Marlierea
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Authority
Maguire, Bassett. 1969. The botany of the Guayana Highland-part VIII. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 18: 1-290.
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Family
Myrtaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Genus Description - Marlierea Cambessedes. The Guayana Highland appears to have been one of the principal areas of speciation in Marlierea. Legrand (Com. Bot. M u s . Hist. Nat. Montevideo 3[no. 40]: 1-2. 1962) estimates that out of a total of about 80 species in tropical America, 50 are natives of extra-Amazonian Brazil. About 15 additional species are now known, so that of a total of about 95, more than half are from the south-Brazihan region. About half as m a n y are included in the flora of the Guayana region. Of these, two species range to Trinidad and the lesser Antilles; 9 are known from the Guianas only; 6 are lowland species of savannahs and riverbanks, mostly of Venezuela and adjacent Colombia but one species ranging to the Guianas; and 7 are montane plants known only from the Guayana Highland. It is remarkable that there seem to be no species in common between the Guayana region and the lower Amazon valley (where indeed Marlierea is very poorly represented). The notes and citations below include those that have accumulated since the publication of m y paper on Marlierea mentioned above. T w o new species and one new variety are described, and a revised regional key is provided. Species included in the key but not mentioned further are those for which no new data are available.