Bertolonia marmorata ( Naudin 1848: 381 ) Naudin (1851: 318)

Bisewski, Gessica C. A., Bacci, Lucas F., Amorim, André M. & Goldenberg, Renato, 2022, The Genus Bertolonia (Melastomataceae) In The State Of Bahia, Brazil, Phytotaxa 548 (2), pp. 153-183 : 174-175

11. Bertolonia marmorata ( Naudin 1848: 381) Naudin (1851: 318) . Figure 15 .

Herbs ca. 15 cm tall, terrestrial. Stem 2–6 mm wide, rounded, densely glandulose-punctate (trichomes less than 0.1 mm long) and moderately to densely glandulose-villose (trichomes 2.4–4 mm long). Leaves opposite; petioles 0.7– 4 cm long, rounded or quadrangular, moderately glandulose-punctate and sparsely to moderately glandulose-pilose (trichomes 1–2 mm long); blades 4–12.4 × 3–10.9 cm, flat, ovate or elliptic, seldom widely ovate, base cordate, seldom subcordate, apex obtuse or rounded, margins entire or crenate, seldom denticulate, sparsely to moderately ciliate, adaxial surface dark green, sparsely to moderately glandulose-punctate and sparsely to moderately glandulose-pilose (trichomes 1–2.4 mm long, brownish), abaxial surface vinaceous, sparsely to moderately glandulose-punctate and sparsely glandulose-pilose (trichomes 1.1–1.8 mm long, brownish), main veins 5, seldom 3, plus two pairs that do not reach the leaf apex, basal. Inflorescences terminal, 6.4–17.8 cm long (10–24 cm long in infructescences), branches densely glandulose-punctate, moderately glandulose-punctate and sparsely glandulose-villose when old. Bracts 2–3 mm long, lanceolate, apex acute, both surfaces glandulose-punctate and glandulose-villose, margins ciliate; bracteoles 0.8–1.5 mm long, lanceolate, apex acute, both surfaces glandulose-punctate. Hypanthium 1.8–2.9 × 1.6–2.5 mm, short terete, glandulose-punctate and glandulose-villose. Sepals ovate or widely ovate, apex acute, seldom acuminate, margins entire, ciliate, both surfaces glandulose-punctate and glandulose-villose. Petals 3.8–7.3 × 1.9–3 mm, pink, elliptic or obovate, base cuneate, apex apiculate, the apiculum 0.2–0.5 mm long, with a caducous gland head, margins entire, eciliate, both surfaces papillose, otherwise glabrous. Stamens 3.5–5 mm long; filaments 1.5–3.1 mm long; anthers 1.6–2 mm long, cream colored, oblong or lanceolate, slightly falciform, surface undulate, pore triangular, nonthickened margins, introrse; connective prolonged (ca. 0.2 mm), dorsally thickened. Style 3–5.5 mm long, straight, glabrous. Fruits 0.6–0.7 × 0.9–1 cm. Seeds fusiform.

Examined material: — BRAZIL. Bahia: Amargosa, Cardoso 1712 ( CEPEC!, HUEFS!); Paixão 1179 ( CEPEC!, HUEFS!). Cairu, Borges 728 ( CEPEC!); Paixão 319 ( CEPEC!, NY); Queiroz 13756 ( HUEFS!). Elísio Medrado, Guedes 21075 ( ALCB!, HUFU!). Itagibá, Ramos 45 ( ALCB!). Jequié, Souza, A.F. 3 ( UPCB!); Thomas 13829 ( CEPEC!). Jussari, Thomas 11946 ( CEPEC!, NY, RB). Santa Teresinha, Marinho 1440 ( HUEFS!). Valença, Carvalho 820 ( CEPEC!, HUEFS!, US); Matos 3354 ( CEPEC!, HUEFS!).

Conservation Status: — Bertolonia marmorata has an EOO of 78,943 km ² and AOO of 25,000 km ², and should be classified as “Least Concern” (LC), following IUCN (2017) categories. In Bahia, this species has been found in the “ Área de Proteção Ambiental Tinharé-Boipeba ”, but also within private properties .

Notes: — Bertolonia marmorata occurs in the states of Bahia, Alagoas and Pernambuco. This species occurs in lowland rainforests, rarely in montane rainforests with some specimens distributed in transition areas between Atlantic Forest and Caatinga ( Fig. 13c ), usually on forested areas near water. Collected with flowers and fruits from October to February and July. Bertolonia marmorata is recognized by the leaves with a rounded apex and flowers with small anthers (1.6–2 mm long) dehiscing through a triangular, introrse pore. Bertolonia marmorata is similar to B. carmoi and B. maculata , and the limits between them is sometimes obscure (for more details, see the notes under both species). During this study we identified several specimens from different locations (Aona 1841; Bisewski 55, 63; Ferreira 1852; Fiaschi 2760; J.G. Jardim 4505; Thomas 3604, 12500, 12505, 12295) that might belong to this B. maculata / B. marmorata complex, They all share the branches, petioles, leaf blades, hypanthium and sepals covered with sessile or short-stalked glands (less than 0.1 mm long) and long-stalked glands (1–5 mm long), leaf blades with similar sizes (3–14.5 × 2.4–10.9 cm) and anthers with an introrse pore ( Fig. 10e ). Moreover, these specimens share with B. marmorata the elliptic or widely ovate leaf blades with a rounded apex, similar anther size with an introrse, triangular pore. We are not sure about the inclusion of these specimens in the treatments for either B. maculata or B. marmorata mainly because these plants have a partially tuberous, thickened stem with plagiotropic growth, that stays hidden beneath the leaf litter; the plants are invisible during the dry season, when the deciduous leaves fall. The foliar portion of the stem seems to be thicker in periods with water availability, probably making it a water reserve structure. The development of this structure seems to be related to the habitat of the specimens; they usually occur in drier places, such as deciduous seasonal forest introgressions within the Caatinga. These observations were made in the field and still require further studies, including on the anatomy of these stems, in order to decide whether these specimens belong to either B. maculata or B. marmorata , or even to one or more undescribed species. The whole B. maculata / B. marmorata complex deserves a detailed, population-based study, in order to solve the problems on the limits of these species. For more details see Baumgratz (1990) and Table 1 .

Figures

FIGURE 10. Specimens in vivo. A. Bertolonia igrapiuna. B. B. linearifolia. C. B. reginatoi. D. B. violacea. E. B. vitoriana. F. Bertolonia sp, belonging to the B. maculata/B. marmorata species complex. Photos:A, C and D by L. F. Bacci; B by F. Michelangeli; E and F by A. M. A. Amorim.

FIGURE 13. Distributions of species of Bertolonia in Bahia.A.Bertolonia linearifolia. B. Bertolonia maculata. C. Bertolonia marmorata. D. Bertolonia reginatoi. E. Bertolonia riocontensis. F. Bertolonia violacea. G. Bertolonia vitoriana.

FIGURE 15. Bertolonia marmorata. A. Fertile branch. B. Trichomes on the petiole. C. Leaf base, abaxial surface. D. Short-stalked glandular trichomes on the abaxial leaf surface. E. Inflorescence. F. Hypanthium and calyx, abaxial surface. G. Petals apex, showing the apiculum with glands (arrow). H. Stamen, lateral (left) and dorsal (right) views. I. Ovary and style. [A, H: Paixão 1179; B, C: Cardoso 1712; D, F: Paixão 319; E, I: Borges 728; G: Carvalho 820].