Bredemeyera myrtifolia A.W.Benn.
-
Authority
Maguire, Bassett. 1972. The botany of the Guayana Highland--part IX. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 23: 1-832.
-
Family
Polygalaceae
-
Scientific Name
-
Discussion
Bredemeyera parviflora Bennett, Mart. Fl. Bras. 13(3): 51. 1874.
Although the syntypes (NY) of the two taxa proposed by Bennett show rather different features (B. myrtifolia: nearly or quite glabrous pedicels, bracts externally nearly or quite glabrous, alar mucro indistinct; B. parviflora: densely puberulous pedicels, bracts externally puberulous, alar mucro prominent and free for 0.1-0.2 mm), I agree with Macbride (Flora of Peru) and Chodat (as cited by Macbride) that only one species, but with subspecific distinctions probable, is involved. Despite Bennett’s description, both the San Gabriel and Manaos collections of Spruce show styles puberulous on the basal half. Wurdack & Adderley 42678, from near San Fernando de Atabapo and rather intermediate between the extremes, has been referred here.
Bredemeyera densiflora Benn. is very closely related to B. myrtifolia. The typical variety is quite distinct in the abundant (for the genus) foliar pubescence; var glabra Benn. at first glance seems quite incongruous as conspecific, having essentially glabrous leaves with quite dense venule reticulation on the lower surface, but two Schultes collections from Amazonian Colombia (8958, 13354) rather bridge this dissimilarity. A series of Alto Rio Negro-Alto Orinoco specimens have been referred to B. densiflora var glabra because of the dense veinlet reticulation on the lower leaf surfaces, although the upper leaf surface reticulation is often more lax than usual; these include one Venezuelan collection from the Yapacana Caño (Wurdack & Adderley 43016), several from Serra Tunuí, Rio Içana, Amazonas, Brazil (Froes 22296, 28116; Black 48-2669), and one from the Rio Araça (R. Negro affluent), Amazonas, Brazil (Froes & Addison 29281).