A new species of Eugenia (Myrtaceae) from Venezuela

Eugenia mcvaughii is described from a forest remnant of the Jardin Botánico of Caracas, Venezuela. Found also in the hills adjacent to Caracas, it may be considered as an endemic species of the Interior Coastal Cordillera.     

Two new species of Eugenia (Myrtaceae) from Central French Guiana

Eugenia argyrophylla andE. morii from Saül in Central French Guiana are described and illustrated.     

Leaf anatomical studies of Eugenia L. (Myrtaceae) species from the Malay Peninsula

KHATIJAH, H. H., CUTLER, D. F. & MOORE, D. M., 1992. Leaf anatomical studies of Eugenia L. species from the Malay Peninsula. The leaf and petiole anatomy of 25 Malaysian species of Eugenia L. sensu lato was investigated to determine the value of vegetative anatomy for the identification of non-flowering material. Twelve characters proved useful for the identification of species: type of stomata; shape of leaves in T.S.; shape of midrib bundle; sclerenchyma sheath; cutinization of outer epidermal wall; presence or absence of sclereids, idioblasts, hypodermis, columnar epidermal cells, solitary crystals; number of palisade layers and the shape of vascular strand, sclerenchyma sheath and sclereids in the parenchyma of the petiole. Using these characters an anatomical key was constructed to assist identification of the species. Only the closely related species E. stapfiana and E. nilidula could not be separated on anatomical characters.
The anatomical data support the treatment of Henderson (1949) of section Acmena but not of sections Cleistocalyx and Fissicalyx , which fit better in section Syzygium.     

Purification of betulinic acid from Eugenia florida (Myrtaceae) by high-speed counter-current chromatography

A high yield of betulinic acid (up to 17% from the ethanolic extract) was found in the leaves of Eugenia florida collected in south-eastern Brazil, making this species a potential commercial source of the title compound. Extracts of E. florida were subjected to solvent partition, and rapid high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was applied to the semi-crude extracts to afford betulinic acid in high purity. The mobile and stationary phases were derived from the two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (10:5:2.5:1). The developing solvent system (stationary and mobile phases) for optimum HSCCC separation was chosen by dissolving the fraction to be chromatographed in the proposed solvent mixture and determining the amount of betulinic acid in each phase by densitometric TLC. Purified betulinic acid was characterized by 13C-NMR, GC-MS and co-injection of its methyl ester with standards in GC-FID. The HSCCC technique is commonly employed to isolate triterpene glycosides, but is applied in this study to an aglycone.     

A new species of campomanesia (Myrtaceae) from Brazil

Campomanesia espiritosantensis Landrum is described from the coastal forests of Espírito Santo, Brazil. Its relationship to other species in the genus is discussed.     

A new species of Campomanesia (Myrtaceae) from southeastern Brazil

Campomanesia simulans, a new species from the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, Brazil, is described and illustrated.     

A new species of Calyptranthes (Myrtaceae) from southeastern Brazil

Calyptranthes fusiformis (Myrtaceae), a new species from coastal forests of São Paulo, Brazil, is described and illustrated.     

Foliar anatomy and micromorphology of eleven species of Eugenia L. (Myrtaceae)

The anatomy and micromorphology of eleven species of Eugenia found in the 'restinga' of Marica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were studied and compared. The characteristics found to be of most use in distinguishing the species are: presence and types of trichomes persistent in the adult material, form and arrangement of overlying cells (epidermal cells over secretory cavities), pattern of anticlinal walls of epidermal cells (primary sculpturing), occurrence of epicuticular striae and folds (secondary sculpturing) and presence of peristomatal folds. An analytical key based on these characteristics is presented for the Eugenia species studied.     

Curitiba (Myrtaceae): A new genus from the Planalto of southern Brazil

In the course of monographic work in Myrtaceae it has become evident thatEugenia prismatica cannot be accommodated within any existing genus in the family. Therefore, a new genus,Curitiba, is described to contain it and the new combinationCuritiba prismatica is made.Curitiba is diagnosed by a combination of 4-angled hypanthia and fruits, ovules radiating from a central protruding placenta, and seed coats with wavy rows of papillae. A key is provided to distinguishCuritiba from the Caribbean and Mesoamerican genusMosiera, where the species also had been placed before this transfer, and from other 4-merous genera in Brazil of subtribe Myrtinae. In the Atlantic Forest of Brazil where the family Myrtaceae is one of the most species rich and ecologically important plant families, the discovery ofCuritiba reveals a unique evolutionary lineage, highlights the endemism present in the Atlantic Forest, and underscores, the urgent need for conservation of this rapidly disappearing and highly endangered biome.     

Two new species of Plinia (Myrtaceae) from coastal forests of Brazil

Plinia complanata andPlinia pauciflora, two new species from coastal forests of São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil, are described and illustrated.     

Phytotoxic effect of bioactive compounds isolated from Myrcia tomentosa (Myrtaceae) leaves

The aim of this study was to assess the phytotoxic potential of leaves of Myrcia tomentosa, as well as to isolate and identify the main bioactive compounds. The results for the coleoptile and phytotoxicity bioassays indicated the ethyl acetate extract for the phytochemistry study, owing to the high activity and the maintenance of the activity at lower concentrations. This extract was chromatographed and subjected to ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR. Two major active compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of leaves of M. tomentosa: avicularin and juglanin. The fractions where these compounds were isolated showed potent inhibition of coleoptile growth. This paper is the first report on the presence of the flavonoids avicularin and juglanin in species of Myrtaceae from Neotropical savanna and provides a basis for future studies on the bioprospecting of M. tomentosa.     

Transferability of Microsatellites from Psidium guajava to Eugenia,Myrciaria, Campomanesia,and Syzygium Species (Myrtaceae)

Plant Molecular Biology Reporter - Myrtaceae has many fruit-bearing species of economic and ecological relevance worldwide, but with microsatellite molecular markers (simple sequence repeats, SSR)...     

The genus Eugenia L. (Myrtaceae) in southern Africa: the structure and taxonomic value of stomata

The mature stomatal morphology of 11 southern African species of Eugenia , and also of E. uniflora L. (naturalized) and E. incerta Diimmer (a garden plant of unknown origin) has been studied by light and scanning electron microscopy.
Leaves of all the species are hypostomatic and water-stomata are occasionally present. Two different stomatal types, X and Y, differing mainly in their cuticular ornamentation, were found in the southern African species. The grouping of species based on stomatal characters supports a previous grouping of species on the basis of periderm and seed characters.
Conspicuous lipid bodies, usually present in the subsidiary cells, are limited to the southern African species. Although the subsidiary cells do not differ in shape and size from adjacent epidermal cells, their contents often have a higher tannin content than ordinary epidermal cells. The variable patterns of arrangement of the three to five subsidiary cells makes it difficult to identify the stomata with existing classifications based on mature topography. Thus, a new term 'anomostaurocytic' is proposed for the stomatal type found in the southern African species.
Stomata of E. uniflora and E. incerta are paracytic and anomocytic respectively, and the cuticular ornamentation of their stomata differs from those of the southern African species. The view that E. incerta is not closely related to the southern African species is supported by differences in its cuticular ornamentation, lack of lipid bodies in the subsidiary cells, anomocytic stomata and prominent T-pieces at the guard cell poles.     

Infraspecific variability in the volatile leaf oils of Chamelaucium uncinatum (Myrtaceae)

Variation in leaf essential oils and morphometric characters among 38 locations of Chamelaucium uncinatum were used to describe infraspecific diversity and geographic patterns of variation. Four chemical types were designated: citronellal, -pinene or limonene dominant, or one in which all three monoterpenes were co-dominant. The citronellal and limonene types were geographically restricted but the -pinene and co-dominant types were widespread. The citronellal type also demonstrated higher diversity (by Shannon–Weiner index) in the oil profile than the other types. Biochemical differentiation was not strongly paralleled by morphological differences between chemotypes; only the citronellal-type differed morphologically from the other three types with respect to floral bud and leaf characters. Based on biochemical and morphological differences, and geographic localization, it was concluded that the citronellal type may represent a recently evolved ecotype of C. uncinatum.     

Dipylidium caninum (Cyclophyllidea, Dipylidiidae) in a wild carnivore from Brazil

We report Dipylidium caninum for the first time in a wild carnivore in Brazil, the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous). Presence of the cestode could be the consequence of anthropogenic expansion into natural habitats of this host, as this parasite has only previously been reported in domestic hosts in Brazil.