Mouriri lancifolia Urb. & Ekman
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Authority
Morley, Thomas. 1976. Melastomataceae tribe Memecyleae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 15: 1-295. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Melastomataceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. E. L Ekman HI 0231 (lectotype, S). Haiti, Massif de la Hotte, western group, near Jérémie at Source-Cahouane on a mountain ridge, ca 250 m elevation. Small tree, one or two unripe fruits seen. Deflorescent, 4 Jul 1928.
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Description
Description - Small glabrous tree; young twigs very narrowly 4-winged or prominently 4-angled. Petioles 1.6-2.4 mm long; blades 4.0-7.2 cm long, 12.5-19.5 cm wide, lanceolate, acute at the apex, acute at base; midrib flat or slightly impressed above, prominent below, rounded below at base, becoming sharply 2-angled or very narrowly 2-winged for most of its length; lateral nerves 7-15 per side, departing at an angle of 60-65°, straight or undulating, usually joining to form an arcuate sub-marginal nerve, obscurely visible above, obscurely visible or invisible below, when dry. Midrib xylem tubular; stomatal crypts none; upper epidermis mostly two cells thick, sometimes one cell thick in places in the same leaf, when double the inner cells much larger than the outer, mucilaginous walls present in most of the inner cells; hypodermis none; free cortical stone cells present only near base of midvein; terminal sclereids more or less rectangular and usually stellate with relatively few and short arms, the central bodies mostly 1 1/2-2-1/2 times as long as wide. Flowers borne singly at leafless nodes of twigs within the leaf zone and (fide Urban and Ekman) in the leaf axils, 1 per side; peduncles ca 1.8 mm long including 2 internodes; bracts 0.7-1.2 mm long, triangular. True pedicel ca 2.0 mm long; flowers tetramerous; calyx including inferior ovary 2.3-2.5 mm long, campanulate; free hypanthium 0.7-0.8 mm long; calyx lobes before anthesis 0.6-0.8 mm long, 1.1-1.6 mm wide, rounded and broadly apiculate to triangular, ca 1.2 mm long when measured from stamen attachment, the calyx splitting between the lobes at anthesis a distance of ca 0.3-0.4 mm. Petals and stamens unknown. Ovary 2-locular; ovules 3 per locule, axile, attached at a level between 1/3 and 1/2 of the height of the locule. Fruit and seed unknown.
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Discussion
Many features of this species suggest a close relation to M. myrtilloides, specifically the acute leaf apex, lack of stomatal crypts, epidermal structure, lack of a hypodermis, form of the terminal sclereids, and flower position and number. However, the acute leaf base, tetramery, flower dimensions, and 2-locular ovary indicate M. lancifolia to be a valid species. In all likelihood it will never be recollected owing to the widespread destruction of the native vegetation in Haiti.
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Distribution
Known only from the type locality in extreme southwestern Haiti.
Haiti South America|