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Family:

Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. 16: 244. 1850

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: Peru, Pavón s.n. (BM)

Description: Shrub or tree 2-8 m tall, the compressed-rounded uppermost internodes, young vegetative buds, petioles, and inflorescence branchlets densely covered with brown dendritic and dendritic-stellate hairs. Leaves of a pair equal to somewhat unequal in size; blades 5(-7)-nerved, oblong-elliptic to elliptic-ovate, 11-27.5 x 4.8-13.5 cm, apex acuminate, base obtuse to rounded or subcordate, the margin denticulate, adaxially glabrous, abaxially densely covered with stellate hairs; petioles 1-8.5 cm long. Inflorescence a multiflowered panicle 7-18 cm long branched above the base; flowers 5-merous and essentially sessile, the deciduous bracteoles obovate to elliptic, 4-5.5 x 1.5-3 mm, copiously stellate pubescent abaxially and sparsely so adaxially. Hypanthia ± longitudinally ribbed at anthesis when dry, densely covered with stellate and stellate-lepidote hairs; calyx tube ca. 1 mm long, the calyx lobes broadly depressed-ovate, 0.2-0.6 x 1.5 mm; the exterior teeth obsolete or not readily evident. Petals white, densely stellulate-lepidote abaxially but glabrous adaxially, oblong-obovate and reflexed at anthesis, 3-5 x 2-2.7 mm. Anthers alternately somewhat unequal in length, 3-4.5 mm long, pink to lavender-pink, subulate with a dorsally inclined apical pore; connective sparsely to moderately glandular puberulent and/or stellate-puberulent toward the base, prolonged dorso-basally into a blunt spur 0.5 mm long. Style stellate-puberulent basally, 7-10 mm long; stigma capitellate to truncate; ovary 3-locular, 1/3 to 1/2 inferior, apex densely covered with erect basally fascicled smooth hairs on the blunt crateriform cone; berry 5 x 5-6 mm when dry. Seeds ovoid to ovoid-angulate, the testa densely muriculate, 1 mm long.

Habitat and Distribution: Primary and secondary rain forest, forest margins, gallery forest. 0-600 m. Mexico (Oaxaca and Veracruz southward), Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Guyana to northern and northeastern Brazil. BELIZE (Davidse & Holland 36635, CAS); GUATEMALA (Contreras 7936, CAS); HONDURAS (Saunders 1095, CAS); NICARAGUA (Neill 4372, CAS); COSTA RICA (Almeda & Anderson 5126, CAS); PANAMA (Almeda & McPherson 6025, CAS).

Taxonomy and Systematics: This species forms a closely related species pair with M. serrulata and they have been repeatedly confused with one another. The latter has prevailingly 6-merous flowers, 4-locular ovaries, larger anther thecae, larger leaf blades that are often cordate, and larger berries.

Notes: [Description based only on Mesoamerican specimens.]