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Family:

Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Prodr. (DC.) 3: 187. 1828

Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.

Common Names:

saquiyac

Description:

Description Author and Date: Frank Almeda, based on Almeda, F. (2009). Melastomataceae. In: G. Davidse, M. Sousa-Sânchez, S. Knapp, & F. Chiang (eds.), Flora Mesoamericana: Cucurbitaceae a Polemoniaceae. 4(1): 164-338.

Type: Isotype: French Guiana, Poiteau s.n. (K!).

Description: Shrubs or trees 2-8(-20) m tall, the young branchlets, elevated leaf veins abaxially, inflorescences and hypanthia moderately covered with minute stellulate hairs, distal nodes with an interpetiolar line or ridge. Leaves 3-5-nerved, elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 10-25 X 3-10.5 cm, adaxially glabrous, abaxially essentially glabrous but deciduously stellulate-puberulent on or near the elevated veins, apex attenuate to gradually acuminate, base acute, the margin entire to remotely undulate or undulate-denticulate; petioles 1.5-3 cm long. Panicle 6-14 cm long, the 5-merous flowers on peduncles 0.5-2 mm log but actually sessile and disarticulating at bracteolate nodes, the deciduous bracteoles linear-lanceolate to linear-oblong, 0.5-1.5 mm long. Calyx tube ca. 0.5 mm long, the rounded-triangular lobes 0.25-0.5 mm long, abscissing as a ring on maturing berries, the exterior teeth 0.5-0.7 mm long, barely exceeding the lobes. Petals oblong-obovate, densely papillose on both surfaces, 2-2.5 X 0.7-1 mm. Stamens somewhat unequal; anthers oblong, alternately 2-2.2 mm long, white, the larger with a ventrally inclined pore and connective modified dorso-basally into a deflexed biauriculate collar, the smaller with a truncate or retuse pore and connective with a minute dorsal tooth and a shallow bilobed ventro-basal appendage. Style glabrous, 4-5 mm long; stigma somewhat clavate; ovary 3-locular, 2/3 inferior, apex obscurely papillose, sometimes sparingly and deciduously stellulate-puberulent; berry 3-4 X 3-5 mm, blue-purple at maturity. Seeds pyramidate, angulate, smooth to obscurely granulate, 1 mm long.

Habitat and Distribution: Locally common, rain forest, gallery forest, disturbed sites. 0-1140 m. Southern Mexico (Oaxaca & Veracruz southward), Greater Antilles, Trinidad, all the Guianas, Venezuela and Colombia south to Bolivia and SE Brazil. MEXICO: Tabasco (Cowan 3070, CAS); Chiapas (Breedlove 26583, DS); BELIZE (Davidse & Holland 36736A, CAS); GUATEMALA (Martínez et al. 23644, CAS); HONDURAS (Saunders 354, CAS); NICARAGUA (Pipoly 3589, CAS); COSTA RICA (Almeda & Nakai 4121, CAS); PANAMA (Almeda & McPherson 5974, CAS).

Notes: [Description based only on Mesoamerican specimens.]