Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 763 No. 1: 18 Jun. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-06-18
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.763.1.1
Page range: 1-15
Abstract views: 0
PDF downloaded: 0

Reinstatement of Myrcia rhodeosepala (Myrtaceae), a highland Cerrado species: an integrative approach

Universidade de Brasília; Campus Darcy Ribeiro; Asa Norte; Brasília; DF; Brazil
##plugins.generic.jatsParser.article.authorBio##
×

CAROLYN E. B. PROENÇA

Departamento de Botânica, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil, 70910-900

Emeritus Professor

Universidade de Brasília; Campus Darcy Ribeiro; Asa Norte; Brasília; DF; Brazil; Serviço Florestal Brasileiro; SCEN Trecho 2; L4 Norte; Brasília; DF; Brazil
##plugins.generic.jatsParser.article.authorBio##
×

ANDRESSA D. SILVEIRA

Inventário Florestal Nacional, Serviço Florestal Brasileiro, SCEN Trecho 2, L4 Norte, Bloco B, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil, 70818-900.

Technical assistant

Universidade de Brasília; Campus Darcy Ribeiro; Asa Norte; Brasília; DF; Brazil
##plugins.generic.jatsParser.article.authorBio##
×

KADJA M. GOMES-BEZERRA

Programa de Pós-graduação em Botânica

Doctoral student

Universidade de Brasília; Campus Darcy Ribeiro; Asa Norte; Brasília; DF; Brazil
##plugins.generic.jatsParser.article.authorBio##
×

LUCIA H. SOARES-SILVA

Departamento de Botânica, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil, 70910-900

Emeritus Professor

Universidade de Brasília; Campus Darcy Ribeiro; Asa Norte; Brasília; DF; Brazil
##plugins.generic.jatsParser.article.authorBio##
×

SUELI M. GOMES

Departamento de Botânica, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil, 70910-900

Lecturer

Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia; W5 Norte; Brasília; DF; Brazil
##plugins.generic.jatsParser.article.authorBio##
×

MARLON G. FACCO

EMBRAPA Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Parque Estação Biológica, W5 Norte, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil, 70770-901

Research Assistant

Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; R. Pacheco Leão 915; Rio de Janeiro; RJ; Brazil
##plugins.generic.jatsParser.article.authorBio##
×

THIAGO E. MENEGUZZO

Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão 915, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 22460-030.

Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Burgring 7, 1010 Wien, Austria.

Departamento de Botânica, Museu Nacional, Quinta da Boa Vista s.n., Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20940-040.

Associated Researcher

Jardim Botânico de Brasília; Área Especial SMDB; DF-35; Brasília; DF; Brazil
##plugins.generic.jatsParser.article.authorBio##
×

PRISCILA O. ROSA

Diretoria de Gestão do Conhecimento, Jardim Botânico de Brasília, SMDB, Rodovia DF-035, Distrito Federal, Brazil, 71680-001.

Eudicots functional traits leaf anatomy historical collections taxonomy

Abstract

Myrcia rhodeosepala was described in the Flora Brasiliensis by Berg (as Aulomyrcia lanuginosa) and transferred to Myrcia by Kiaerskou as the specific epithet ‘lanuginosa’ was exhausted in this genus. Myrcia rhodeosepala was accepted as a good species during the 20th and early 21st century, but in 2008, it appeared as a synonym of Myrcia tomentosa in The World Checklist of Myrtaceae. There is now convincing historical, geographical, morphological, anatomical and ecological evidence that M. rhodeosepala should be reinstated. First, the type, cited to be from Rio de Janeiro by Berg, was probably collected in Minas Gerais. Second, one of the publications cited as the source for the synonymy recognizes M. rhodeosepala as distinct from M. tomentosa. Morphologically, M. rhodeosepala can be distinguished by being a subshrub (v. shrubs or trees up to 10m in M. tomentosa), inflorescences sympodial throughout and forming showy synflorescences (v. in the axils of young leaves and distally monopodial in M. tomentosa), and leaf shape, size and venation. Anatomically the two species also differ. In M. rhodeosepala the adaxial leaf surface epidermal cells have straight anticlinal cell walls (v. sinuous in M. tomentosa). In M. rhodeosepala epicuticular wax occurs on both surfaces of the leaf forming a densely coalescent reticulum (v. only on the adaxial surface of the leaf in small, sparse granules in M. tomentosa). Finally, M. rhodeosepala produces significantly (T-test significance: p< 0.001) heavier flowers, fruits and seeds in smaller numbers per plant than M. tomentosa at peak flowering and fruiting.

References

  1. Amshoff, G.J.H. (1958) Flora of Panama: Myrtaceae. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 45: 165–201.
  2. Arantes, A.A. & Monteiro, R. (2002) A família Myrtaceae na Estação Ecológica do Panga, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brasil. Lundiana International Journal of Biodiversity 3 (2): 111–127. https://doi.org/10.35699/2675-5327.2002.21804
  3. Aublet, J.B.C.F. (1775) Myrtaceae. In: Histoire des Plantes de La Guyane Française. Didot jeune, P.F., Libraire de la Faculté de Médicine, London & Paris, pp. 495–513.
  4. Barthlott, W., Neinhuis, C., Cutler, D., Ditsch, F., Meusel, I., Theisen, I. & Wilhelmi, H. (1998) Classification and terminology of plant epicuticular waxes. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 126: 237–260. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.1998.tb02529.x
  5. Batalha, M.A. & Martins, F.R. (2004) Reproductive phenology of the cerrado plant community in Emas National Park (central Brazil). Aust. J. Bot. 52 (2): 149–161. https://doi.org/10.1071/BT03098
  6. Berg, O.C. (1855) Revisio Myrtacearum Americae. Linnaea 27: 1–472.
  7. Berg, O.C. (1857) Myrtaceae. In: Martius, C.F.P. von (Ed.) Flora Brasiliensis, 14. Frid. Fleischer, Leipzig, pp. 1–655.
  8. Bongard, A.G.H. von (1831) Mémoires de l’Académie impériale des sciences de St.-Pétersbourg 6 (1).
  9. Cianciaruso, M.V., Batalha, M.A. & Silva, I.A. (2005) Seasonal variation of a hyperseasonal cerrado in Emas National Park, central Brazil. Flora 200 (4): 345–353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2005.02.001
  10. De Candolle, A.P. (1828) Myrtaceae. In: Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis, 3. Paris, pp. 207–296.
  11. Donnell, A.A., Ballard, H.E. & Cantino, P.D. (2012) Callianthe (Malvaceae): A new genus of neotropical Malveae. Systematic Botany 37: 712–722. https://doi.org/10.1600/036364412X648689
  12. Flora e Funga do Brasil. (2025) http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Available from: http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br (accessed 17 November 2025)
  13. Gomes, S.M., Somavilla, N.S., Gomes-Bezerra, K.M., Miranda, S.C., Carvalho, P.S. & Graciano-Ribeiro, D. (2009) Anatomia foliar de espécies de Myrtaceae: contribuições à taxonomia e filogenia. Acta Botanica Brasilica 23 (1): 224–238. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-33062009000100024
  14. Gomes-Bezerra, K.M. (2013) Estudos taxonômicos e anatômicos dos gêneros Calyptranthes, Marlierea, Myrceugenia e Myrcia sect. Aulomyrcia (Myrtaceae) no Distrito Federal, Brasil. Doctoral Thesis, Universidade de Brasília.
  15. Govaerts, R., Sobral, M.E.G., Ashton, P., Barrie, F., Holst, B.K., Landrum, L.R., Matsumoto, K., Mazine, F.F., Lughadha, E.N., Proença, C.E.B., Soares-Silva, L.H., Wilson, P.G. & Lucas, E.J. (2008) World Checklist of Myrtaceae. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Kew.
  16. IBGE (Fundação lnstituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística) (2023) Base Cartográfica Contínua do Brasil na escala 1:250.000 (BC250). Available from: http://mapas.ibge.gov.br/bases-e-referenciais/bases-cartograficas/cartas (accessed 10 March 2023)
  17. Kawasaki, M.L. (2004) Flora de Grão-Mogol, Minas Gerais: Myrtaceae. Bol. Botânica, Univ. São Paulo 22 (2): 323–337. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9052.v22i2p323-337
  18. Kiaerkou, H.F.C. (1893) Ennumeratio Myrtacearum quas collegiunt Glaziou, Lund, Mendonça, Raben, Reinhardt, Schenck, Warming alique. In: Warming, J.E.B. (Ed.) Symbolarum Ad Floram Brasiliae Centralis Cognoscendam. Officina Hoffensbergiana, Copenhagen, pp. 1–260. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.4459
  19. Koch, K., Bhushan, B. & Barthlott, W. (2009) Multifunctional surface structures of plants: An inspiration for biomimetics. Progress in Materials Science 54 (2): 137–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2008.07.003
  20. Kunth, K.S. (1841) Enumeratio plantarum omnium hucusque cognitarum : secundum familias naturales disposita, adjectis characteribus, differentiis et synonymis. Volume 3. J.G. Cottae, Stuttgart, Tübingen, 752 pp.
  21. Lima, D.F., Mauad, A.V.S., Silva-Pereira, V., Smidt, E.C. & Goldenberg, R. (2015) Species boundaries inferred from ISSR markers in the Myrcia laruotteana complex (Myrtaceae). Plant Systematics and Evolution 301 (1): 353–363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-014-1078-9
  22. Lucas, E.J. (2007) Systematic studies in Neotropical Myrtaceae with an emphasis on Myrcia s.l.: The evolution and biogeography of a large South American clade. Open University.
  23. Lucas, E.J., Amorim, B.S., Lima, D.F., Lima-Lourenço, A.R., Nic-Lughadha, E.N., Proença, C.E.B., Rosa, P.O., Rosário, A.S., Santos, L.L., Santos, M.C., Souza, M.C., Staggemeier, V.G., Vasconcelos, T.N.C. & Sobral, M.E.G. (2018) A new infra-generic classification of the species-rich Neotropical genus Myrcia s.l. Kew Bulletin 73 (9): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-017-9730-5
  24. Mattos, J.R., Silveira, N.J.E. & Guadagnin, M.R. (1986) Contribuição ao conhecimento da flora do Parque da Femaçã de Veranópolis, RS. Loefgrenia 89: 1–8.
  25. Mendonça, R.C., Felfili, J.M., Walter, B.M.T., Silva Júnior, M.C., Rezende, A.V., Filgueiras, T.S. & Nogueira, P.E. (1998) Flora vascular do bioma Cerrado. In: Sano, S.M. & Almeida, S.P. (Eds.) Cerrado: Ambiente e Flora. Planaltina, pp. 289–556.
  26. Miquel, A.F.W. (1849) Plantae Regnellianae. Linnaea 22: 511–583.
  27. NASA—National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2023) Open Topography Shuttle Radar Topogr. Mission Glob. https://doi.org/10.5069/G9445JDF
  28. Niedenzu, F. (1893) Myrtaceae. In: Engler, A. & Prantl, K. (Eds.) Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien, vol. 3. Engelmann, Leipzig, pp. 57–105.
  29. NMWG—Neotropical Myrtaceae Working Group—Staggemeier, V.G., Amorim, B., Bünger, M., Costa, I.R., de Faria, J.E.Q., Flickinger, J., Giaretta, A., Kubo, M.T., Lima, D.F., dos Santos, L.L., Lourenço, A.R., Lucas, E., Mazine, F.F., Murillo-A, J., de Oliveira, M.I.U., Parra-O, C., Proença, C.E.B.E.B., Reginato, M., Rosa, P.O., Santos, M.F., Stadnik, A., Tuler, A.C., Valdemarin, K.S. & Vasconcelos, T. (2024) Towards a species-level phylogeny for Neotropical Myrtaceae: Notes on topology and resources for future studies. American Journal of Botany 111: e16330. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16330
  30. Oliveira-Filho, A.T. (2006) Catálogo das árvores nativas de Minas Gerais. Lavras, 288 pp.
  31. Payne, W.W. (1978) A glossary of plant hair terminology. Brittonia 30 (2): 239–255. https://doi.org/10.2307/2806659
  32. POWO (2025) Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet. Available from: https://powo.science.kew.org/ (accessed 17 November 2025)
  33. Proença, C.E.B. & Gibbs, P.E. (1994) Reproductive biology of eight sympatric Myrtaceae from Central Brazil. New Phytologist 126 (2): 343–354. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.1994.tb03954.x
  34. Proença, C.E.B., Oliveira, M.I.U. & Landim, M.F. (2013) Myrtaceae. In: Prata, A.P.N., Amaral, M.C.E., Farias, M.C.V. & Alves, M.V. (Eds.) Flora de Sergipe. Vol. 1. Gráfica e Editora Triunfo, Aracaju, pp. 364–430.
  35. Proença, C.E.B., Soares-Silva, L.H., Silva, P.I. & Fank-de-Carvalho, S.M. (2010) Two new endemic species of Myrtaceae and an anatomical novelty from the Highlands of Brazil. Kew Bulletin 65: 463–468. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-010-9221-4
  36. Ratter, J.A., Bridgewater, S.G.M., Atckinson, R. & Ribeiro, J.F. (1996) Analysis of the floristic composition of the Brazilian cerrado vegetation II: comparation of the woody vegetation of 98 areas. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 53 (2): 153–180. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960428600002821
  37. REFLORA—Herbário Virtual. (2025) Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Available from: https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/reflora/herbarioVirtual/ (accessed 31 July 2025)
  38. Rosa, P.O. (2015) Subtribo Myrciinae e Myrceugenia (Myrtaceae): Flora dos estados de Goiás e Tocantins. Universidade de Brasíllia. https://doi.org/10.26512/2015.10.t.20294
  39. Santos, M.F., Sano, P.T., Forest, F. & Lucas, E.J. (2016) Phylogeny, morphology and circumscription of Myrcia sect. (Myrcia s.l., Myrtaceae). Taxon 65 (4): 759–774. https://doi.org/10.12705/654.5
  40. Santos, M.F., Amorim, B.S., Burton, G.P., Faria, J.E.Q., Fernandes, T., Flickinger, J.A., Gaem, P.H., Landrum, L.R., Lima, D.F., Proença, C.E.B., Rosa, P.O., Lima-Dos-Santos, L., Setubal, R.B., Stadnik, A.M.S., Staggemeier, V.G., Vasconcelos, T.N.C. & Lucas, E.J. (2024) A taxonomic account of Myrciinae (Myrteae, Myrtaceae): generic and sectional placement of forgotten species and a list of all accepted species. Phytotaxa 674 (2): 129–170. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.674.2.1
  41. Silveira, A.D. (2021) Efeito da amplitude geográfica na variação dos traços reprodutivos e citogenéticos em Angiospermas no Cerrado. Universidade de Brasília.
  42. Silveira, A.D., Simon, M.F., Facco, M.G., Cavalcanti, T.B., Harris, S.A. & Proença, C.E.B. (2026) Narrow endemic cerrado species have heavier flowers, fruits and seeds than their widely distributed congeners in the Cerrado. Austral Ecology. [submitted]
  43. speciesLink (2025) CRIA—Centro de Referência de Informação Ambiental. Available from: https://specieslink.net/search/ (accessed 31 July 2025)
  44. Turland, N.J., Wiersema, J.H., Barrie, F.R., Gandhi, K.N., Gravendyck, J., Greuter, W., Hawksworth, D.L., Herendeen, P.S., Klopper, R.R., Knapp, S., Kusber, W.-H., Li, D.-Z., May, T.W., Monro, A.M., Prado, J., Price, M.J., Smith, G.F. & Zamora Señoret, J.C. (2025) International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Madrid Code). University of Chicago Press, Chicago. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226839479.001.0001
  45. Urban, I. (1906) Vitae itineraque collectorum botanicorum, Notae collaboratorum biographicae, Flora Brasiliensis ratio edendi chronologica, Systema, Index Familiarum. In: Martius, C.F.P., Eichler, A.W. & Urban, I. (Eds.) Flora Brasiliensis: Enumeratio Plantarum in Brasilia, Hactenus Detectarum Quas Suis Aliorumque Botanicorum Studiis Descriptas et Methodo Naturali Digestas Partim Icone Illustratas. R. Oldenbourg, Munich & Leipsig, pp. 1–268.

How to Cite

Proença, C.E.B., Silveira, A.D., Gomes-Bezerra, K.M., Soares-Silva, L.H., Gomes, S.M., Facco, M.G., Meneguzzo, T.E. & Rosa, P.O. (2026) Reinstatement of Myrcia rhodeosepala (Myrtaceae), a highland Cerrado species: an integrative approach. Phytotaxa 763 (1): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.763.1.1