Syzygium clusiifolium (A.Gray) Müll.Berol.

Tuiwawa, S. H., Craven, L. A., Sam, C. & Crisp, M. D., 2013, The genus Syzygium (Myrtaceae) in Vanuatu, Blumea 58 (1), pp. 53-67 : 57-59

3. Syzygium clusiifolium (A.Gray) Müll.Berol.

Syzygium clusiifolium (A.Gray) Müll.Berol.(1858) 839.— Eugenia clusiaefolia A.Gray (in Gray & Wilkes 1854) 528. — Typus (fide Whistler (1988) 178, as holotype): U.S. Expl. Exped. s.n. (lecto US n.v.; iso GH (fragm.) n.v., K n.v.), Samoa, Tutuila and Savaii, on rocks near the sea, 1839.

Syzygium neepau Guillaumin (1931) 257, syn. nov. — Typus: Wilson 973 (holo P; iso BRI, K), Vanuatu, Tafea Province, Aneityum, Anelgauhat Bay , 657 m, Sept. 1929.

Tree up to 20 m tall. Vegetative branchlets terete to terminally compressed, up to 4 mm diam; bark dull, furfuraceous, not glandular or verrucose, flaking. Leaf lamina up to 15 by 7.6–9.6 cm, elliptic; base symmetric, cuneate; apex acute, acumen flat; margin slightly undulate; coriaceous; drying reddish brown above; primary vein 1 mm wide; secondary veins closed, 15– 18 each side of primary vein, 10 mm apart; intramarginal vein strongly arched, 2.5–4 mm from the margin at the lamina midpoint; secondary intramarginal vein weakly arched; tertiary intramarginal vein absent; oil dots present, not visible to the unaided eye in transmitted light, small, dense. Petiole c. 15 mm long; adaxially strongly grooved. Inflorescence among the leaves or cauliflorous, cymose panicle; c. 26 by 25 cm, c. 3–9 flowers per anthopodium; hypopodium up to 10 mm long; main inflorescence axis 3 mm wide, terete, dull, smooth; bracts deciduous, 0.5–1 mm long. Hypanthium stipitate, stipe 2 mm long; obconic, up to 8 by 3 mm, dull, not visibly gland dotted, striate to slightly wrinkled. Sepals 4, up to 1 by 3 mm, semicircular, coherent, persistent. Petals 4, caducous, coherent, circular, up to 3 by 3 mm, visibly gland dotted; margin entire. Stamens many, more than 50, outermost stamens up to 8 mm long; filaments free, yellow; anther sacs oblong or elliptic. Style up to 5 mm long. Fruit pink to red when ripe, smooth, pyriform, up to 2 by 1.3 cm.

Distribution & Ecology — Vanuatu (Malampa province: Malakula, Paama; Penama province: Pentecost; Sanma province: Espiritu Santo; Shefa province: Efate; Tafea province:Aneityum, Aniwa, Tanna. Torba province: Hiu). Syzygium clusiifolium also occurs in Polynesia in Samoa, Uvea, Tonga and Futuna ( Whistler 1988). In Vanuatu, the species occurs predominantly on the coast and in lowland rainforest below 300 m asl.

Vernacular names — Neepau (Aneityum) ;naavakhsisiel (Malakula).

Uses — The timber is hard and is used for firewood; roof framing on houses and canoe masts. The fruit is edible. There is an association between this tree and the cultivation of yams ( Dioscorea sp. ) but it is unclear at which growth or develop- mental phase S. clusiifolium becomes a useful indicator for favorable seasons to cultivate.

Notes — 1. Flowers have been recorded between September and December, and fruit in February.

2. Syzygium clusiifolium is absent in Fiji, Papuasia and New Caledonia but occurs quite widely in Polynesia where it is also a cultivated plant ( Whistler 1988). Its occurrence in Vanuatu may result from an early introduction by man, especially as the fruit is edible and the plant is associated with the cultivation of taro.

3. The species is distinctive in leaf size and shape but it could be mistaken for S. malaccense . These two species can be distinguished by the type of venation, petiole length and inflorescence size. In S. clusiifolium , the secondary veins are closed, the petiole c. 15 mm long and the inflorescence c. 26 by 25 cm. In S. malaccense , the secondary veins are open, the petiole is 6–9 mm long and the inflorescence c. 6 by 3 cm.

3. Whistler (1988) cited the US specimen, U.S. Expl. Exped. s.n. (Tutuila and Savaii, on rocks near the sea, 1839), as holotype of Eugenia clusiaefolia . However, Gray ( Gray & Wilkes 1854) did not designate a holotype specimen and the US material is more appropriately regarded as the lectotype of the name.

4. When describing S. neepau, Guillaumin (1931) cited only one collection, Wilson 973, but did not designate a particular specimen as holotype. In accordance with Recommendation 9A.4 of the ICBN ( McNeill et al. 2012), the specimen deposited in Guillaumin’s home institution, P, is considered the holotype.