Eugenia curupira V.Moreira

Moreira, Víctor De Paiva, Cunha, Hercília Freitas Da, Lima, Igor Gonçalves & Proença, Carolyn Elinore Barnes, 2025, A new species of Eugenia sect. Racemosae (Myrtaceae) from Northeastern Brazil, Phytotaxa 702 (2), pp. 205-212 : 206-210

publication ID

https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.702.2.8

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16897078

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03965034-FF83-A869-96DF-18542541F942

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Eugenia curupira V.Moreira
status

sp. nov.

Eugenia curupira V.Moreira & H.Cunha, sp. nov.

( Fig. 1–2 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 ).

Type: BRAZIL. Rio Grande do Norte: Ceará-Mirim , 5°35’23”S, 35°25’31”W, 8 March 2020, Jardim , J.G. et al 6717 (holotype UFRN 17883 !, GoogleMaps isotype RBR 43539 ). GoogleMaps

Diagnosis:— Eugenia curupira is morphologically similar to E. candolleana Candolle (1828: 281) , from which it differs by its brownish smoothly striate to squamous bark (vs. vinaceous exfoliating bark), inflorescence with ferruginous trichomes (vs. brown trichomes), raceme with up to 4 flowers (vs. raceme generally with more than 4 flowers), pedicels 1.3–2.8 mm long (vs. 6.4–11.55 mm), and fresh fruits red to dark red (vs. fresh fruits black).

Description:—Shrub or tree to 8 m tall, bark brownish and smoothly striate when young, with a squamous periderm when old. Branches non-dichotomous, branchlets compressed and pubescent with hyaline to brownish trichomes when young, grayish and glabrescent when old. Cataphylls deciduous, triangular basally, becoming oblanceolate in the apical pair, ciliate. Leaves with petioles 3–6 mm long, glabrous, semiterete, sulcate adaxially, blades narrowly ovate to elliptic, almost narrowly elliptic, flat to conduplicate in live plants, 23.2–42.9 × 10.7–35.0 mm, glabrous, adaxial surface usually glossy when dry, occasionally opaque, base acute to obtuse, sometimes slightly decurved at petiole, apex attenuate to caudate, conspicuous glands on both sides, margin flat to slightly revolute, midvein sulcated adaxially, prominent abaxially. Secondary veins conspicuous on both sides, with 10–16 pairs. Marginal vein 0.6–1.1 mm from the margin. Raceme axillary, with 1–2 pairs of flowers (flowers 1–4), occasionally with only one flower developed in the apical pair, peduncle 1.5–6.3 mm long, rarely absent, compressed, minutely tomentose with brownish-ferruginous, persistent to glabrescent indumentum, rachis 0.95–1.6 mm when present, compressed, minutely tomentose with brownish-ferruginous indumentum, bracts ovate to triangular, 0.6–0.8 mm long, with a brownish-ferruginous pubescence to glabrescent indumentum, pedicels 1.3–2.8 mm long, minutely tomentose with ferruginous indumentum, bracteoles persistent until maturity, broadly ovate to triangular, 0.7–1 × 0.6–1 mm with a brownish-ferruginous pubescence, persistent or glabrescent. Floral bud obovoid, 2.3–3× 2.3–3.6 mm, sepals green in flowering material, free, transversely elliptic to rounded, concave, ciliate, subequal, outer pair 1.2–1.7 × 1.3–1.8 mm and inner pair 1.2–1.8 × 1.6–1.8 mm, with hyaline to ferruginous pubescent indumentum on both sides, glandular on the outer surface, petals spatulate to elliptic, 4.2–5.5 × 3.3–3.7 mm, ciliate, white and with glands, anthers ellipsoid to ovoid 0.36–0.48 mm, filaments 2.54–4.76 mm long, glabrous, staminal ring 0.50–0.84 mm, thick, sub-square, pubescent, hyaline to ferruginous trichomes, style 2.23–4.60 mm long, glabrous, hypanthium with inconspicuous glands, minutely tomentose with ferruginous indumentum, ovary 2-locular, internally glabrous with 8–18 ovules per locule. Berry depressed to oblong-globose when fresh, dark red when mature, smooth, sparsely pubescent to glabrescent, the fruiting sepals persistent, incurved, turning red at the base and yellowish-green at the tips as the fruit matures. Seeds one to three, 10–12 × 5–6 mm, ellipsoid, seed coat smooth and glandular, embryo with cotyledons completely fused with internal inconspicuous glands.

Distribution and habitat:— Eugenia curupira has only been collected in Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará and Paraíba, in Northeastern Brazil. It has been found in restinga (coastal sand vegetation), in the semi-deciduous and deciduous seasonal forest of the Atlantic Forest domain, in regions with elevations between 20–87 m ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ).

Phenology:—Specimens with flower buds and open flowers were collected in January, February and April. Immature and mature fruits were collected in February, March, October and November. When in fruit the plant presents a striking multi-coloured display, with a combination of light yellow, bright red and dark red fruits of ornamental value.

Conservation:— Eugenia curupira is currently known from three states in Brazil, with two records from Paraíba, three from Ceará and nine from Rio Grande do Norte. We estimated an Area of Occupancy (AOO; IUCN , 2024) of 32 km ² (<500 km ²) and Extent of Occurrence (EOO; IUCN , 2024) of 18,606 km ² (> 5,000 km ²) for E. curupira , and six populations: Mataraca-PB, São Gonçalo do Amarante-CE, Beberibe-CE, Macaíba-RN, Natal-RN (Parque das Dunas) and Pedro Velho-RN. Only one of these populations is in a protected area (Parque Estadual Dunas do Natal - RN). Its populations are threatened by loss of area of occupation and loss of habitat due to real estate speculation driven by tourism in Natal, and by mining for titanium ore and transformation of areas of natural vegetation into areas of mixed use in Mataraca ( Gadelha Neto et al. 2011; Dure at al. 2018); also MapBiomas (https://specieslink.net) record that between 1985-1999 the area was occupied by forest formations; between 2003-2023 by areas of temporary agriculture or a mosaic of uses. Furthermore, the Pedro Velho population was identified during a successional stage assessment for forest-to-pasture conversion, reinforcing the vulnerability of some known populations. Therefore, Eugenia curupira should be assigned the category Endangered (EN), according to IUCN (2024) AOO category [B2ab(iii)].

Affinities:— Eugenia curupira is morphologically closest to E. candolleana , a member of Eugenia sect. Racemosae and can be differentiated by the characteristics mentioned in the diagnosis. Based on morphology, the new species is here assigned to Eugenia sect. Racemosae due to its mode of development and arrangement of flowers on a racemose inflorescence, with relatively short pedicels and persistent bracteoles. The specimens were first identified as Eugenia vernicosa O. Berg (in Martius 1857: 274) because of the glossy appearance of its leaves after drying. However, E. vernicosa has the typical fasciculate inflorescence of Eugenia sect. Umbellatae , with the pedicel length at least four times longer than the inflorescence internodes ( Flora e Funga do Brasil 2024, Mazine et al. 2016), a pattern not found in E. curupira .

Etymology:—The name ‘Curupira’ comes from the Tupi language, where ‘curu’ means boy and ‘pira’ means fire. The Curupira is a figure from Brazilian folklore, known as the guardian of the forests. He disorients and frightens hunters who threaten nature, protecting ecosystems. Local communities that depend on forest resources often make offerings of food, drink and objects to him as a form of respect and in search of protection for natural resources. The epithet ‘curupira’ was chosen due to the presence of ferruginous trichomes on the pedicels, hypanthium, and sepals, in contrast to the brownish-ferruginous trichomes on the peduncle when dry, alluding to the entity’s flaming hair. Furthermore, just as the Curupira confuses forest invaders, this species remained unrecognised for decades, even though it had been collected several times.

Vernacular names:—Ubaia-juçara (orthographic adjustment of “Ubaia-jussara”), Ubaia-jussara (UFRN 966!), Ubaia-vermelha (iNaturalist observation 169352958). All of them in Portuguese.

Paratypes:— BRAZIL. Ceará: São Gonçalo do Amarante, Varjota-Pecém , 24 February 2013, A.S.F. Castro 2686 ( EAC 54525 !, BHCB 216914 -Image) . Paraíba: Mataraca, Millennium Inorganic Chemicals Mineração Ltda. , 6°30’07.9”S, 34°58’36.8”W, 19 April 2012, P. da C. Gadelha Neto 3279 ( RB 560848 -Image, NY 1758963 -Image) GoogleMaps ; Mataraca, Millennium Inorganic Chemicals Mineração Ltda. , 3°36’25.9”S, 38°58’05.9”W, 26 November 2014, P. da C. Gadelha Neto 3902 ( NY 02637026 -Image) GoogleMaps . Rio Grande do Norte: Macaíba, Escola Agrícola de Jundiaí , 10 March 2025, 5°53’17.2”S, 35°22’57.7”W, Cunha, H.F. & Moreira , V.P. 120 ( UFRN 28653 !) GoogleMaps ; Natal, 1980, Mello, L.E. s.n. ( RB 202720 -Image) ; Natal, Morro de Mãe Luiza , 1980; Mello. L.E. s.n. ( RB 254829 -Image) ; Natal, Parque das Dunas , 8 October 1980, Trindade, A. s.n. ( UFRN 966 !) ; Natal, Parque das Dunas , Perto do setor de informação, 5°50’08.0”S, 35°11’28.0”W, 23 March 2017, Roque, A.A. 2022 ( RB 743935 -Image) GoogleMaps ; Natal, Parque das Dunas , ao lado do centro de pesquisa, 5°48’47.0”S, 35°11’31.0”W, 19 April 2020, Roque, A.A. 3094 ( RB 857459 -Image) GoogleMaps ; Natal, Parque das Dunas , Trilha da Perobinha , 5°48’29.0”S, 35°11’36.0”W, 7 February 2024, Câmara, J.P.P. & Kilsztajn, Y. 25 ( UFRN 28390 !) GoogleMaps ; Pedro Velho , 6°29’11”S, 35°11’9”W, 8 March 2020, Moreira, V.P. 608 ( UFRN 26818 !) GoogleMaps .

iNaturalist observations:— BRAZIL. Ceará: Beberibe , 4°14’0.71”S, 38°4’32.51”W, 23 March 2023, paulossilva, 169352958, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/169352958 GoogleMaps ; Beberibe , 4°14’32.81”S, 38°6’9.88”O, 20 February 2025, paulossilva, 262710361, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/262710361 GoogleMaps .

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Diptera

Family

Tachinidae

Genus

Eugenia

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