Taxon Profile:

	The Plant List
	International Plant Name Index
	Tropicos
	Catalogue of Life
	Global Biodiversity Information Facility
	JSTOR Types
	JSTOR
	BHL
	Encyclopedia of Life
	WikiSpecies
	Google Scholar
	PubMed
	Morphbank
	IUCN
	National Center for Biotechnology Information
	Barcode of Life

Family:

Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 17: 162. 1921

Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.

Common Names:

Ridge johnnyberry, camasey

Description:

Description Author and Date: Walter S. Judd, 2010, based on Judd, W. S. (2007). Revision of Miconia sect. Chaenopleura (Melastomataceae) in the Greater Antilles. Systematic Botany Monographs 81:1-235.

Type: PUERTO RICO. Sierra de Luquillo, Montis Jimenes, fr, Jul, P. Sintenis 1385 (holotype, B, destroyed); neotype, here designated: Cordillera Central, Bosque Toro Negro, near headwaters of Rio Inabon, where crossing Rt. 143 at Km 18.7, near Monte Jayuya, 1180-1200 m, fl, fr, 17 Jan 1992, W. S. Judd 6138 (lectotype: FLAS!; isolectotypes: MO!, NY!, S!).

Description: Shrub or small tree to 6 m tall. Indumentum of multicellular, ferrugineous, globular-stellate to elongate-branched hairs, minute-globular hairs, and often long-stalked, gland-headed hairs. Young twigs not ridged, ± rectangular in cross-section, 3-6.5 mm wide, becoming ± terete with age, the indumentum of moderate to dense elongate-branched and/or globular-stellate hairs, to minute-globular hairs, usually with few to numerous, long-stalked, gland-headed hairs, to 0.8-1.3 mm long, especially just above nodes, somewhat glabrescent; internodes 0.9-4.7 cm long; prominent nodal lenticels lacking. Leaves with petiole 1.1-4 (-5) cm long, the indumentum similar to that of twigs, but long-stalked, gland-headed hairs almost always lacking; blade 5-16.7 cm long, 2.6-6.7 cm wide, ovate to elliptic, ± flat, coriaceous, the apex acuminate, the base obtuse to slightly cordate, the margin slightly revolute (occasionally plane), ± serrulate (irregularly dentate in leaves of vigorously growing vegetative shoots) but often appearing ± entire due to revolute condition, proximal 0-40% of margin entire, the largest teeth 0.1-0.3 (-0.6) mm long, usually not associated with long-stalked hairs (but a few basal teeth occasionally associated with such hairs, especially in leaves of rapidly growing vegetative shoots); venation acrodromous, ± basal, with prominent midvein and 6 (or 4) secondary veins, with 2 conspicuous secondary veins placed 4-10 mm in from margin, with 2 less conspicuous to inconspicuous secondary veins placed 0.5-3.5 mm in from margin, and often 2 inconspicuous, intramarginal secondary veins, and numerous percurrent tertiary veins oriented subperpendicular to midvein, the tertiary veins connected by several percurrent quaternary veins, and the higher order veins orthogonal-reticulate; adaxial surface green, initially with a few globular-stellate hairs but very quickly glabrescent, frequently with a few stellate to elongate-branched hairs persisting along midvein, the midvein and secondary veins strongly impressed, tertiary veins strongly to moderately impressed, quaternary veins strongly to slightly impressed, and quiniary veins slightly impressed to flat, and the leaf thus clearly bullate, the surface appearing minutely wrinkled when dry, with scattered druse crystals not very apparent; abaxial leaf surface pale green, sparsely to moderately covered with globular-stellate to minute-globular hairs, along with elongate-branched hairs on primary and secondary veins, the hairs to 0.2-0.4 mm across, and sometimes with long-stalked, gland-headed hairs on primary through quinary veins, the primary and secondary veins prominently raised, minor secondary and tertiary veins prominently to moderately raised, quaternary veins prominently to only slightly raised (or even ± flat), and quinary veins slightly raised to flat, and higher order veins flat.

Description (cont.): Inflorescences many-flowered, rounded cymes of (3-) 4 to 6 (-7) branch-pairs, 3.5-9.5 (-14) cm long, 4.5-13 cm across; proximal segment of lowermost inflorescence branches 1-5 cm long, distal internodes of branches shorter, ultimate branches (0-) 1-6 mm long, and flowers, thus, well separated from each other, with sparse to moderate, stellate-globular to minute-globular hairs, sometimes intergrading with elongate-branched hairs, occasionally with a few long-stalked, gland-headed hairs; peduncle 1.7-5.5 (-9.7) cm long, with similar indumentum; each inflorescence branch associated with quickly caducous, narrowly obovate bract, 3.3-5 mm long, 0.95-2.3 mm wide, the apices obtuse to rounded, the lowermost pair often leaf-like; flowers in dichasia, well separated from each other, each subtended by 2 quickly caducous, ovate-triangular to narrowly obovate bracteoles, 1.7-3.8 mm long, 0.75-1.7 mm wide, the indumentum stellate to globular, their apices acute to obtuse. Flowers ± sessile; pedicel essentially lacking. Hypanthium cylindrical, free portion 0.9-1.2 mm long, the outer surface with sparse to moderate ± stellate to minute-globular hairs, the inner surface glabrous and obscurely 10-ridged, the apices of the ridges with apical projections to 0.05 m, or more commonly such projections lacking. External calyx lobes 5 (6), 0.2-0.6 mm long, 1.2-1.6 mm wide, triangular to broadly triangular, with acute or obtuse to slightly acuminate apices, with indumentum similar to that of hypanthium; internal calyx lobes 5 (6), 0.5-0.7 mm long, 1.2-1.6 mm wide, ovate-triangular, red, ± glabrous, the apex rounded (obtuse), the margin entire (occasionally with a few. short, papillae-like hairs); calyx tube 0.1-0.35 mm long. Petals 5 (6), 2.6-3.3 mm long, 1.7-2.2 mm wide, broadly ovate to obovate, glabrous, white adaxially, pink to red-tinged abaxially toward apex; margin entire. Stamens 10 (12), geniculate; proximal segment 1.9-2.5 mm long, distal segment 2.2-2.9 mm long, with upward-pointing dorsal projection, the anther 1.1-1.5 mm long, with fertile portion of anther sacs 0.85-1.1 mm long, the connective/distal part of filament extended 0.8-1.3 mm beyond the base of anther sacs. Ovary 3-locular, 2/3-3/4-inferior, 1.8-2.1 mm long, 2.2-2.9 mm in diameter, obovoid, apically glabrous, clearly 10-ridged, with lobed apical projection to 0.5-0.75 mm encircling base of style; style 3.5-5.7 mm long, glabrous; stigma truncate to expanded-hemispherical. Berries 5-9 mm long, 5-9 mm in diameter, subglobose to globose, red when immature, and turning initially intensely blue-purple or blue and eventually pale blue, ± sparsely stellate-branched to minute-globular. Seeds 0.6-1 mm long, angular-obovoid; testa smooth. Fig. 77.

Habitat and Distribution: Puerto Rico, Cordillera Central, Cerro La Carite, and Sierra de Luquillo; moist montane forests; 850-1330 m. Associate melastomes include Clidemia cymosa, Henriettea squamulosa, Mecranium latifolium, Miconia calycina, M. foveolata, M. pachyphylla, M. racemosa, M. sintenisii, Nepsera aquatica, Tetrazygia crotonifolia, and T. urbanii; see also Gleason and Cook (1927).

Phenology: Flowering more or less throughout the year.

Taxonomy and Systematics: Miconia pycnoneura is probably a member of the bullate-leaved clade (see discussion under M. foveolata, above, and phylogenetic analyses), but it lacks the large fruits and, especially, the distinctive nodal lenticels that characterize the other members of the putative monophyletic group. Therefore, its placement in this clade is inconsistent (see phylogenetic analyses). Nonetheless, it has leaves with the lamina bullate, frequently slightly cordate, and with three pairs of secondary veins, and its inflorescences are rounded cymes, all of which are diagnostic for the bullate-leaved clade. Like M. foveolata, it lacks dendritic hairs, and these two distinctive species are compared in the discussion under M. foveolata. Miconia pycnoneura can be separated from M. sintenisii by the indumentum of stellate to elongate-branched hairs on its stems and abaxial surface of its leaves (vs. with stellate to dendritic hairs), lack of conspicuous nodal lenticels, rounded- (vs. paniculate-) cymes, flowers with the free portion of the hypanthium 0.9-1.2 mm long and internally 10-ridged (vs. 1.9-2.6 mm long and 20-ridged), external calyx teeth 1.2-1.6 mm wide (vs. 2.3-3.1 mm), internal calyx lobes 0.5-0.7 mm long (vs. 1.1-1.9 mm), proximal staminal segments 1.9-2.5 mm long (vs. 3.1-4.5 mm), distal staminal segments 2.2-2.9 mm long (vs. 4.1-5.7 mm), and 3-loculate (vs. 4- or 5-loculate) ovary 1.8-2.1 mm long (vs. 3.6-4.1 mm), and fruits 5-7 mm long (vs. 7.5-12 mm). Miconia pycnoneura grows with M. foveolata and M. sintenisii in the moist forests of the Sierra de Luquillo, and it may occasionally hybridize with the former (see D’Arcy 1856, and discussion under M. foveolata). Hybrids with M. sintenisii have not been observed. An illustration of this species can also be found in Little et al. (1974, no. 607). The English common name is Ridge johnnyberry; the Spanish name is camasey.