Eugenia candolleana De Candolle (1828: 281)

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 : 27

13. Eugenia candolleana De Candolle (1828: 281) . ( Fig. 10 .)

Trees 3–6 m tall. Twigs puberulent when young, glabrescent; trichomes whitish or light brown. Young leaves puberulent, glabrescent; trichomes whitish or light brown. Leaves with petioles 3.5–7 mm long, canaliculate adaxially, puberulent to glabrate; blades 45–70 × 15–35 mm, elliptic or narrow-obovate, concolorous when dry, not glaucous and glabrous on both surfaces; bases obtuse, attenuate or acute; apices acuminate or caudate; midvein sulcate adaxially and raised abaxially, glabrous adaxially and glabrate abaxially; secondary veins 7–14 at each side, slightly raised on both surfaces, the first pair confluent with the marginal innermost vein; marginal veins two, the innermost 1.5–2 mm from the revolute and without thickening margin; oil glands slightly raised on both surfaces. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, raceme or sometimes corymb, peduncle 1–5 mm long, rachis 4–29 mm long, pubescent or puberulent; bracts 0.5–1.5 mm long, ovate or narrow-ovate, puberulent, persistent; 4–16 flowers; pedicels 2.5–9.5 mm long, puberulent; bracteoles ca. 1 mm long, free, ovate, apices acute or obtuse, puberulent, not reflexed, persistent at anthesis; trichomes whitish or light brown. Flower buds 1–2 mm in diameter. Flowers with smooth, puberulent hypanthia; calyx lobes 4, free in the bud, 1–1.5 × 1–2 mm, ovate, apices obtuse or rounded, puberulent; petals 4, ovate, oil glands slightly evident; staminal ring puberulent; stamens with filaments 3–4.5 mm, anthers oblong; style 3–4 mm, glabrous, stigma punctiform; ovary 2–locular, ovules 4–7 per locule, locule internally glabrous. Fruits not seen.

Specimens examined: — BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Mun. Linhares, Reserva Natural Vale – Estrada Santa Teresinha , 3 November 2011, fl., D.A. Folli 7291 (CVRD!, SORO!) ; ibid., Ao lado da pousada, indivíduo plantado, 21 March 1997, fl., D.A. Folli 2920 (CVRD!, HUFSJ!, SORO!) ; ibid., Pomar de Frutas Tropicais , 30 January 2017, fl., K.S. Valdemarin 936 (ESA!) ; ibid., D.A. Folli 5206 (CVRD!) .

Distribution and habitat: — Eugenia candolleana is a widespread species, known from collections from the state of Paraíba to Santa Catarina in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil. In the RNV, the species is found in the Mata Alta vegetation by just one collection (D.A. Folli 7291), being the other two collections from cultivated individuals (D.A. Folli 2920 and K.S. Valdemarin 936).

Phenology: —Flowering in November through March ( Fig. 4 ).

Taxonomic comments: —The species can be assigned to Eugenia sect. Racemosae due to its racemose inflorescence with pedicels up to twice as long as flowers internodes. Eugenia candolleana is morphologically similar to E. pruniformis due to its shape of leaves and the raceme inflorescence. However, Eugenia candolleana can be distinguished from E. pruniformis by its smaller leaves, up to 70 mm long (vs. 60–225 mm long) and inflorescences with whitish or light brown trichomes (vs. brownish or ferruginous trichomes). The species is easily distinguished from all other species of the genus in RNV by the combination of racemose inflorescence, being the pedicels clearly up to twice as long as flowers internodes, pubescent or puberulent with whitish or light brown trichomes.

Figures

FIGURE 4. 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 10. Dry specimen of Eugenia candolleana.