Monographs Details:
Authority:
Maguire, Bassett. 1969. The botany of the Guayana Highland-part VIII. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 18: 1-290.
Maguire, Bassett. 1969. The botany of the Guayana Highland-part VIII. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 18: 1-290.
Family:
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae
Description:
Genus Description - There has been no general revision of this, the largest genus of the Myrciinae, for more than a century. The total number of species is unknown, but is certainly in excess of 300. By far the largest numbers occur in central and southeastern Brazil; Berg recognized approximately 300 species of Myrcia (including Aulomyrcia) from these areas alone. About 35 species are known from Peru, and about 50 are now recorded from the Guayana region. Very few species occur in the West Indies, and even fewer on the North American continent. The three sections of Myrcia recognized in this paper are about as distinct from one another as sect Armeriela is from the genus Marlierea. The character of the prolonged hypanthium, relied upon by Berg to distinguish Aulomyrcia from Myrcia, may often provide a convenient means for contrasting limited numbers of species in the flora of any given area, but its evolutionary significance, as shown by its correlation with other characters or sets of characters, remains to be demonstrated. Actually the difference between what Berg caUed "valde productum" and "vix productum" is a matter of degree. The hypanthium is always prolonged to some extent, either vertically or laterally, beyond the ovary. The extent of such prolongation is measured in a rough way by the distance between the base of the style and the outer edge of the band of stamens. Flowers of the "Aulomyrcia" type (in the sense of Berg) occur throughout Myrcia in the broad sense, associated with different sets of other characters in groups of species that seem otherwise only distantly related.
Genus Description - There has been no general revision of this, the largest genus of the Myrciinae, for more than a century. The total number of species is unknown, but is certainly in excess of 300. By far the largest numbers occur in central and southeastern Brazil; Berg recognized approximately 300 species of Myrcia (including Aulomyrcia) from these areas alone. About 35 species are known from Peru, and about 50 are now recorded from the Guayana region. Very few species occur in the West Indies, and even fewer on the North American continent. The three sections of Myrcia recognized in this paper are about as distinct from one another as sect Armeriela is from the genus Marlierea. The character of the prolonged hypanthium, relied upon by Berg to distinguish Aulomyrcia from Myrcia, may often provide a convenient means for contrasting limited numbers of species in the flora of any given area, but its evolutionary significance, as shown by its correlation with other characters or sets of characters, remains to be demonstrated. Actually the difference between what Berg caUed "valde productum" and "vix productum" is a matter of degree. The hypanthium is always prolonged to some extent, either vertically or laterally, beyond the ovary. The extent of such prolongation is measured in a rough way by the distance between the base of the style and the outer edge of the band of stamens. Flowers of the "Aulomyrcia" type (in the sense of Berg) occur throughout Myrcia in the broad sense, associated with different sets of other characters in groups of species that seem otherwise only distantly related.