Chalybea peruviana M.E.Morales & Penneys
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Authority
Morales-Puentes, María E. & Penneys, Darin S. 2010. New species of
and (Melastomataceae). Brittonia. 62 (1): 26-34. -
Family
Melastomataceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Description - Shrubs 3.5 m tall; stems, nodes, and petioles tomentose, trichomes dendritic, brown; stems ovate to quadrangular in corss-section, lenticelate, lenticels elongate, whitish; nodes flattened to quadrangualar; Petioles terete, ventrally canaliculate, 1-2 cm long; leaves opposite, elliptic 5.7-10x3.2-5.5 cm, apex acute, mucronate, base acute, margin entire, slightly revolute, lustrous above, glabrescent, with sparse, brown, long-branched, dendtric trichomes, mostly on the nerves; below densely tomentose, with brown, long-branched, dendritic trichomes; venation acrodromous, suprabasal, 5- nerved including submarginals, immersed above, raised below, tertiary veins 26 -34, immersed above, raised below' acarodomatia basilaminar on abaxial leaf surface, cylindric, formed by nearly overlapping, incurving, baso-lateral tissue flaps extending out from the midrib and secondary veins, indument as on leaf abaxial surface; inflorescences paired in upper leaf axils, with 33-39 flowers, cymose, compound dichasia with three orders of branching, 15- 19.5 cm long. peduncle terete, canaliculate on proximal half, 8-12.5 cm long, abundantly lenticellate, lenticels round to oveate, whitish; pedicels conic, terete, 4-5 mm long, lenticellate, brown; calyx (fruiting) erect, graish -green to brown, lenticellate, lenticels whitish, tuberculate, rounded lobes obscure, calyx teeth mucronate, attenuate; flower not seen; fruit a berry, globose to ovoid, 0.85-0.90 x 0.45 -0.72 cm; seeds pyramidal to ovoid, numberous, yellowish, hylaine, lustrous 0.8 x 0.6 x 0.3 mm.
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Discussion
Etymology - The name of this species refers to the country of Peru where this plant was discovered.
The description of Chalybea peruviana is based on vegetative and fruiting characters that differentiate it at once from C corymbifera (Table II). Chalybea peruviana has elliptic leaves (vs. obovate to sometimes elliptic), 5.7- 10x3.2-5.5 cm (vs. 13.5-21 x 9.5-14.7 cm) that are 5-plinerved (vs. 7-plinerved), and entire (vs. dentate), and slightly revolute (vs. planar) margins. The flowers of C peruviana are as yet unknown; however, the inflorescence architecture and number of flowers per inflorescence (33-39 vs. 22-31), size of the fruits (0.85-0.9 x 0.45-0.72 cm vs. 1 .8-2.2 x 1 .2-1 .4 cm), and size of the seeds (0.8 x 0.6 x 0.3 vs. 1 - 1.1 x 0.3 - 0.4 x 0.5 - 0.6 mm) distinguish it from C. corymbifera.