New botanical discoveries of Myrtaceae from Bolivia and notes on Psidium hians Villarroel, Daniel Gomes-Bezerra, Kadja M. Phytotaxa 2015 2015-01-23 195 2 163 170 457N9 Villarroel & Gomes-Bezerra Villarroel & Gomes-Bezerra. A. Habit 2015 [136,684,2036,2063] Magnoliopsida Myrtaceae Myrcia Plantae Myrtales 0 163 Tracheophyta species proencana sp. nov.    Myrcia proencana, in a vegetative state is similar to  M. torta, especially in leaf morphology when  M. tortais very young or is sprouting after fire, and because both have a 3–locular ovary. However,  M. proencanadiffers by a height less than 0.3 m(  M. tortareaches up to 1.8 mhigh), usually unbranched (  M. tortaare branched shrubs or subshrubs), and because the inflorescences in  M. proencanais an axillary dichasium, usually uniflorous (in  M. tortathe inflorescences is a panicle, with more than three flowers, axillary and terminal).   FIGURE 2.  Myrcia proencanaVillarroel & Gomes-Bezerra. A. Habit; B. Branch with buds and open flowers.  Subshrubup to 0.30 mtall, with a woody xylopodium; stems many, emerging from the base, usually unbranched, cylindrical in live plants, but flattened by drying, usually reddish or wine-colored, with glands visible when dry, pilose when young, glabrescent when mature, the trichomes simple and whitish. Leaves3–5 x 0.3–0.6 (–8) cm, opposite, subopposite or distally alternate at the apex of the stem, usually oblanceolate, or long-oblong; apex acute, obtuse or rounded, the extreme tip inconspicuously mucronate; base cuneate and decurrent; chartaceous; upper surface glabrescent but pubescent on the midvein, the trichomes simple and whitish, the lower surface glabrous; glands visible and dispersed on both surfaces but more abundant in the lower surface, 2–4 per mm 2; upper surface glaucous-green, lower surface light opaque green; margin entire; midvein prominent on both surfaces; lateral veins ca. 7–10 pairs, brochydodromous forming a marginal vein 0.3 to 0.5 mmfrom the adge, the first pair ascending at an angle of ca. 30°, the others ca. 45°–50°, equally raised on both surfaces, branched exmedial intersecondary veins; petiole 0.8–1 mmlong, canaliculate, pubescent or glabrescent, the trichomes simple and whitish. Inflorescencea dichasium, usually reduced to a single central flower only; one inflorescence per axil; peduncles (1–) 1.5–4.5 cm, wine–colored, with glands visible when dry, pilose or pubescent, the trichomes simple and whitish; bracts ca. 0.5–0.7 mm, deciduous (only observed in field), linear, pubescent on both sides, the trichomes simple and whitish; central flower sessile; lateral flowers with pedicels 2–3 mm, wine-colored, pilose or pubescent, the trichomes simple and whitish; bracteoles deciduous, not observed; floral buds 4–5 x 4–6 mmlong, open, wide-pyriform to turbiniform toward the base, pubescent when young, glabrescent when mature; hypanthium ca. 2.5–3 mmlong from the base ovary to base staminate disk, glabrous; calyx 5–lobed, the lobes 1.5–2 mmlong and 2–3 mmwide at the base, deltoid or triangular, the apex acute, outside glabrous or glabrescent, inside with strigose hairs, the margin ciliate, wine-red in bud; petals 3–4.5 x 4–5 mm, orbicular or short-elliptic, glabrous on both surfaces, the margin not ciliate, with glands visible on both surfaces, wine-red in bud, pinkish or white when mature, sometimes with a red spot; stamens 126–132 arranged in 4 to 5 irregular whorls; filaments 4–7 mmlong, glabrous; anthers < 0.5 mmlong, oblong; style 6–7 mmlong, glabrous; stigma punctiform; ovary 3–locular; ovules 2 per locule. Fruits(immature) 3.5–5 x 3–4.5 mm, globose, glabrescent, with glands visible; seeds not observed.    Paratypes:— BOLIVIA. Santa Cruz, Provincia Velasco: Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado[= PNNKM], Meseta de Huanchaca, Las Gamas, 14°48’52”S, 60°24’08”W,  01 Nov. 1995, fr, Killeen T. J. & Grinwood T. 7822( MO, USZ!);  PNNKM, Meseta de Huanchaca, Campamento Huanchaca2, 14°31’48”S, 60°44’44”W,  17 Nov. 2009, fl, Wood J. R. I. et al. 26463( K!, LPB!, UB!, USZ!).  Phenology:—Some populations were observed and collected fertile in november and december. It appears that the reproductive phase is strongly related with the occurrence of fire and the arrival of the rains. Completely sterile populations were observed in unburned areas.   Etymology:—The specific epithet pays tribute to Carolyn Elinore Barnes Proença, professor of the Universidade de Brasília, who has studied the family Myrtaceaeand the Cerrado vegetation, and promoted floristic, ecological and taxonomic studies in Brazil.  Affinities:—  Myrcia proencanahas a 3-locular ovary with 2 ovules per locule, leaves with reticulate venation and almost always one large gland per areole. These characters would position it within clade 6 of the  Myrcia s.l.genus ( sensuLucas et al. 2011). The species vegetatively most similar to  M. proencanais  M. tortaDe Candolle (1828: 250)(clade 9 inthe  Myrcia s.l.genus), especially when  M. tortais very young or is sprouting after a burning, due to the similarity of the morphology of their leaves. However, these two species can be clearly distinguished by a set of vegetative, reproductive and ecological characteristics.  M. proencanais a subshrub up to 0.3 mhigh, usually unbranched, the apex of the branches pilose and reddish or wine-colored, grows in campo limpo úmido(open wet grassland) and campo sujo úmido(shrubby wet grassland) (  M. torta, is a shrub or subshrub, 0.4–1.8 mhigh, branched, apex of the branches glabrous and yellowish, grows in areas with well-drained soils); the leaves in  M. proencanaare usually oblanceolate or long–oblong, apex acute, obtuse or rounded, the extreme tip inconspicuously mucronate, base cuneate and decurrent, 7 to 10 pairs of secondary veins, petiole 0.8–1 mmlong (in  M. tortausually elliptical, rarely oblanceolate, apex acute to obtuse, not mucronate, base attenuate or cuneate, not decurrent, 12 to 20 pairs of secondary veins, petiole 1–5 mmlong). The inflorescences in  M. proencanais a dichasium axillary, usually reduced to a single central flower only (very rarely with 3–flowered), not terminal (in  M. tortathe inflorescences is a panicle, with more than three flowers, axillary and terminal);  M. proencanahas floral buds of 4–5 x 4–6 mmlong, pubescent when young, glabrescent when mature (in  M. tortathe floral buds are 2–3 x 2.5–3.5 mm, glabrous).  M. proencanagrows in more open vegetation such as campo limpo úmidoand campo sujo úmido, and  M. tortais a species that grows in the campo sujoand cerrado sensu stricto, always well-drained soils. A photograph of this species is in Wood (2011a) under the name  Psidium‘ especie nueva’.  Habitat:—  Myrcia proencanais a species that is distributed between 600 and 950 malt. It grows in campo limpo úmido(wet open grassland) and campo sujo úmido(shrubby wet grassland), where it is common and relatively abundant, on sandy or stony soil on area with gentle slopes leading down to valleys with mata de galeria(gallery forests) or vegetação de vereda(seasonally inundated fields with palms of  Mauritia flexuosaLinnaeusfilius (1781: 454)).  M. proencanais one of the first species that grows quickly after its habitat has been burned. Usually when the campo limpo úmidois not burned, it goes unnoticed under the dense canopy of herbaceous biomass, which is dominated by grasses that form a canopy of up to 1 min height.   Distribution:— Bolivia: Santa Cruz. So far,  Myrcia proencanais endemic to Bolivia, and is known only from the plateau of the Serranía de Huanchaca of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (in the north of Santa Cruz Department). The records of the species are limited to only two areas of the plateau: 1) Huanchaca 2 (central region of the Serranía), and 2) Las Gamas (southern region of the Serranía).  Conservation status:—According to the IUCN (2011) criteria, this species should be categorized as Least Concern (LC), not because they are abundant or have a wide distribution, if not rather because their populations do not show any external threat, it is common within these patches of campo limpo úmidoand campo sujo úmido, their habitat is legally protected under Bolivian law to be within a National Park, and that access is difficult even for botanists ( Wood 2011b). 1995-11-01 PNNKM, T, J, MO, USZ Bolivia Provincia Velasco -14.814445 Meseta de Huanchaca 21 -60.402225 Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado 3 166 1 Santa Cruz paratype 2009-11-17 PNNKM, J, R, I, K, LPB, UB, USZ Bolivia -14.53 Campamento Huanchaca 21 -60.745556 Meseta de Huanchaca 3 166 1 paratype