Myrceugenia acutiflora (Kiaersk.) D.Legrand & Kausel

• Authority

  Landrum, Leslie R. 1981. A monograph of the genus Myrceugenia (Myrtaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 29: 1-137. (Published by NYBG Press)

• Family

  Myrtaceae

• Scientific Name

  Myrceugenia acutiflora (Kiaersk.) D.Legrand & Kausel

• Type

  Types. Glaziou 13894, hereby designated as lectotype (lectotype, C; isolectotypes, F, R, RB, US; Field Museum neg. 23509 of lectotype, photo at MICH); Glaziou 13888 (paratype, C).

• Synonyms

  Eugenia acutiflora Kiaersk., Luma acutiflora (Kiaersk.) Burret

• Description

  
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  Species Description - Shrub or tree 2-12 m high; hairs reddish-brown, dibrachiate, mainly symmetrical; twigs densely pubescent when young, glabrescent with age, the bark reddish-brown to grey, often becoming a mass of thin papery scales; leaves elliptic to ovate, 2.5-4.5 cm long, 1-2 cm wide, 1.9-2.9 times as long as wide, the upper surface entirely glabrous or sparsely pubescent along the midvein, the lower surface densely pubescent when young, losing some or nearly all pubescence with age; apex acute to acuminate, usually bluntly so, rarely rounded; base acuminate, cuneate or acute; petiole strongly channeled, densely pubescent, 23 mm long, 0.5-1 mm thick; midvein impressed proximally or for entire length above, prominent below; lateral veins indistinct or up to ca. 15 pairs faintly visible; marginal veins equalling lateral or less distinct; blades yellow-green, grey-green, or reddish-brown above, about the same color but lighter below, coriaceous, the upper surface sometimes lustrous; peduncles uniflorous, flattened, 3-10 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, densely pubescent, solitary or two in a row in the leaf axils; bracteoles ovate to lanceolate, 2.5-4.5 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, 1.5-2.5 times as long as wide, subcoriaceous, sparsely pubescent to glabrous within, densely pubescent without, clasping the hypanthium; Calyx-lobes ovate to triangular, 3-5.5 mm long, 2.5-3.5 mm wide, 1-1.7 times as long as wide, densely pubescent over entire inner surface or less densely pubescent proximally, densely pubescent without; hypanthium obconic, densely pubescent, 2-3 mm long; disk sparsely pubescent, ca. 3 mm across; style 6-8 mm long, very sparsely pubescent to glabrous; stamens 160-230, 3-8 mm long; anthers 0.3-0.6 mm long when dry; petals densely pubescent without, glabrous to very sparsely pubescent within, 3-4 mm in diam.; ovary 3-4-locular; ovules 8-14 per locule; fruit globose, ca. 7-10 mm in diam.; seeds ca. 4-7.

• Discussion

  Myrceugenia acutiflora is most similar to M. myrcioides var. myrcioides and M. pilotantha var. major. From the first it can be distinguished by its Calyx-lobes that are not valvate in the bud nor concave throughout the inner surface. The leaf apex is usually a good indicator as well, normally being bluntly acuminate in M. acutiflora and sharply acuminate in M. myrcioides. Myrceugenia acutiflora can be distinguished from M. pilotantha var. major by its hairs that are all dibrachiate and by its petiole which is strongly channeled. In M. pilotantha var. major the hairs are a mixture of simple and dibrachiate and the petioles are unchanneled or only scarcely channeled.

  Myrceugenia acutiflora flowers, as far as is known, from January to March and probably fruits in the winter months of July and August. Myrceugenia myrcioides var. myrcioides has its flowering peak from April to May and therefore phenology also serves to separate these entities.
  Myrceugenia acutiflora seems to be confined to higher elevations along the Atlantic coast from Rio de Janeiro to Santa Catarina. It is an understory shrub or tree of the misty wet forests of this region. A map of its distribution is shown in Fig. 19.

• Distribution

  Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| Paraná Brazil South America| Santa Catarina Brazil South America|