Eugenia standleyi McVaugh, Fieldiana, Bot.

Uc Gala, Victor C., Valdemarin, Karinne Sampaio, Lucas, Eve, Negrão, Raquel & Mazine, Fiorella F., 2023, Eugenia (Myrtaceae) from Mexico: checklist, distribution, and conservation assessments, Phytotaxa 583 (2), pp. 99-140 : 124-125

69. * Eugenia standleyi McVaugh, Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 458 (1963)

EOO: 23,288.315 km ². AOO: 16 km ². Evaluation of IUCN: Near Threatened.

Eugenia standleyi has a distribution only in the southeast of Mexico, in the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, from 132 to 2,098 m elev. The estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) nearly meets the thresholds of Vulnerable category under the criterion B, whilst the area of occupancy (AOO) based on the habitat available probably exceeds the thresholds of the Endangered category under the criterion B. There are up to four known locations, based on five specimens recorded, two for the state of Chiapas (in the municipalities of Cintalapa and Arriaga) and three records in Oaxaca (in the municipalities of Santo Domingo Tehuantepec and Asunción Cuyotepeji). The biomes are the Humid Tropical Forest and the Humid Montane Forest. The habitat in Oaxaca is fragmented and impacted by human activities; and in the state of Chiapas the habitat is in better condition, since the records were found in the vicinity of the “Reserva de la Biosfera La Sepultura”, which has low impact, and the degradation of the habitat has been lower ( CONABIO 2018). Eugenia standleyi can be considered as rare, due to the low number of collections. This species could be assessed as Vulnerable under the criterion B2ab (iii)+D2, due to the number of locations (<5), information on its rarity and major threats which could drive the taxon to CR or EX in a very short time. However, this taxon presents a low habitat specificity, occurring in different vegetation types and in a wide altitudinal range. Eugenia standleyi is classified here as Near Threatened (NT) based on restricted distribution and number of locations and its dependency on protected areas. However, the assessment as a threatened species based on AOO will be pending of further field surveys to confirm its current distribution, population size, local threats, and habitat trend.

Specimens examined:— MEXICO. Chiapas: Breedlove & Almeda 64899 ( MEXU!), Oaxaca: Alexander 346 ( MEXU!).