Monteverdia macrocarpa (Ruiz & Pavón) Biral (2017: 689)

Biral, Leonardo, 2020, New synonyms in Celastraceae toward an update of the flora of Brazil, Phytotaxa 446 (4), pp. 237-244 : 240

Monteverdia macrocarpa (Ruiz & Pavón) Biral (2017: 689) .

≡ Maytenus macrocarpa (Ruiz & Pavón) Briquet (1919: 361) .

≡ Haenkea macrocarpa (Ruiz & Pavón) Steudel (1821: 170) .

≡ Celastrus macrocarpus Ruiz & Pavón (1802: 8 , pl. CCXXX).

Type:— PERU. Habitat in Muña et Chacahuassi nemoribus , s.d., Ruiz & Pavón s.n. (original material, B [ B-W04741-01 0 , F neg 13298]! image, BM [ BMBM000839147 ]! image, BR [ BR0000005737383 ]!, F [679926, barcode V0053698F ; 844178, barcode V0042341F , F neg 58701 & 712488, barcode V0042341F , F neg 58700]! images, G [ G00177337 ]!, HAL [ HAL0118520 ]! image, MA [ 781162 , MA813010 , MA813011 , MA813012 , MA813014 , MA 816701 , MA 816702 , MA817410 & MA817411 ]! images, MPU [ MPU020561 ]! image, P [ P02274011 & P02274012 ]! images, B † [F neg 13302] ).

= Monteverdia krukovii (A.C. Sm.) Biral (2017: 689) . ≡ Maytenus krukovii A.C. Smith (1939: 294) . Type :— BRAZIL. Amazonas : on terra firme near mouth of Rio Embira (tributary of Rio Tarauaca) ‘[lat. 7º30’S., long. 70º15’W’]’, basin of Rio Jurua, 21 June 1933, Krukoff 4957 (holotype NY [NY00337425]!; isolectotypes, BRI [BRI-AQ0241083]! image, F [810627, barcode V0053751F, F neg. 58702]! image, G [G00177275]!, K [K000494612 & K000494613]! images, LP [LP003088]! image, M!, MO [1278611, barcode MO-2196880]!, S [S-R-9172, two sheets]! image, U [U0008082]!, US [1662785, barcode US 00094718]! image). syn. nov.

All the known Amazonian species of Maytenus (sensu McKenna et al. 2011) have capsular fruits with coriaceous pericarp opening by two valves and exhibit a white aril completely covering the seeds. After revising the delimitations among Maytenus and related genera, all species with these characteristics, including both M. krukovii and M. macrocarpa , were combined into Monteverdia ( Biral et al. 2017) . Now, at a species-level revision, Monteverdia krukovii and Monteverdia macrocarpa cannot be distinguished as separate taxa, as their main morphological characters overlap: they share elliptic to oblong leaves with basically entire margins (slightly crenulate close to the apex), that are shiny on the adaxial side when drying, fasciculate inflorescences, and have relatively larger fruits than other species (13-27 mm × 11-15 mm). Alberta Mennega suggested the reduction of Maytenus krukovii to Maytenus tarapotensis Briquet (1919: 264) , currently a synonym of Monteverdia macrocarpa , on the label of the isotype deposited in G, but never proposed it effectively (see the articles 29-31 of the Shenzen Code, Turland et al. 2018). The species is present primarily in the western Amazon region in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru (occurrences confirmed through herbarium specimens), and cited as occurring in Venezuela by Kearns (1998) and Hokche et al. (2008).