Eugenia razakamalalae N. Snow & Callm., 2015

Snow, Neil, Callmander, Martin & Phillipson, Peter B., 2015, Studies of Malagasy Eugenia - IV: Seventeen new endemic species, a new combination, and three lectotypifications; with comments on distribution, ecological and evolutionary patterns, PhytoKeys 49, pp. 59-121 : 80-81

Eugenia razakamalalae N. Snow & Callm. sp. nov. holotype (Figure 19): http://www.tropicos.org/Image/100314920

Haec species a congeneris madagascariensibus lamina foliari rigide coriacea late elliptica usque obovata utrinque ad paginas (nec ad margines tantum) nonnihil sinuosa atque glandulis densis folii paginam abaxialem pedunculos hypanthium lobos calycinos petala necnon fructum ornantibus distinguitur.

Type.

Madagascar. Prov. Antsiranana: Fokontany: Anjia, Ambato, 15°17'26"S, 50°20'28"E, 37 m, 25 Feb. 2001, R. Razakamalala 67 + S. Rakotoarisoa, A. Rasolohery & P. Antilahimena (holotype: MO-6277747!; isotypes: KSP [KSP000003]!; P, TAN).

Description.

Trees to 10 m; dbh up to 13 cm; bark of main bole unknown. Plants glabrous throughout. Branchlets laterally compressed; youngest epidermis drying light brown to light gray but soon peeling and flaking to reveal reddish-brown color (dried); oil glands of epidermis prominent and common. Leaves stiffly coriaceous, mostly concentrated near branch tips, medium green and slightly discolorous, irregularly sinuous, surfaces matte. Axillary colleters absent. Petioles 3-5 mm, becoming slightly sulcate distally and broadening towards apex. Leaf blades 3.5-9.0 × 2.5-5.0 cm, broadly elliptic to obovate or broadly obovate, base cuneate, apex obtuse to somewhat acute; adaxial surface with midvein broadly but shallowly sulcate in the lower half, becoming flush distally; oil glands absent; abaxial surface oil glands common to dense but small and faint and fading with maturity (visible only with magnification), secondary veins somewhat indistinct, intramarginal vein indistinct and ca. 0.5-1.0 mm from margin at midpoint of blade. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, monads 1-3 in each axil. Pedicels 15-25 mm, relatively thick (1.2-2.0 mm at maturity), ascending to erect, rigid. Bracteoles 2, 1-2 mm, ovate, stiff, persistent and more or less divergent in fruit. Hypanthium 3.5-5 mm, cupulate, oil glands common to dense. Calyx lobes 4, 5-8 mm, broadly rounded, apex obtuse, densely glandular, persistent and crowning the fruit, stramineous or rufous-beige (fresh). Flowers unknown. Berries 1.5-1.8 × 2.0-2.3 cm, subglobular to globular, densely glandular, slightly verrucose (dried), yellowish (possibly not fully mature).

Etymology.

It is a pleasure to name this species in honor of Richard Razakamalala (b. 1962), a Malagasy botanist who has collected over seven thousand specimens of plants from Madagascar since 2001. His prolific collecting efforts have contributed significantly to our increased knowledge of the Malagasy flora. Four of his Eugenia collections are designated as type specimens in this publication.

Phenology.

Fruiting late February.

Distribution.

Known only from the type gathering in Antsiranana Province, north-eastern Madagascar, about 14 km west of the coast in the Masoala Peninsula (Fig. 2).

Habitat and ecology.

In dense humid lowland forests over quartzite from ca. 35 m elevation.

Conservation status.

With only one collection known from just outside the Masoala protected area, Eugenia razakamalalae is assigned a preliminary risk of extinction of “Endangered” [EN 2ab(i, iii, iv)] following the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria ( IUCN 2012). It is highly probable that the new species occurs within Masoala National Park, and is therefore protected.

Comments.

The leaf morphology of Eugenia razakamalalae resembles that of Eugenia arthroopoda H. Perrier var. ambalavensis H. Perrier, an invalid name given the lack of a Latin diagnosis in the protologue ( Perrier de la Bâthie 1953a). However, the pedicels, hypanthium and calyx lobes of Humbert 22,804 (a syntype of var. ambalavensis ) have a dense, uniform, appressed rusty indumenta that is also present on the outer surface of the petals, apart from an approximately 1 mm wide glabrous margin. In contrast, the pedicels in fruit of Eugenia razakamalalae are glabrous (flowering material is unknown).

Snow (2011) discussed some morphological characters of the type gathering of Eugenia razakamalalae relative to those of Eugenia lacerosepala N. Snow, the latter of which is known only from its type gathering ca. 300 km north-northwest. The two species are similar in having fruits that are borne atop stiff and relatively long pedicels that are prominently and densely glandular, in having a slightly verrucose texture, and in being crowned by prominent calyx lobes. However, the narrowly obovate and shorter (2.1-3.5 cm) leaves of Eugenia lacerosepala are quite unlike those of Eugenia razakamalalae .