Myrcia laxiflora Cambessèdes (1832: 319)

Santos, Matheus F., Amorim, Bruno S., Burton, George P., Faria, Jair E. Q., Fernandes, Thiago, Flickinger, Jonathan A., Gaem, Paulo Henrique, Landrum, Leslie R., Lima, Duane F., Proença, Carolyn E. B., Rosa, Priscila O., Lima-Dos-Santos, Leidiana, Setubal, Robberson B., Stadnik, Aline M. S., Staggemeier, Vanessa G., Vasconcelos, Thais N. C. & Lucas, Eve J., 2024, A taxonomic account of Myrciinae (Myrteae, Myrtaceae): generic and sectional placement of forgotten species and a list of all accepted species, Phytotaxa 674 (2), pp. 129-170 : 139-140

5.1.1. Myrcia laxiflora Cambessèdes (1832: 319) . Aulomyrcia laxiflora (Cambess.) O. Berg (1855: 64) .

= Calyptromyrcia puberula O. Berg (1857 –1859: 57). Myrcianthes puberula (O.Berg) Mattos (2009: 1) , syn. nov. Type:— BRAZIL. São Paulo, Mogi das Cruzes, unknown date, Sellow s.n. (holotype B, [destroyed]). Lectotype:—The original illustration of Calyptromyrcia puberula in the Flora Brasiliensis 14 ( Berg 1857 –1859: tab. 2, fig. 23), designated here.

= Calyptromyrcia venosa O. Berg (1857 –1859: 57), syn. nov. Type:— BRAZIL. São Paulo, unknown date, Sellow s.n. (holotype B, destroyed). Neotype:— BRAZIL. São Paulo, unknown date, Sellow s.n. (P00547340!, designated here).

Based on the protologue, Calyptromyrcia puberula and C. venosa present a set of characters that match the circumscription of M. laxiflora , such as elliptic blades with acuminate apices, usually long petioles, pauciflorous inflorescences, and flower buds with very short calyx lobes (frequently indistinguishable from each other) that tear irregularly at anthesis. Indeed, C. puberula is compared with and poorly distinguished from C. cymosa O.Berg , another synonym of M. laxiflora ( Lima et al. 2018). Berg described 2-locular ovaries of C. venosa , which is likely a mistake as the usual condition of M. laxiflora and M. sect. Aguava as a whole is the 3-locularity ( Lima 2017, Lucas et al. 2018). Calyptromyrcia puberula and C. venosa were collected in a region where M. laxiflora is quite common.

Both Calyptromyrcia species were based on Sellow’s collections that were destroyed at B herbarium and no other type collections were found. The illustration accompanying the description of C. puberula was designated as the lectotype for this name. For C. venosa , the neotype chosen is also a Sellow’s collection (see Moraes 2023) from São Paulo that matches well the morphological description. Although this material has an identification as Calyptromyrcia cymosa , there is no evidence that it is part of the type collection of C. cymosa ( Lima et al. 2018).