Eugenia prasina O. Berg (1857: 225)

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 : 63-64

39. Eugenia prasina O. Berg (1857: 225) . ( Fig. 24C,D .)

Trees 1–10 m tall. Twigs glabrous when young, glabrescent; trichomes brownish. Young leaves glabrous. Leaves with petioles 2.5–8 mm long, plane or canaliculate, glabrous; blades 40–130 × 18–50 mm, elliptic, narrow-elliptic or narrow-ovate, concolorous when dry, not glaucous and glabrous on both surfaces; bases acute, obtuse or sometimes attenuate; apices acute or acuminate; midvein sulcate, plane or biconvex adaxially and raised abaxially, glabrous on both surfaces; secondary veins 9–11 at each side, slightly raised or inconspicuous adaxially and raise abaxially, the first pair confluent with the marginal vein; marginal veins two, the innermost 1.5–4 mm from the plane or revolute without thickening margin; oil glands raised or inconspicuous on both surfaces. Inflorescences axillary, fascicle, sessile or with peduncle up to 2 mm long, rachis up to 13 mm long, glabrous; bracts 0.5–1.5 mm long, ovate or lanceolate, puberulent, glabrate or glabrous, persistent after anthesis; 2–8 flowers; pedicels (3–) 6–26 mm long, glabrous; bracteoles 0.5–2.5 mm long, connate by ca. 1 mm long at the base, ovate or narrow-ovate, apices acute or obtuse, puberulent or glabrous, not reflexed, persistent in the fruit; trichomes brownish. Flower buds 3–6 mm in diameter. Flowers with smooth, pubescent or glabrous hypanthia; calyx lobes 4, free, 2–5 × 2–4 mm, ovate or oblong, apices obtuse, glabrous; petals obovate or oblong, oil glands evident; staminal ring puberulent; stamens with filament 5–8 mm long, anthers oblong; style 5–9 mm, glabrous, stigma punctiform; ovary 2-locular, ovules ca. 16 per locule, locule internally glabrous. Fruits 8–30 × 6.5–17 mm, ellipsoid, smooth, puberulent or glabrous; dark purple when ripe; seed 1 per fruit, 6–27.5 × 5–15 mm, ellipsoid, testa smooth.

Specimens examined: — BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Linhares, Reserva Natural Vale – Aceiro Aracruz , 30 May 2012, fr., J.E.Q. Faria 2505 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., Aceiro Calimã , 15 October 2002, fl., D.A. Folli 4379 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., 21 January 1994, fl., D.A. Folli 2188 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., Aceiro Catelã com João Pedro , 18 December 2008, fl., D.A. Folli 6263 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., Aceiro com Pomar de Frutas Tropicais , 13 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 449 (ESA!) ; ibid., 14 August 2015, fr., F.F. Mazine 1293 (ESA!, SORO!) ; ibid., 18 November 1997, fl., D.A. Folli 3075 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., Aceiro de acesso a Estrada Roxinho , 10 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 321 (ESA!) ; ibid., 10 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 322 (ESA!) ; ibid., 10 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 323 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Bomba d’água, 15 December 2007, fl., G.S. Siqueira 378 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., 25 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 854 (ESA!) ; ibid., 25 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 857 (ESA!) ; ibid., 25 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 858 (ESA!) ; ibid., 25 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 862 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Caingá , 07 June 1994, fr., D.A. Folli 2320 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., Estrada Cinco Folhas , 20 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 916 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Flamengo , 24 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 799 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Gávea , 01 December 2006, fl., E.J. Lucas 922 (ESA!) ; ibid., 10 January 1994, fl., D.A. Folli 2155 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., 12 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 430 (ESA!) ; ibid., 27 September 1982, fl., I.A. Silva 348 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., entre Estrada Flamengo e Jequitibá Rosa , 12 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 417 (ESA!) ; ibid., entre estrada Jacarandá Caviúna e Bomba d’água, 12 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 429 (ESA!) ; ibid., entre Flamengo e Jequitibá Rosa , 12 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 415 (ESA!) ; ibid., entre Jacarandá Caviúna e Bomba d’água, 12 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 424 (ESA!) ; ibid., entre Jacarandá Caviúna e Bomba d’água, 12 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 427 (ESA!) ; ibid., entre Jacarandá Caviúna e Bomba d’água, 12 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 425 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Jacarandá , 24 November 1978, fl., I.A. Silva 32 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., Estrada Louro , 29 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 923 (ESA!) ; ibid., 29 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 924 (ESA!) ; ibid., 29 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 925 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Mantegueira, 11 December de 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 385 (ESA!) ; ibid., 14 February 2008, fl., D.A. Folli 5868 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., Estrada Municipal Canto Grande , 22 May 2003, fl., D.A. Folli 4522 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., Estrada Municipal do MME, 15 December 2008, fl., D.A. Folli 6260 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., próximo ao café dois irmãos, 31 January 2017, fr., K.S. Valdemarin 939 (ESA!) ; ibid., Estrada Orelha de Onça , 02 April 2008, fr., M.C. Souza 649 (CVRD!, MBML!, SORO!) ; ibid., Trilha do Pequi Vinagreiro , 13 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 464 (ESA!) ; ibid., 13 December 2016, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 461 (ESA!) ; ibid., 27 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 908 (ESA!) ; ibid., 27 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 903 (ESA!) ; ibid., 27 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 904 (ESA!) ; ibid., 27 January 2017, fr., K.S. Valdemarin 906 (ESA!); no locality, 18 December 1980, fl., A.L. Peixoto 1539 (CEPEC!, ICN!, MBM!, SP!, UEC!) .

Distribution and habitat: — Eugenia prasina is a widespread species being known from collections from the state of Pernambuco and Santa Catarina in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil. In the RNV, the species is found in the Mata Alta vegetation, where it grows in the understory.

Phenology: —Flowering in September through May; fruiting in January through June, and August, being different individuals simultaneously collected with flowers and fruits ( Fig. 5 ).

Taxonomic comments: —The species is assigned to Eugenia sect. Umbellatae . There are two groups of specimens of Eugenia prasina in RNV. One presents petioles plane (vs. canaliculate), leaf blades with base obtuse or attenuate, apex acute, midvein biconvex adaxially, margin plane, and oil glands raised adaxially (vs. leaf blades with base acute, apex acuminate, midvein sulcate or plane adaxially, margin revolute, and oil glands inconspicuous adaxially), bracteoles with apex acute (vs. apex obtuse), and flowers with pubescent hypanthium ( Fig. 24D ) (vs. glabrous hypanthium, Fig. 24C ), and fruits bigger, 19–30 × 12–17 mm, and pubescent (vs. fruits ca. 8 × 6.5 mm and glabrous). Although it is possible to distinguish the groups of specimens, both are here treated as the same species based on the concept nowadays followed for Eugenia prasina which includes the morphological variation of the synonymous E. jurujubensis Kiaersk. (1893: 143) , E. stictosepala Kiaersk. (1893: 119) and E. tenuifolia O. Berg (1857: 249) , besides the absence of indumentum on the hypanthium related by Sobral (2007). Therefore, it is evident that E. prasina needs more detailed studies regarding the variation observed to understand if it corresponds to one species or a complex to be solved.

The group with leaf blades with midvein biconvex adaxially is morphologically related with Eugenia bahiensis due to its leaf blades shape and size, inflorescences in fascicles, bracteoles persistent in the fruits, which are ellipsoid, with indumentum and purple when ripe. Eugenia prasina is distinguished from E. bahiensis by its leaf blades glabrous on both surfaces with midvein biconvex adaxially (vs. puberulent abaxially and midvein sulcate adaxially), inflorescence axillar (vs. generally ramiflorous, on leafless nodes), and flowers with calyx lobes glabrous and hypanthium pubescent (vs. calyx lobes and hypanthium velutinous).

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 24. A. Fruiting branch of Eugenia platyphylla – dark purple fruits when ripe (K.S. Valdemarin 316), B. A. Fruiting branch of Eugenia platyphylla – white fruits when ripe (K.S. Valdemarin 430), C-D. Flowering branch of Eugenia prasina morphotypes (K.S. Valdemarin 322 and 906).