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Family:

Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Mem. Wern. Nat. Hist. Soc. 4: 310. 1823

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: Isotype: Peru, Pavón s.n. (P!).

Description: Shrubs 0.5-2(-3.5) m tall, the branchlets, petioles, and primary leaf veins beneath densely covered with smooth curved-ascending hairs 1-2 mm long. Leaves 5-7-plinerved, elliptic to elliptic-ovate, 3.3-10.8 cm long, 2.3-6.2 cm wide, above moderately covered with smooth appressed or spreading, basally swollen hairs 0.5-1 mm long. below moderately to densely sericeous with smooth curved hairs 1-2 mm long, apex acute to obtuse, base acute to obtuse or rounded, the margin serrulate varying to subentire. Flowers 4-merous, sessile in fasciculate clusters in the axils of upper leaves or at defoliated branchlet nodes, the persistent, elliptic bracteoles 2-2.5 X 1 mm. Hypanthia moderately to densely covered with appressed to spreading smooth hairs; calyx lobes triangular to triangular-ovate, 1-1.5 X 1.5 mm, the setulose, subulate exterior teeth 1 mm long. Petals white to pink, glabrous, oblong-obovate, 2-2.5 X 1-1.3 mm. Filaments 2-2.5 mm long; anther sacs red to reddish-purple, 2-3.5 mm long with a truncate to slightly emarginate pore; connective inconspicuously prolonged 0.2-0.3 mm but not appendaged. Ovary 3-locular, 1/2-2/3 inferior, the apical collar ca 0.5 mm high with erect, smooth (partly glandular) hairs 0.5-1 mm long; berry ca 4-7 mm diam, purple when ripe. Seeds minutely granulate, brown, 1 mm long.

Habitat and Distribution: Common, disturbed sites in rain forest, low cloud forest, pine or shrubby savanna. 10-560 (-1000) m. Southern Mexico (Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Veracruz), Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad south to Bolivia and Brazil (Bahia). MEXICO: Tabasco (Ventura 20614, CAS); Chiapas (Martínez 16462, CAS); BELIZE (Hawkins 1321, CAS); GUATEMALA (Contreras 9322, CAS); HONDURAS (Landrum & Landrum 6494b, CAS); EL SALVADOR (Villacorta 1263, CAS); NICARAGUA (Moreno 10609, CAS); COSTA RICA (Almeda et al. 2722, CAS); PANAMA (Almeda et al. 5829, CAS).

Taxonomy and Systematics: This species has been confused with C. rubra (Aublet) Mart., a variable species with at least six described varieties. Clidemia sericea is treated here as a variable species without infraspecific taxa. For a key to this and closely allied species see Wurdack (1971:365).

Notes: [Description based only on Mesoamerican specimens.]