Eugenia adenantha O.Berg (1859: 578)

Valdemarin, Karinne Sampaio, Mazine, Fiorella F. & Souza, Vinicius Castro, 2024, Eugenia (Myrtaceae) from Reserva Natural Vale, Espírito Santo, a center of plant endemism in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, Phytotaxa 651 (1), pp. 1-79 : 14

1. Eugenia adenantha O.Berg (1859: 578) . ( Fig. 6A .)

Trees 3–16 m tall. Twigs glabrous when young. Young leaves glabrous. Leaves with petioles 3–8.5 mm long, canaliculate adaxially, glabrous; blades 65–100 × 25–45 mm, elliptic, slightly discolorous when dry, lighter abaxially, not glaucous and glabrous on both surfaces; bases obtuse or attenuate; apices acute to acuminate, sometimes obtuse; midvein sulcate adaxially and raised abaxially, glabrous on both surfaces; secondary veins 8–14 at each side, slightly raised on both surfaces, the first pair confluent with the marginal innermost vein; marginal veins two, the innermost 2– 6 mm from the plane and without thickening margin; oil glands raised adaxially and generally inconspicuous abaxially. Inflorescences axillary, fascicle, sessile or with peduncle up to 3.5 mm long, rachis up to 0.5 mm long, glabrous; bracts 0.5–2 mm long, ovate or lanceolate, ciliate, deciduous at anthesis; 2–8 flowers; pedicels 3–15 mm long, glabrous; bracteoles 1–2 mm long, free, narrow-lanceolate or lanceolate, apices acute, ciliate, reflexed, persistent in the fruit; trichomes light brown. Flower buds 2–4 mm in diameter. Flowers with glandular, glabrous hypanthia; calyx lobes 4, free in the bud, 2–3.5 × 2–3 mm, ovate, apices obtuse or rounded, generally glabrous or sometimes ciliate; petals 4, obovate, oil glands evident; staminal ring puberulent; stamens with filaments 3.5–5 mm, anthers oblong, rarely suborbicular; style 4–7 mm, glabrous, stigma punctiform and papillose, sometimes slightly dilatated; ovary 2(–3)– locular, ovules 12–22 per locule, locule internally glabrous. Fruits 8–17 × 5–9 mm, ellipsoid, glandular, glabrous, purple when ripe; seed 1 per fruit, 7–15 × 4.5–8 mm, ellipsoid, testa smooth.

Specimens examined: — BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Mun. Linhares, Reserva Natural Vale – Aceiro Reservinha João Pedro , fr., 13 December 2012, G.S. Siqueira 848 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., Estrada Cinco Folhas , fr., 27 January 2017, K.S. Valdemarin 912 (ESA!) ; ibid., fr., 29 January, K.S. Valdemarin 917 (ESA!) ; ibid., fl., Estrada Ipê Amarelo , 07 December 2007, G.S. Siqueira 370 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., fr., Estrada Louro , 29 January 2017, K.S. Valdemarin 929 (ESA!) ; ibid., fr., Estrada Municipal do MME, 09 November 2009, D.A. Folli 6461, 6464 (CVRD!, RB!, SORO!) ; ibid., fr., 17 March 2003, D.A. Folli 4477 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., fr., 24 October 2013, D.A. Folli 7122 (CVRD!, RB!, SORO!) ; ibid., fl., 28 November 2002, D.A. Folli 4433 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) .

Distribution and habitat: — Eugenia adenantha is known from collections from the state of Bahia to Rio de Janeiro in the Atlantic rainforest of southeastern Brazil. In the RNV, the species is mainly found in the Mata Alta vegetation, growing in the understory with some gatherings (D.A. Folli 4433, 6461, 6464 and 7122) in natural regeneration areas known as Capoeirão.

Phenology: —Flowering in October through December; fruiting in December through March ( Fig. 4 ).

Taxonomic comments: —The species can be assigned to Eugenia sect. Umbellatae due to its fascicle inflorescences and bracteoles persistent in fruit. Eugenia adenantha is easily distinguished from all other species of the genus by its flowers with glandular hypanthia (which develop as markedly glandular fruits), and bracteoles narrow-lanceolate to lanceolate, reflexed after anthesis and persistent in fruits.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Phenological diagram of Eugenia species from Reserva Natural Vale, Espírito Santo, Brazil. Flowering periods are represented by dark red border triangles, fruiting in grey filled triangles, and “n” is the number of observations.

FIGURE 6. A. Fruiting branch of Eugenia adenantha (K.S. Valdemarin 917), B. Fruiting branch of E. adenophylla (D.A. Folli 7524, Vale S.A.), C. Fruiting branch of E. arenaria (K.S. Valdemarin 994), D. Fruiting branch of E. arvensis (K.S. Valdemarin 414).