Syzygium aneityense 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 : 56-57

1. Syzygium aneityense Guillaumin

Syzygium aneityense Guillaumin (1931) 256. — Typus: Kajewski 846 (lecto P,here designated;iso K), Vanuatu, Tafea Province, Aneityum, Anelgauhat Bay , 335 m, 2 Mar. 1929.

Tree up to 15 m tall. Vegetative branchlets terete,up to 3 mm diam; bark dull, smooth, not glandular or verrucose, persistent. Leaf lamina 5.5–11.5 by 2.2–5 cm, elliptic; base symmetric, cuneate; apex acuminate, acumen flat; margin flat; chartaceous; drying greenish brown above; primary vein (midrib) less than 1 mm wide; secondary veins closed, 7–11 each side of primary vein, 5–8 mm apart; intramarginal vein strongly arched, 11–18 mm from the margin at the lamina midpoint; secondary intramarginal vein weakly arched; tertiary intramarginal vein absent or present, weakly arched; oil dots present, not visible to the unaided eye through transmitted light, small, sparse. Petiole 5–8 mm long, adaxially slightly grooved. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, cymose panicle; up to 8 by 12 cm, 1–3 flowers per anthopodium; hypopodium c. 5 mm long; main inflorescence axis 1 mm wide, terete, dull, smooth; bracts persisting, up to 0.5 mm long. Hypanthium stipitate, stipe 1–3 mm long; obconic or broadly clavate, c. 10 by 5 mm, dull, not visibly gland dotted, minutely wrinkled. Sepals 4, 0.2–0.4 by 1–1.5 mm, coherent, persistent. Petals not seen. Stamens many, more than 50, up to 10 mm long; filaments free, yellow; anther sacs circular. Style up to 12 mm long. Fruit not seen.

Distribution & Ecology — Vanuatu (Tafea province: Aneityum). Syzygium aneityense is common in lowland rainforest at elevations up to c. 500 m asl.

Vernacular name — Nomogheo (Aneityum).

Uses — The timber is a hardwood but has no known specific use.

Notes — 1. Flowers have been recorded from March to June. The fruiting period is unknown.

2. Syzygium aneityense can be misidentified as S. kajewskii because of superficial similarities in the foliage. However, these two species can be distinguished on leaf size, shape of the leaf base, petiole length, tertiary venation type, hypanthium shape and sepal size. In S. aneityense the leaf is 5.5–11 by 2.2–5 cm, the leaf base is cuneate, the petiole c. 5–8 mm long, the venation is open, the hypanthium is obconic or broadly clavate, and the sepals are small to almost inconspicuous 0.2–0.4 mm long. For S. kajewskii , the leaves are 4.5–10.5 by 2.3–4.9 cm, the leaf base is cuneate or attenuate, the petiole up to 27 mm long, the venation is closed, the hypanthium is obconical or campanulate and the sepals are 1 by 2 mm.

3. When describing S. aneityense, Guillaumin (1931) cited only one collection, Kajewski 846, but did not designate a particular specimen as holotype. In accordance with Recommendation 9A.4 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN; McNeill et al. 2012), the specimen deposited in Guillaumin’s home institution, P, is considered to be the type and is designated lectotype above.