Eugenia monosperma Vellozo (1829: 209)

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 : 49

29. Eugenia monosperma Vellozo (1829: 209) . ( Fig. 20 ).

Trees 2–5 m tall. Twigs glabrous when young. Young leaves glabrous. Leaves with petioles 2–5 mm long, terete, glabrous; blades 173–277 × 35–75 mm, oblong, narrow-elliptic or lanceolate, concolorous when dry, not glaucous and glabrous on both surfaces; bases cordate; apices obtuse; midvein sulcate adaxially and raised abaxially, glabrous on both surfaces; secondary veins 15–23 at each side, slightly raised on both surfaces, the first pair confluent with the marginal vein; marginal veins two, the innermost 5–8 mm from the plane and without thickening margin; oil glands inconspicuous adaxially and slightly raised abaxially. Inflorescences ramiflorous, rare axillary, glomerules, sessile, rachis inconspicuous, glabrous; bracts 0.5–1 mm long, ovate, puberulent, deciduous after anthesis; 3–10 flowers; sessile, pubescent; bracteoles 2–2.5 mm long, connate at the bases, ovate, apices obtuse or rounded, puberulent, not reflexed, persistent in the fruit; trichomes brownish. Flower buds 4–7 mm in diameter. Flowers with smooth, pubescent hypanthia; calyx lobes 4, free, 3–5 × 4–5.5 mm, suborbiculate, apices obtuse or rounded, tomentose, pubescent or ciliate; petals 4, oblong or obovate, oil glands evident; staminal ring pubescent; stamens with filaments 8–10.5 mm, anthers oblong; style 12–13 mm, puberulent, stigma punctiform, sometimes enlarged; ovary 2–locular, ovules 14–18 per locule, locule internally glabrous. Fruits immature ca. 28 × 25 mm, globose or wide-ellipsoid, smooth, pubescent; seeds not seen.

Specimens examined: — BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Linhares, Reserva Natural Vale – Estrada Farinha Seca , 28 April 1982, fl., D.A. Folli 371 (BHCB!, CVRD!, HUFSJ!, ICN!, RB!, SORO!) ; ibid., Estrada Municipal do MME, próximo ao João Pedro , 18 April 1995, fl., D.A. Folli 2586 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., RFL 134/97, 2 December 2010, fr., R. Mello-Silva 3277 (CVRD!, ESA!, SPF!) ; ibid., RFL 89/86, 03 October , fr., G.S. Siqueira 1006 (CVRD!, RB!) ; ibid., RFL 89/86, 14 April 2010, fl., G.S. Siqueira 546 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., RFL 89/II-2, 04 March 2000, fl., D.A. Folli 3596 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) .

Distribution and habitat: — Eugenia monosperma is known from collections from the state of Espírito Santo to São Paulo in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil. In the RNV, the species is found in the Mata Alta vegetation, growing in the understory or in natural regeneration areas known as Capoeirão.

Phenology: —Flowering in March through April; fruiting in October through December ( Fig. 5 ).

Taxonomic comments: —The species can be assigned to Eugenia sect. Umbellatae due to its glomerules inflorescence and bracteoles persistent after anthesis. Eugenia monosperma is easily distinguished from all other species of the genus in RNV when its leaves are verticillate, however it can vary to opposite; then the combination of glabrous, oblong, narrow-elliptic or lanceolate leaves with cordate bases and glomerulate, generally ramiflorous inflorescences is distinctive.

Figures

FIGURE 5. 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 20. Dry specimen of Eugenia monosperma.