Siparuna brasiliensis (Spreng.) A.DC., Prodr.

Brunassi, Gustavo Rebechi & Lírio, Elton John de, 2025, Flora of Ceará: Siparunaceae, Rodriguesia (e 00592024) 76, pp. 1-8 : 4

1.1. Siparuna brasiliensis (Spreng.) A.DC., Prodr. 16(2): 656. 1868.

Citriosma brasiliensis Spreng., Neue Entdeckungen 2: 113, 1821. Type: Brazil. Minas Gerais: without precise locality, Otto s.n. = Sellow s.n. /B.598 (Lectotype K; isolectotypes B, destroyed, F photo neg. 13483, GH frag. ex B [2 sheets, label as Sellow L492 .B.598], LISU label as 598).

Shrubs or treelets, dioecious, 2–3 meters high, diameter at breast height up to 7 cm, unbranched or branched from the base. Young branchlets terete, covered with yellowish to rusty trichomes. Leaves chartaceous, petiole 0.6–1 cm, terete, lamina obovate, obovate-oblong or rarely elliptical, 9–16 × 5–8 cm, base cordate, auriculate, rounded, obtuse or acute, apex obtuse to acuminate, the tip up to 1 cm long. Margin denticulate, serrate or crenate, drying brownish-green to blackish, pubescent on both surfaces or sparsely pubescent on the adaxial surface, secondary veins 7–9 pairs, flat on the adaxial surface and slightly prominent or protruding on the abaxial surface. Cymes 1–2, axillary, 1.5 cm long, pendent, more or less densely covered with tufted trichomes. Peduncle 3–6 mm, bracts triangular, 0.5 mm long, flowers 12–30, greenish-yellow. Staminate flowers with pedicels measuring 2–4 mm, floral cup subglobose to urceolate, 1–2 × 1.2–2.4 mm, more or less densely covered with tufted trichomes, tepals triangular, free, 0.8–1.2 mm long, with few to many tufted trichomes on the adaxial surface, floral roof conical, glabrous, more or less raised and often forming an upright rim around the floral pore, stamens 1–12. Pistillate flowers with pedicels measuring 1.3–3.2 mm, floral cup subglobose, 1.9–3.2 × 2–3.2 mm, more or less densely covered with tufted trichomes, tepals triangular, floral roof raised, at anthesis exceeding the floral cup, separated by a groove from a central tube surrounding the styles, floral roof double, the first fold conical and fleshy, at anthesis forming an elongated ring around the stigmas, the second fold cylindrical and membranous, glabrous, carpels 10–15. Fruiting receptacle subglobose, 1.4– 1.6 cm in diameter, sparsely hairy or glabrescent, crowned by persistent tepals. Fresh fruit with red dots when immature, purple with light dots when mature, internally pink, with a strong odor; when dry, blackish with the drupelets somewhat protruding. Drupelets 6–9, fresh drupelets bluishgray, shiny, with red stylar aril arranged in the upper-lateral portion.

Material examined: Barbalha , Chapada do Araripe, 28.IV.2009, fr., J. R. Maciel et al. 1045 ( HVASF); SÍtio Santa Rita, 30.III.2000, fr., E. B. Souza et al. 490 ( ASE, EAC). Crato, tent, check left side, 22.III.2007, fr., E. N. C. Seixas et al. ( HCDAL 3218 ); Chapada do Araripe, 26.VII.1997, fl., V. L. Gomes-Klein et al.3256 ( RBR, UFG); Carrasco, Planalto do Ibiapaba, 10.IX.1996, fl., F. A. S. Clemente ( EAC 25112 ); Chapada do Araripe, 24.VIII.2010, fl., L. P. Félix ( EAC 18982 ); 6.XI.1985, fl., A. Fernandes et al. ( EAC 13957 ) .

Siparuna brasiliensis , a species endemic to Brazil, can be found in Semideciduous Seasonal Forests and Ombrophilous Forests. It is recorded in several regions of Brazil, including the Midwest (Federal District and Goiás), Southeast (EspÍrito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo), Northeast (Bahia and now with new records from Ceará) ( Peixoto et al. 2023). This species is characterized by obovate or obovate-oblong leaves with denticulate margins, and a more or less densely hairy surface, consisting of tufted trichomes. It also has short, pendant cymes and triangular tepals. In Ceará, it occurs in Tropical Subdeciduous Rain Forest (Mata Seca), Tropical Subdeciduous Xeromorphic Forest (Cerradão) and Tropical Subevergreen Rain-Cloud Forest (Mata Úmida), and was collected with flowers and fruits from June to November and with fruits in months of March and April ( Fig. 2 ). The species is popularly known as "capim-limão" or "limoeiro-bravo".

Figures

Figure 2 – a-b. Siparuna brasiliensis – a. photo of a branch with mature fruits; b. photo of the fruit in detail, showing the internal structures. Photos: a. Liu Idárraga Orozco; b. Michel Ribeiro.