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Family:

Melastomataceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Trans. Linn. Soc. London 28: 116. 1871

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: Lectotype (designated by Howard & Kellogg, 1986): Jamaica, Swartz s.n. (S).

Description: Shrubs 1-2(-5) m tall, the branchlets, lower leaf surfaces, inflorescences, and hypanthia covered with an appressed arachnoid tomentum. Leaves 5-nerved, ovate-oblong to elliptic-oblong, 5-16 X 2.5-7 cm, adaxially glabrous, nitid and coriaceous, apex bluntly actue to obtuse, base rounded to subcordate, the margin entire or obscurely crenulate; petioles 0.5-2 cm long. Inflorescence 5-20 cm long; flowers 5-merous, sessile and secund on the scorpioid branches, the tardily deciduous bracteoles ovate, ca. 1 X 1 mm. Calyx tube 0.5 mm long, the lobes deltoid, 0.5-0.75 mm long, exterior teeth completely adnate to and not projecting beyond the lobes. Petals obovate-oblong, 2.5-3 X 1.5 mm. Anthers somewhat anisomorphic, linear-oblong, alternately 2 and 2.5(-3) mm long, white, the pore ventrally inclined; connective prolonged 0.3 mm, dilated dorsally at the base into a trilobed or flaring cordiform appendage. Style glabrous, 3 mm long; stigma clavate to capitate; ovary 3-locular, 1/2 inferior, apex glabrous; berry 4-5 X 4-5 mm; translucent blue-green. Seeds galeiform to deltoid, smooth on the rounded to angulate face, 1 mm long.

Habitat and Distribution: Locally common, rain forest, pine savanna, gallery forest, rarely in strand vegetation along the coast. 0-1200 (-1800) m. Western Mexico (Jalisco southward), Greater Antilles (Cuba and Jamaica), Trinidad to Venezuela, Colombia, and all the Guianas, south to Bolivia, Sur Brazil and Paraguay. MEXICO: Tabasco (Guízar 471, CAS); Chiapas (Breedlove & Almeda 57791, CAS); BELIZE (Davidse & Holland 37019, CAS); GUATEMALA (Contreras 9793, CAS); HONDURAS (Clewell & Cruz 4180, CAS); EL SALVADOR (Sidwell et al. 759, CAS); NICARAGUA (Nee & Miller 27565, CAS); COSTA RICA (Umaña 413, CAS); PANAMA (Antonio & Hahn 4392, CAS).

Notes: [Description based only on Mesoamerican specimens.]