Eugenia atlantica Valdemarin & Sobral

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 : 20-21

6. Eugenia atlantica Valdemarin & Sobral (in Valdemarin et al. 2019a: 100). ( Fig. 8B .)

Trees 3–9 m tall. Twigs puberulent or velutinous when young, glabrescent; trichomes brownish or whitish. Young leaves velutinous, glabrescent; trichomes whitish. Leaves with petioles 6–12.5 mm long, canaliculate adaxially, puberulent; blades 80–180 × 35–70 mm, elliptic or narrow-ovate, slightly discolorous when dry, lighter abaxially, not glaucous and glabrous adaxially and puberulent abaxially; bases obtuse, rare attenuate; apices acute or acuminate; midvein sulcate adaxially and raised abaxially, glabrate adaxially and puberulent abaxially; secondary veins 9–12 at each side, slightly raised to sulcate adaxially and raised abaxially, the first pair confluent with the marginal innermost vein; marginal veins two, the innermost 4–8 mm from the plane and without thickening margin; oil glands inconspicuous adaxially and slightly raised abaxially. Inflorescences axillary, rare ramiflorous, fascicle, sessile or with peduncle up to 1.5 mm long, rachis up to 12 mm long, puberulent or velutinous; bracts 0.5–1.5 mm long, ovate, puberulent, persistent after anthesis; 2–6 flowers; pedicels 5–19 mm long, puberulent or velutinous; bracteoles 0.5–2 mm long, free, ovate or narrow-ovate, apices acute, puberulent, not reflexed, persistent in the fruit; trichomes brownish or whitish. Flower buds 4.5–7.5 mm in diameter. Flowers with costate to slightly costate, velutinous hypanthia; calyx lobes 4, completely fused or partially fused along two-thirds of the bud length, 5.5–9 × 5.5–7 mm, ovate or oblong, apices rounded, velutinous; petals 4, obovate, oil glands evident; staminal ring puberulent; stamens with filaments 4–8 mm, anthers oblong; style 9.5–14 mm, puberulent or glabrous, stigma punctiform; ovary 2–locular, ovules 34–38 per locule, locule internally glabrous. Fruits 14–22 × 8–15 mm, ellipsoid or oblong, slightly costate, velutinous, purple when ripe; seed 1–2 per fruit, 14–22 × 8–15 mm, ellipsoid or oblong, testa smooth.

Specimens examined: — BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Mun. Linhares, Reserva Natural Vale – Aceiro com Pomar de Frutas Tropicais , 12 March 2007, fl., D.A. Folli 5509 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., Estrada Bomba d’água, 25 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 856 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Farinha Seca , 31 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 960 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Flamengo , próximo à torre, 25 January 1990, fl., D.A. Folli 1083 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., 1 km para o final, 24 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 798 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Gávea , 1 km para o final, 25 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 844 (ESA!) ; ibid., 25 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 841 (ESA!) ; ibid., RFL 01/80 bloco B-3, 21 January 2000, fl., D.A. Folli 3558 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., RFL 01/80 bloco D-8, 27 December 2006, fl., D.A. Folli 5428 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., RFL 01/80, 01 February 2000, fl., D.A. Folli 3561 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., Estrada Jacarandá Caviúna , 01 February 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 1000 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Jueirana Facão , 22 January 2007, fl., D.A. Folli 5467 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., Estrada Louro , 29 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 928 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Mantegueira , 14 April 1998, fl., D.A. Folli 3147 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., 30 March 2012, fr., J.E.Q. Faria 2515 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., curva com a Flamengo , 23 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 772 (ESA!) ; ibid., 23 March 2019, fr., K.S. Valdemarin 1237 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Municipal João Pedro , 17 June 1997, fr., D.A. Folli 3053 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., Estrada Roxinho , 08 April 2006, fr., M.A. Pinho-Ferreira M617 (CVRD!, ESA!, SORO!, VIES!) ; ibid., Trilha da Peroba Amarela , 23 January 2017, K.S. Valdemarin 780 (ESA!) ; ibid., January 2017, K.S. Valdemarin 778 (ESA!); no locality, 03 November 1972, fl., D. Sucre 8427 (CEPEC!, SP!) .

Distribution and habitat: — Eugenia atlantica is known from collections from the state of Bahia and Espírito Santo and probably endemic to the Tabuleiro forest in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil. In the RNV, the species is found in the Mata Alta vegetation, growing in the understory and reaching the canopy.

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

Taxonomic comments: —The species can be assigned to Eugenia sect. Umbellatae due to its fasciculate inflorescences and bracteoles persistent in the fruit. Eugenia atlantica is morphologically similar to E. bahiensis De Candolle (1828: 271) due to its fasciculate inflorescences and young leaves, sepals and hypanthia velutinous, bracteoles persistent in the fruit, which is ellipsoid or oblong, also velutinous, and purple when ripe. However, Eugenia atlantica can be distinguished by its leaves usually larger (vs. 80–180 × 35–70 vs. 40–110 × 20–55 mm in E. bahiensis ), inflorescence mostly axillary (vs. mostly ramiflorous), flowers with costate to slightly costate hypanthia and calyx lobes completely fused or partially fused along two-thirds of the bud length (vs. smooth hypanthia and calyx lobes fused by ca. 1 mm long at the base). The combination of flowers with velutinous indumentum in hypanthia and calyx lobes, the costate to slightly costate hypanthia and calyx lobes completely fused or partially fused along two-thirds of the bud length, distinguish the species from all other species of the genus in RNV.

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 8. A. Fruiting branch of Eugenia astringens (K.S. Valdemarin 178), B. Flowering branch of E. atlantica (K.S. Valdemarin 772), C. Flowering branch of E. bahiensis (K.S. Valdemarin 458), D. Fruiting branch of E. batingabranca (G. Siqueira, Vale S.A.).