Eugenia caducibracteata Mazine

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation

Predicted extinction risk: threatened. Confidence: confident

Mazine, F.F. & Souza, V.C. 2009. New species of Eugenia sect. Racemosae (Myrtaceae) from Brazilian Amazon Rainforest. Kew Bulletin 64: 147. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-008-9094-y

Morphology General Habit

Tree 6 – 18 m, young branches glabrous to puberulous

Morphology Leaves

Leaf blade elliptic, ovate-elliptic or elliptic-oblong, 6.5 – 13.5 cm long, 3.1 – 5.6 cm wide, chartaceous, glabrous to sparsely puberulous on both surfaces, hairs simple; apex acute-acuminate; base acute; midvein sulcate, glabrous to sparsely puberulous on both surfaces; lateral veins flat to slightly prominent, marginal vein 1.5 – 3 mm from the margin; glandular dots indistinct or flat on the upper surface; petiole 4 – 8 mm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Raceme with 4 – 6 (– 9) pairs of flowers, axillary, peduncle (0 –) 3 – 8 mm long; rachis 2.1 – 8.2 cm, sparse to densely puberulous, hairs brownish or whitish

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flower bud 4 – 7 mm diam; floral bracts deciduous before anthesis, 3 – 4 mm long; pedicel 5 – 9 mm, sparsely to densely puberulous; bracteoles 1 – 2.5 mm long, connate at the base, apex acute, obtuse or rounded, subglabrous to sparsely puberulous, persistent; sepals 2 – 3.5 mm long, apex rounded, glabrous to sparsely puberulous, persistent; petals 5 – 7 mm long, orbicular, apex rounded; filaments 5 – 6 mm long, glabrous; hypanthium densely puberulous, more densely so than the pedicel and the rachis, not costate, style 1 – 1.2 cm long, glabrous. Fruit oblong-ellipsoid, 1.4 – 1.7 cm long, 1.1 – 1.3 cm diam, puberulous, surface smooth.

Ecology

Occurring in unflooded ombrophilous forest — “floresta de terra firme”.

Conservation

Conservation status. IUCN category: Data deficient (DD).

Note

The indumentum of the rachis and hypanthium of Eugenia caducibracteata is similar to velvet, with very short, densely distributed hairs. Also, it has large globose flower buds, as well as large and early deciduous floral bracts. It differs from E. brownsbergiiAmshoff mainly by the short and brownish or whitish hairs of the inflorescences (instead of longer rusty hairs of E. brownsbergii). The specific epithet refers to the floral bracts of this species, which are deciduous before anthesis.