Marlierea capitata O. Berg (1857: 33)

Santos, Matheus F., Stadnik, Aline, Proença, Carolyn E. B. & Sobral, Marcos, 2020, The near demise of Marlierea: moving last species to correct genera and notes on three incertae saedis taxa (Myrtaceae, Myrteae, Myrciinae), Phytotaxa 447 (3), pp. 195-202 : 198

1. Marlierea capitata O. Berg (1857: 33) .

Type:— BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro: without locality, s.d. (fl), Gaudichaud s.n. ex herb. Kunth (syntype: probably at B [destroyed]).

This species was described as having a terminal inflorescence in “capitula” (probably a cymose inflorescence with reduced internodes) and a turbinate hypanthium, i.e. considering Berg’s (1855 –1856, 1857–1859) concept of hypanthium morphology.

A single specimen was cited by Berg (1857 –1859) as seen in the Kunth herbarium (as “in hb. Kunth”). Kunth’s herbarium was incorporated into herbarium B (see Stafleu & Cowan 1979), where Berg probably analysed the type of M. capitata . However, most of the material was destroyed by fire during World War II and no duplicates or other specimens identified by Berg were found.

Original Gaudichaud specimens are deposited at P, and all images of Myrtaceae collected in Rio de Janeiro were carefully examined.A possible match was Gaudichaud 767 (P 05291060 and P06669331). It is similar to the protologue of Marlierea capitata in leaf shape, petiole size, pale green lamina, venation angle (described as “ erecto-patuli ”), and slightly sunken midvein, as well as the apical flowers. This specimen was identified by us as Myrciaria floribunda , which can produce up to 6 congested flowers (suggesting a “capitula”). However, there are differences between the Gaudichaud 767 specimens and the protologue of Marlierea capitata . The leaves described by Berg (1857 –1859) (ca. 12–15 cm long) are longer than in the specimens at P (up to ca. 10 cm), the hypanthium (unclear in the specimen’s image) is usually glabrous in M. floribunda (not “ ferrugineo adpresse villosum ” as in Marlierea capitata ) and petals are present although early caducous in the former, and Berg (1857 –1859) cited “ petala nulla ad anthesin.” These discrepancies have led us to maintain M. capitata as incertae saedis.