Syzygium nidie Guillaumin, 1931

Tuiwawa, S. H., Craven, L. A., Sam, C. & Crisp, M. D., 2013, The genus Syzygium (Myrtaceae) in Vanuatu, Blumea 58 (1), pp. 53-67 : 62

12. Syzygium nidie Guillaumin

Syzygium nidie Guillaumin (1931) 257. — Typus: Wilson 984 (lectotype P!, here designated; iso A photo seen, BISH n.v., K!, US n.v.), Vanuatu, Tafea Province, Aneityum, Anelgauhat Bay , rainforest up to 500 m, Sept. 1929.

Tree up to 15 m tall. Vegetative branchlets terete, c. 4 mm diam; bark dull, cracked, fading white brownish, not glandular or verrucose, persisting. Leaf lamina up to 6.5 by 3.1 cm, elliptic or sometimes broadly elliptic in lower foliage; base symmetric rarely oblique, attenuate; apex acuminate with conspicuous drip tip, acumen recurved; margin undulate; coriaceous; drying greenish brown above; primary vein (midrib) less than 1.25 mm wide; secondary veins open, more than 20 each side of primary vein, up to 1.5 mm apart; intramarginal vein strongly arched, c. 1 mm from the margin at the lamina midpoint; secondary and tertiary intramarginal vein absent; oil dots present, not visible to the unaided eye in transmitted light, small, sparse. Petiole c. 15 by 1 mm, adaxially slightly grooved. Inflorescence terminal, cymose panicle, c. 7 by 5 cm, 2–3 flowers per anthopodium; hypopodium c. 3 mm long; main inflorescence axis up to 1.5 mm wide, terete, dull, smooth; bracts caducous, not seen. Hypanthium not stipitate, campanulate or funnel shaped, c. 14 by 10 mm, dull, not visibly gland dotted, minutely (distinctly) striated. Sepals 4, c. 2 by 4 mm, triangular, persistent, free. Petals 4, caducous, coherent, circular, c. 1 by 5–8 mm, not visible to the unaided eye in transmitted light, margin entire. Stamens many, more than 50, outermost stamens up to 1.6 cm long; filament free, white; anther sacs elliptic or oblong. Style c. 10 mm long. Fruit red, smooth, plane, ellipsoid, up to 1.3 by 0.6 cm.

Distribution & Ecology — Vanuatu (Sanma province: Espiritu Santo; Tafea province:Aneityum). Syzygium nidie occurs in Fiji and in Vanuatu. In Vanuatu it grows in mid-lowland to montane rainforests up to 900 m asl.

Vernacular names — Nidie or inmejai (Aneityum).

Uses — Hardwood for building; commercial timber.

Notes — 1. Syzygium nidie has a similar inflorescence branching pattern to S. myriadenum and S. nomoa , but these species are distinct in the following vegetative features: S. nidie , leaf apex with a conspicuous drip tip, leaf up to 6.5 by 3.1 cm; S. myriadenum , leaf apex acute, leaf up to 23.5 by 7.2 cm; S. nomoa , leaf apex is round, leaf c. 15.6 by 5.8 cm.

2. The vegetative features of S. nidie can be confused with S. subcorymbosum , however, the two species are distinct in leaf apex, secondary veins, secondary intramarginal vein and fruit size. In S. nidie the apex forms a distinctive drip tip, the secondary veins are open, the secondary intramarginal vein is weakly arched and fruit is c. 13 by 6 mm. For S. subcorymbosum , the leaf apex is acute, the secondary veins are closed, a secondary intramarginal vein is absent and the fruit is 30–46 by 18–24 mm.

3. When describing S. nidie, Guillaumin (1931) cited only one collection, Wilson 984, but did not designate a particular specimen as holotype. Smith (1985) cited the specimen in A as holotype but there is no evidence that Guillaumin saw the specimen, which has been annotated as an isotype in the hand of L.M. Perry (Emily Wood, pers. comm.). In accordance with Recommendation 9A.4 of the ICBN (McNeill et al. 2006), the specimen deposited in Guillaumin’s home institution, P, is considered to be the type and is designated lectotype above.