Miconia chrysophylla (Rich.) Urb.

  • Family

    Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)

  • Scientific Name

    Miconia chrysophylla (Rich.) Urb.

  • Description

    Description Author and Date: Frank Almeda, based on Almeda, F. (2009). Melastomataceae. In: G. Davidse, M. Sousa-Sânchez, S. Knapp, & F. Chiang (eds.), Flora Mesoamericana: Cucurbitaceae a Polemoniaceae. 4(1): 164-338.

    Type: Holotype: French Guiana, Leblond s.n. (G-DEL).

    Description: Shrubs or small trees 4-15(-20) m tall, the branchlets, lower leaf surfaces, inflorescences, and hypanthia covered with a dense tomentum of ferrugineous lepidote hairs, the young branchlets acutely 2-4-angled. Leaves opposite and/or in whorls of 3 or 4, the blades 3-nerved, narrowly oblong-elliptic, 10-21 X 2-4(-6) cm, adaxially glabrous, apex acuminate, base acute, the margin inconspicuously undulate-serrulate to entire; petioles 0.5-1 cm long. Panicle 7-10(-15) cm long; flowers 5-merous, sessile and secund on short branchlets, the early deciduous bracteoles oblong, 1 X 0.5 mm. Calyx lobes reduced to five low undulations, each bearing an inconspicuous completely adnate exterior tooth. Petals glabrous, 1-2 X 1-1.5 mm, oblong-obovate. Anthers somewhat anisomorphic, narrowly elliptic and arcuate, ca. 1 mm long, white, opening by an elongate ventral cleft extending nearly to the base; connective prolonged ca. 0.5 mm, exappendiculate. Style glabrous, 3 mm long; stigma clavate; ovary 3-locular, 1/2 inferior, apex glabrous; berry 4-5 X 4-5 mm, purple at maturity. Seeds smooth, pyramidate to lunate, rounded and somewhat angulate, 2-3 mm long.

    Habitat and Distribution: Locally common, rain forest. 0-500 m. Southern Mexico (Oaxaca), Greater Antilles (Jamaica), Trinidad, all the Guianas, Venezuela and Colombia, S to Bolivia and Amazonian Brazil. MEXICO: Chiapas (Martínez 18279, CAS); BELIZE (Gentle 8172, CAS); GUATEMALA (Contreras 11136, CAS); HONDURAS (Nelson 5504, CAS); NICARAGUA (Little & Antonio 25350, CAS); COSTA RICA (Gomez-Laurito 10416, CAS); PANAMA (Almeda & McPherson 5961, CAS).

    Notes: [Description based only on Mesoamerican specimens.]

  • Sorry, no descriptions available for this record.