Eugenia coccinea Coutinho & M.Ibrahim, 2015

Coutinho, Karoline, Oliveira, Marla Ibrahim Uehbe De & Funch, Lígia Silveira, 2015, Four new species of Eugenia (Myrtaceae) from the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil, Phytotaxa 234 (3), pp. 215-226 : 220-222

3. Eugenia coccinea Coutinho & M.Ibrahim sp. nov. ( Figures 3 and 5 )

This species is similar to Eugenia duarteana Cambessèdes (1832: 348) differing by having membranous leaves; calyx lobes with tuft of hairs on the apex, and hypanthium glabrous.

Type:— BRASIL. Bahia: Maracás, 13°26’28’S 40°25’51’W. 10 October 1983. A.M. de Carvalho 1983 (holotype CEPEC!, isotype SP!, MBM!, RB).

Tree or shrub 2–3 m high, young twigs brownish, pilose, hair brownish; adult branches whitish, glabrous. Leaf blades 2–64 × 9–34 mm, membranaceous, obovate, elliptic or lanceolate, flat, reticulate; apex rounded, obtuse or rarely acute, with a tuft of reddish trichomes; base acute or cuneate; margin ciliate or undulate or little revolute; pilose on both sides; glandular dots on both sides, 0.6– 0.1 mm diam., 2–5 per square millimeter; venation brochidodromous; midvein sulcate above, prominent below, tomentose with whitish trichomes on the adaxial side and brown on abaxial side; lateral veins 5–9, erect, leaving the mid vein at 35°–40°, tomentose; marginal vein absent; petiole 2–6 × 0.1 mm, channeled, pubescent. Inflorescences terminal, 2–flowered; rachis 2–3 m; pedicels 30–35 mm, channeled, with glandular dots; bracts linear 0.7–0.9 mm, apex acute, pubescent, with brownish trichomes, bracteoles not seen; buds not seen; calyx lobes four, 5–7 × 3–5 mm, unequal, deltoid or oblong, ciliate, apex rounded, cuneate, pubescent on both sides, glandular dots present; petals four, 8–11 × 5–8 mm, clavate, ciliate, apex rounded, glabrescent abaxially, glandular dots present; hypanthium 1.7–2.1 × 1.5–1.7 mm, not costate, glabrous or with scattered trichomes, glandular dots present; staminal ring ca. 4 mm diam., pilose, square; stamens 3.5–6 mm long, anthers 0.5–0.8 mm long, elliptic; style ca. 5 mm long, glabrous, glandular dots absent; ovary bilocular, with 2 ovules per locule, glabrous. Fruit not seen.

Etymology: —The specific epithet alludes to the tuft of reddish trichomes found on the apex of leaves in this species.

Phenology: —Flowers in October.

Distribution and habitat: — Eugenia coccinea was encountered on a rock outcrop in the central-southern region of Bahia State, in the municipality of Maracás, at 964 m a.s.l. The region is semiarid, with two rainy periods during the year, with an average annual temperature of 22 °C ( Velloso et al. 2002). The caatinga vegetation there is arboreal and shrubby, although other types of vegetation such as Matas de Cipó (liana forests) are found in the region, with many areas of native vegetation being substituted by pasture, monocultures, and the cultivation of ornamental plants (IBGE 2015).

Morphological comments:— Eugenia coccinea is similar to E. duarteana as both have obovate leaves with tomentose central veins, and calyx lobes with indument. They can be differentiated, however, by E. coccinea having membranous leaves and hypanthium glabrous, while E. duarteana has coriaceous leaves and hypanthium tomentose. Additionally, E. coccinea has a tuft of reddish trichomes on the apex of the central nerve on the abaxial face of the leaf, and leaf margins ciliate.

Conservation status: —According to species Link website ( CRIA 2015), 5682 specimens have been collected in the municipality of Maracás, which covers 2253 Km² (IBGE 2015), representing an average of 2.6 specimens/km². However, as the rarity of this species may be attributed to few collections, it seems more appropriate to adopt the IUCN category DD (deficient data; IUCN 2015).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Eugenia coccinea Coutinho & M.Ibrahim. A. Habit. B. Detail of leaf and inflorescence (scale 1 cm).

FIGURE 5. Distribution map of Eugenia caatingicola Coutinho & M. Ibrahim, E. funchiana Coutinho & M. Ibrahim, E. coccinea Coutinho & M. Ibrahim, and E. potiraguensis Coutinho & M. Ibrahim in Brazil.