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Family:

Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Bot. Gaz. (Crawfordsville) 42: 295. 1906

Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.

Type Specimens:

Specimen 1: Isosyntype -- J. F. A. Tonduz
Specimen 2: Isosyntype -- J. F. A. Tonduz

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: Syntype: Costa Rica, Tonduz 11438 (US!).

Description: Shrubs or small trees 2-3.5(-5) m tall, the branchlets, petioles, elevated primary leaf veins beneath, inflorescences and hypanthia densely covered with a mixture of sessile and stalked-stellate hairs. Leaves 5-nerved, oblong-elliptic to ovate-elliptic, (13-)17-35(-53) X (4.5-)8-15(-27.5) cm, adaxially glabrous, abaxially moderately to copiously covered with sessile and stalked-stellate hairs, apex gradually acuminate, base broadly acute to obtuse or rounded, the margin entire; petioles 2-8 cm long. Panicle (6-)10-21 cm long; flowers 5-merous, on peduncles 1.5-4 mm long but actually sessile and disarticulating at the base of the hypanthium, the deciduous bracteoles 2-4 mm long. Calyx tube ca. 0.5 mm long, the ovate lobes 0.5-1 mm long and equaled by the exterior teeth. Petals obovate-oblong, 2.5-3 X 1.5 mm, essentially glabrous but sparsely fringed with stellulate hairs. Anthers somewhat anisomorphic, linear to linear-subulate and arcuate, alternately 4-4.5 mm and 3-3.5 mm long, white, the larger with a ventrally inclined pore, the smaller with a truncate or retuse pore, the thecae ventrally prolonged ca. 0.25-0.5 mm beyond the filament insertion; connective not prolonged but adnate to the dorso-basal prolongation of the thecae. Style glabrous, 9 mm long, stigma somewhat expanded; ovary 3-locular, 1/2 inferior, apex sparsely glandular and stellulate-puberulent; berry 6-7 X 6-7, red-pink turning purple-maroon at maturity, 4-5 mm diam. Seeds arcuate-ovoid to pyramidate, densely granulate and complexly costate-tuberculate at or near the summit of the convex face, 1 mm long.

Habitat and Distribution: Local and uncommon, cloud forest and rain forest. 450-1600 m. Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru. NICARAGUA (Stevens et al. 21002, CAS); COSTA RICA (Almeda & Anderson 5540, CAS); PANAMA (Almeda et al. 7643, CAS).

Taxonomy and Systematics: Specimens from throughout the range occasionally have a sporadic scattering of spreading glandular hairs that project beyond the stellate tomentum of the branchlets and inflorescence.

Notes: [Description based only on Mesoamerican specimens.]