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Family:

Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Prodr. (DC.) 3: 184. 1828

Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.

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: Holotype: Dominican Republic, Herb. Delétang 59 (P-JUSS!)

Description: Trees 6-20 m tall, the branchlets, abaxial leaf surfaces, inflorescences, and hypanthia densely covered with ferrugineous scales, the scale margins somewhat fringed. Leaves 3-nerved (excluding the ill-defined intramarginal pair), oblong-elliptic to elliptic-ovate, 10-25(-30) X 5-13 cm, adaxially glabrous and subcoriaceous, apex acute to acuminate, base broadly acute to obtuse, the margin entire; petioles 1-3 cm long. Panicle 14-21(-30) cm long, the 5-merous sessile flowers secund on the divaricate branchlets, the early-deciduous bracteoles oblong, ca. 0.5-2 X 0.5 mm. Calyx 0.5-1.5 mm long with 5 obscure undulate lobes, the exterior teeth completely adnate to and projecting ca. 0.25 mm on fruiting hypanthia. Petals oblong-obovate, 2-2.5 X 1-1.5 mm. Anthers slightly anisomorphic 1-1.2(-1.5) mm long, white, narrowly oblong to clavate with a broad ventrally inclined pore; connective prolonged up to 0.5 mm and dilated dorso-basally into a rounded-ovate or trilobed appendage. Style glabrous, 3-4 mm long; stigma clavate-truncate; ovary 3-locular, ca. 2/3 inferior, apex sparingly to densely stellulte-puberulent; berry 4-5 X 4-5 mm, blue-black. Seeds deltoid, smooth and somewhat polished, rounded-angulate on the convex face, 1.5-2 mm long.

Habitat and Distribution: Uncommon, rain forest, low cloud forest. 40-950 m. S Mexico (Oaxaca), the Greater Antilles and Trinidad, Guyana and French Guiana, Venezuela and Colombia south to Bolivia and N Brazil. MEXICO: Chiapas (Paniagua 17, MEXU); BELIZE (Holst et al. 5272, CAS); GUATEMALA (Contreras 10878, US); HONDURAS (Saunders 1307, CAS); NICARAGUA (Stevens 8416; CAS); COSTA RICA (Almeda et al. 6567, CAS); PANAMA (Almeda et al. 5828, CAS).

Taxonomy and Systematics: Most reports of this species from Chiapas, Mexico (Standley & Steryermark, 1963) are evidently based on misidentified specimens of M. elata.

Notes: [Description based only on Mesoamerican specimens.]