuous apical gland, the pollen visibly whitish; staminal ring to 10 mm in diameter, glabrous or with scattered brown trichomes to 0.3 mm; calyx tube absent or up to 0.5 mm; style 12–15 mm, the stigma minutely papillose; ovary with two locules and up to 30 ovules per locule. Fruits oblong, 70–90 × 30–50 mm, densely pilose, with about seven subglobose or ellipsoid seeds to 15–20 × 10–15 mm, with white testa when fresh; embryos not examined.

Distribution, habitat and phenology:—This species grows in rainforests and forest edges in the municipalities of Ipatinga and Santana do Paraíso, at about 290 m elev., in the eastern portion of Minas Gerais; flowers were collected in February, but were also observed in December and January (Melo, personal observation); fruits were observed from September to December (Melo, pers. obs.), but were not collected.

Conservation:—The neighboring municipalities of Ipatinga and Santana do Paraíso are very scarcely surveyed: they have a total area of about 440 km 2 ( IBGE 2016b), and only 190 collections are recorded from both ( INCT 2016, JBRJ 2016), with an average of 0.4 collection/km². Eugenia grandissima is not a frequent species and has a somewhat patchy distribution (E. Melo, pers. obs.). Considering the specimens collected, extent of occurrence (EOO; see IUCN 2001) may be estimated via Geocat ( Bachman et al. 2011) as about 5 km ² (criterion B1 of IUCN 2001); considering this and the fact that it was collected in fragmented forests (criterion a(i) of IUCN) and its extent of occurrence as well as the quality of its habitat are declining due to urban occupation (criteria b(i) and b(iii) of IUCN), these conditions suggest the category of CR (Critically Endangered). On the other hand, it is important to keep in mind that, since the area where E. grandissima comes from is very scarcely surveyed, this situation may be reevaluated when new information becomes available.

Affinities:—This species is apparently related to the southeastern Brazilian Eugenia umbrosa O. Berg (1857 –1859: 582), differing by the characters given in the diagnosis. Eugenia grandissima , considering its racemiform inflorescences with internodes shorter than the pedicels, may be related to clade 9 of the phylogenetic scheme proposed by Mazine et al. (2014).

Etymology:—The epithet is derived from the Latin word for “very large”, in allusion to its uncommonly large leaves among southeastern Brazilian species of Eugenia .

Paratypes:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: mun. Ipatinga, bairro Ipanemão , 19°25’10.8” S, 42°39’50.2” W, 17 February 2016, M. Sobral & E.A.D. Melo 15778 ( BHCB!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; mun. Santana do Paraíso, a partir de Ipatinga, bairro rural Ipaneminha , - 19.414167 N, - 42.529167 E (19°24’51”S, 42°31’45” W), 25 February 2008, L.C. Bernacci & R. Tsuji 4450 ( HPL!, IAC!, HUFSJ!) .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Eugenia grandissima—unmounted holotype (scale: 50 mm).

FIGURE 5. Eugenia grandissima—branch (Sobral & Melo 15778; photo by M. Sobral).

FIGURE 6. Eugenia grandissima—flowers (Sobral e Melo 15783; photo by M. Sobral).

FIGURE 7. Eugenia grandissima—immature fruit (photo by E. Melo; scale: 20 mm).