Eugenia ochracea Valdemarin & Mazine

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 : 55

33. Eugenia ochracea Valdemarin & Mazine (in Valdemarin et al. 2019b: 319). ( Fig. 22B .)

Trees 8–18 m tall. Twigs tomentose when young, glabrescent; trichomes ochraceous. Young leaves tomentose when young, glabrescent; trichomes ochraceous. Leaves with petioles 6–15 mm long, canaliculate, pubescent or puberulent; blades 80–165 × 30–65 mm, elliptic, rare narrow-elliptic, discolorous when dry, lighter abaxially, not glaucous and floccose to glabrous adaxially and floccose abaxially; base acute or obtuse; apex obtuse, rarely acute; midvein sulcate adaxially and raised abaxially, puberulent to glabrous adaxially and tomentose to pubescent abaxially; secondary veins 11–17 at each side, slightly raised on both surfaces, first pair confluent with the innermost marginal vein; marginal veins two, the innermost 2–3.5 mm from the revolute without thickening margin; oil glands inconspicuous adaxially and raised abaxially. Inflorescence axillary, rare terminal, fascicle, sometimes with late vegetative proliferation, peduncle 2–4 mm long, rachis up to 15.5 mm long, tomentose; bracts 1–6.5 mm long, ovate, lanceolate or linear, pubescent or puberulent, deciduous before anthesis; 2–6 flowers; pedicels 6–18 mm long, tomentose; bracteoles 4.5–9.5 mm long, free, lanceolate to linear, apex acute or obtuse, tomentose, not reflexed, deciduous before or at anthesis; trichomes ochraceous. Flower buds 7–9.5 mm in diameter. Flowers with smooth, tomentose hypanthium; calyx lobes 4, free, 5.5–8 × 5–7 mm, ovate, apex obtuse, tomentose; petals 4, obovate, oil glands evident; staminal ring puberulent; stamens with filaments 5–12.5 mm, anthers oblong; style 6–17 mm long, puberulent, stigma punctiform; ovary 2- locular, ovules 16–22 per locule, locule internally glabrous. Fruits 21–25 × 22–25 mm, globose, smooth, tomentose, externally ochraceous when ripe; seed 1 per fruit, ca. 16 × 17 mm, globose, testa smooth.

Specimens examined: — BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Linhares, Reserva Natural Vale – Estrada Mantegueira, 11 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 380 (ESA!) ; ibid., 11 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 381 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Municipal Canto Grande , 25 September 1995, fr., D.A. Folli 2660 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., Estrada Orelha de Onça , 02 April 2008, fr., M.C. Souza 647 (CVRD!, MBML!, RB!, SORO!) ; ibid., Trilha do Pequi Vinagreiro , 13 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 467 (ESA!) ; ibid., 27 January 2017, fl. and fr., K.S. Valdemarin 900 (ESA!) .

Distribution and habitat: — Eugenia ochracea is known from collections from the state of Espírito Santo and is probably endemic to the Tabuleiro forest in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil. The species was collected so far just in the RNV, where it is found in the Mata Alta vegetation.

Phenology: —Flowering in December through January; fruiting in April through September ( Fig. 5 ).

Taxonomic comments: —The species can be assigned to Eugenia sect. Umbellatae due to its inflorescences in fascicles and deciduous bracteoles after anthesis. Eugenia ochracea is morphologically similar to E. macrantha and E. moritziana due to their inflorescences in fascicles, sometimes with late vegetative proliferation, with tomentose and ochraceous indumentum, and the showy floral parts (pedicels 4–18 mm long, flower buds 5–9.5 mm in diameter, and calyx lobs 3.5–8 × 4–7 mm). However, Eugenia ochracea is easily distinguished from them by its floccose indumentum on leaf blades, bracteoles 4.5 9.5 mm long and deciduous before or at anthesis, and the globose fruits. Table 2 highlights the diagnostic features of E. ochracea , E. macrantha and E. moritziana . The specimens Folli 2660 and Souza 647 were named by Graziela Barroso as “ Eugenia menandroana ”, an unpublished name. Barroso also considered as “ Eugenia menandroana ” two more specimens here considered as belonging to E. macrantha, Farias 345 and Folli 2106.

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 22. Fruiting branch of Eugenia neosilvestris (K.S. Valdemarin 344) B. Flowering branch of Eugenia ochracea (K.S. Valdemarin 467), C. Fruiting branch of Eugenia pachnantha (K.S. Valdemarin 776), D. Flowering branch of Eugenia pisiformis (G. Siqueira, Vale S.A.).