Eugenia regia Bünger & Sobral, 2013

Bünger, Mariana De O., Sobral, Marcos & Renato, João, 2013, Two new Atlantic Forest Myrtaceae from Brazil, Phytotaxa 147 (2), pp. 55-60 : 55-58

Eugenia regia Bünger & Sobral , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 , 2 )

This species is related to Eugenia bunchosiifolia but can be distinguished by larger sepals, bracteoles and blades, which are abaxially floccose.

TYPE:— BRAZIL. São Paulo, Ubatuba, no alto do Morro Escuro, a 800m do Rio Escuro , 7 November 1961 (fl, fr), Fontella & Moura 94 (holotype SP!) .

Tree 3–8 m tall. Leaves with petioles 11–25 × 2.3–5.3 mm, pubescent; blades oblong, 150–300 × 65.2–120.9 mm, leathery, discolored, trichomes rufescent, flocose abaxially, adaxially glabrescent, apex acuminate or obtuse, base acute, midveins sulcate adaxially, raised abaxially; lateral veins 25–40 on each side, raised on both sides; marginal vein 4.6–7 mm from the margin, a second vein ca. 2.5 mm from the revolute margin. Inflorescences auxotelic with 2 or 3 flowers near the leaves but not axilary, terminal; bracts linear or triangular 15.4–23 mm long; pedicels 13–28 × 2–2.8 mm, pubescent; bracteoles concealing the ovary, triangular ca. 20– 28.7 mm long, ferrugineous, pubescent, persistent at anthesis. Inflorescences auxotelic, pedicels with rufescent pubescence, 13–28 × 0.2–0.4 mm; bracteoles concealing the ovary ovate with rufescent pubescence, apices acute, 20–28 × 15–20 mm, persistent at anthesis; ovary tomentose; calyx lobes 4, ovate or lanceolate, apices acute, 15–25 × 8–12 mm; staminal ring ca. 7 mm diameter. Immature fruits globose, 12.7 mm diam., pubescent with a single seed ca. 10 mm diam.; embryo with two fused cotyledons and no visible hypocotyl.

Aditional specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro, Paraty, Estrada para Trindade (APA– Cairuçu), 23 November 1990, Klein et al. 1048 (BHCB!, isoparatype RB!); Praia Brava, mata do pontal esquerdo, 30 November 1995 (fl), Giordano et al. 2050 (BHCB!, isoparatype RB!); Estrada nova para a praia do Sono , 15 November 1993, Barros 2877 (isoparatype BHCB!, SP!) . São Paulo, Ubatuba, SP-55, Povoado Lagoinha, Ruína dos Escravos, 23°30´30´´S, 45° 11´58´´ W, 25 m, 14 November 1998 (fl), Melo et al. 2556 (isoparatype BHCB!, HUEFS!) .

Distribution:— Eugenia regia is a tree of the Atlantic Forest of the Serra do Mar, collected along the coastal forests of northern São Paulo and southern Rio de Janeiro.

Phenology:— flowers were collected from August to November and immature fruits in November.

Etymology:— The epithet is derived from the Latin word for “royal”, in allusion to the region where the “Estrada Real”, an important Brazilian route in XVIIIth century along which the riches of Brazil reached the sea. This region is exactly where the new species occurs.

Conservation status:— Few individuals or small populations (<50 individuals) were found at collecting localities and the region is under a anthropic pressure, principally because a lot of cities are located around the Serra do Mar and due to the historical extraction of palm from these forests. According to the criterion A2c and D ( IUCN 2013), the species is considered Endangered.

Discussion:— This new species was frequently filed in herbaria under the name Eugenia santensis Kiaerskou , a synonym of Eugenia bunchosiifolia Niedenzu. However , these species are distinguished through the characters in the following couplet:

1. Leaves up to 150 mm long, glabrous; bracteoles ca. 4 mm; calyx lobes up to 10 mm long ............... E. bunchosiifolia 1. Leaves 150–300 mm long, abaxially floccose; bracteoles 20–28 mm long; calyx lobes 15–25 mm long ........ E. regia

Figures

FIGURE 1. Eugenia regia Bünger & Sobral, holotype specimen (Fontella & Moura 94 (fl), SP).

FIGURE 2. Eugenia regia Bünger & Sobral, holotype specimen (Fontella & Moura 94 (fr), SP)