Melastoma cyanoides Sm.
Plate legend: A. habit; B. fruit; C. section through the hypanthium; D. flower.
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Table of contents
1. Protologue
Melastoma cyanoides Sm., Cycl. 23 (1819): n. 56-57. - Otanthera cyanoides (Sm.) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 28 (1871): 55. - Type: Smith s.n., Indonesia, Ambon (LINN?, not seen).
M. cyanoides (Fragarius ruber; Rumph. Amb. v. 4. 135. t. 71 Katou-Kadali; Rheede Malab. v. 4. 91. t. 43)
Leaves ovate, acute, five-ribbed, entire; roughish on both sides with close-pressed bristles. Clusters terminal, forked. Calyx clothed with clustered bristles. Bracteas oavte, fringed.
Sent from Amboyna by the late Mr. Christopher Smith.
We can refer it to none in Willdenow or Lamarck, but we quote without hesitation the above synonyms, which have been, surely errorneously, referred to the true M. aspera; see n. 10. The present is rather a small and weak shrub, with slendeer, grey, slightly bristly branches. Leaves bright green on both sides, paler beneath, ovate, rather pointed, three inches long, and above one broad, with five distinct ribs, of which the lateral ones are nearly as considerable as the rest. The upper surface is besprinkled with yellow close-pressed bristles; the under is chiefly bristly at the ribs and veins. Footstalks bristly, purplish, half an inch long. Panicles terminal, forked or corymbose, a little bristly with a pair of ovate, concave, smooth through fringed bracteas, at each division. Calyx densely covered with clustered, sometimes palmate, whitish bristles, which are, as far as we have seen, peculiar to this species, and give the part in question a great resemblance to Centaurea Cyanus. The petals are said by Rumphius to be white, in the Hortus Malabaricus they seem implied to be purple. The fruit is compared by the former author to a strawberry, beeing redder on one side than the other. It is agreeably acid, with some adstringency, and is given to children in Amboyna, to prevent what some learned corrupter of English may hereafter call lecimiction.
2. Synonyms
- Melastoma rubro-limbatum Link et Otto, Ic. Pl. Select. (1825): t. 41. - Lachnopodium rubro-limbatum Blume, Flora 14(27) (1831): 477. - Otanthera rubro-limbata (Link et Otto) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 28 (1871): 56.
- Osbeckia manillana DC., Prodr. 3 (1828): 142. - Otanthera manillana (DC.) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. 28 (1871): 56. - Type: Perrottet s.n., Manila, Albay, Philippines, 1819 (P!).
- Otanthera bracteata Korth., Verh. Nat. Gesch. Ned. Bezitt., Bot. 7 (1844): 235. - Lachnopodium bracteatum (Korth.) Blume, Mus. Bot. 1(4) (1849): 56. - Type: Korthals s.n., Singalong, Sumatra, Indonesia (L?, not seen).
- Otanthera crinita Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., Ser. 3, 13 (1850): 354. - Type: Cuming 928, Luzon, Albay, Philippines, 1841 (BM!, K!).
- Osbeckia papuana Cogn., Monogr. Phan. 7 (1891): 332. - Otanthera papuana (Cogn.) C. Hansen, Ginkgoana 4 (1977): 122. - Type: Beccari 4026, Monta Arfak ad Hatam, New Guinea, 1800 m, Jul 1875 (P!).
- Otanthera setulosa Schum., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Südsee (1905): 327. - Type: Brown 131, Astrolabe Range, Papua New Guinea, Jul 1898 (WRSL, not seen).
- Otanthera strigosa Merr., Philipp. J. Sci. 14 (1919): 433. - Type: Ramos BS 33079, Bangui to Claveria, Luzon, Ilocos Norte, Philippines, Aug 1918 (L!, P!).
- Osbeckia annamica Guillaumin, Fl. Gén. Indo-Chine 12 (1921): 878. - Otanthera annamica (Guillaumin) C. Hansen, Ginkgoana 4 (1977): 122. - Type: Eberhardt 2812, Indochina, haut cours de Bo giang, Thua Thien, Vietnam (P!).
- Otanthera adpressa Mansf., Nova Guinea 14 (1924): 199. - Types: v. Römer 562, Lorentzfluss, Irian Jaya, Indonesia, 15 Okt 1909 (L!); Janowsky 374, Jabi, Papua New Guinea, 1 Jun 1913 (L!).
- Otanthera lamii Mansf., Nova Guinea 14 (1924): 199. - Types: Lam 856, in regio flumen Mamberamo, prope Prauwenbivak, Irian Jaya, Indonesia, 120 m, 21 Aug 1920 (L!); Lam 1004, in regio flumen Mamberamo, prope Prauwenbivak, Irian Jaya, Indonesia, 150 m, 1 Sep 1920 (L!).
3. Vernacular names
Cay Car Chor (Vietnam), Parele (Papua New Guinea), Tenigi (Kutubu, New Guinea), Mung-rae (Thailand).
4. Description
Erect shrubs 1--2 m high, seldom small trees up to 4 m tall; young branches quadrangular, sparsely covered with small spreading bristles, bark brown-grey; old branches terete. Leaves ovate, elliptic or seldom lanceolate, 7--15 x 3--6(--8) cm, base rounded or acute, apex acuminate; lamina strigose on both sides, with longer bristles beneath; nerves 7 or 9, beneath sparsely covered with spreading bristles; petiole (5--)10--30 mm long. Inflorescences dense terminal few- to many-flowered cymes. Flowers 5-merous; bracts broadly ovate acuminate, 2.5--5.5 x 2.0--3.0 mm, outside bristly, inside glabrous, ± persistent. Hypanthium campanulate, 5.5--7 x 5.5--8.5 mm, covered with penicillate emergences 1.5--3(--4) mm long; sepals narrowly triangular, 2.5--5.5 x 0.8--2.0 mm, outside covered with bristles; intersepalar emergences penicillate, c. 2--4 mm long. Petals obovate, 7--8 x 5--6 mm, ciliate at the margin, violet or seldom white. Stamens monomorphic; anthers c. 3 mm long, yellow, connectives not prolonged, with 2 ventral appendages c. 0.5--0.8 mm long, filaments c. 3 mm long. Ovary shorter than the hypanthium, crowned by bristles; style sigmoid, 6--7 mm long. Fruit a globose-campanulate indehiscent dark blue berry 6--9 x 6--9 mm.
5. Distribution, ecology and notes
Distribution - Thailand (Nakhon Si Thammarat), Vietnam, Indonesia (Sumatra, Moluccas, Irian Jaya), Philippines (Luzon, Palawan), Papua New Guinea, Australia (Queensland).
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Ecology - Collections: 39. In disturbed sites in forests or on stream banks at up to 1800 m altitude.
Notes - Melastoma cyanoides can be recognized by its ovate to lanceolate leaves, persistent bracts and baccate fruits. It seems to be close to the other baccate-fruited species based of the shared fruit and hypanthium characters.
6. Collections
AUSTRALIA
- Halford Q786, 3 km north of Flying Fish Point, Ella Bay, Queensland (K)
- Moriarty 1957, SFR 755, Nth Johnstone L.A., Queensland, 520 m (L, K)
INDONESIA
- Beccari 4026, Monta Arfak ad Hatam, Irian Jaya, 1800 m (C)
- Blume s.n., Sumatra (P, C)
- Burck 8, Kluif van den Singalong, Sumatera Utara (L)
- Gibbs 6238, Island of Boon, road round bay, Irian Jaya (K)
- Korthals s.n., Sumatra (K)
- Lam 1004, Nova Guinea neerlandica in reg. flum. Mamberamo, pr. Prawenbivak, Irian Jaya, 150 m (K)
- Pleyte 305, Halmahera, G. Sembilan, Maluku, 600 m (L)
- Reksodihardjo 264, southeast West Irian, Mindiplana, village Tinggam, Irian Jaya, low altitude (C, K, BO, L)
- Römer 562, flumen Lorentz, Irian Jaya (L)
- van Royen 7389, Vogelkop Peninsula, Nettoti Range, south slope of Mt. Nettoti, path Andjai-Wekari R., Irian Jaya, 1750 m (L)
- Sidiyasa TWC 3677, Halmahera, 20 km southeast of Dodinga
- Darco/Modul logging camp, Tapayo, Maluku, 700 m (L)
- van Steenis 9475, Gajolanden. From Paloh to Kongké, Aceh, 1200 m (SING, L)
- Teysmann 7495, pm? Andai, Irian Jaya (C, L)
- de Wilde 12652, G. Leuser Nature Reserve, Aceh: Ketambe, valley of Lau Alas, near tributary of Lau Ketambe, ca. 35 km northwest of Kutatjane, Sumatra, 300 m (KEP, L, K)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
- Brass 1121, Hewa, Vailala River (P, K)
- Cruttwell 244, Quapuari Ridge N.E.D. Papua, 1200 m (L, K)
- Dissing 1922, Bismarck Archipelago (C)
- Hartley 12356, near the Buso river about 15 miles northeast of Lae, Morobe, 15 m (K)
- Hartley 12657, near Bakaia, about 15 M southwest of Garaina, Morobe, 750 m (K)
- Janowsky 374, in montis Jabi (L)
- Køie 1836, Dyaul, Bismarck Archipelago, New Ireland (C)
- Larivita LAE 67184, Road to Baraga and Gumuri villages southeast of Kaporika village, Subdistr. Alotau, Milne Bay, 27 m (L)
- Sands 1488, Kikori-Subprov. ca. 200 km upstream from the coast on the Purari river, 3 km up Wabo creek on northeast facing ridge, Gulf, P 150 m (K)
- Schodde 2152, near Tage, Lake Kutubu, Southern Highlands, 810 m (K)
PHILIPPINES
- Cuming 928, Luzon, Albay (K)
- Perrottet s.n., Manila, Albay (P)
- Ramos 30427, Catanduanes (P, L, K)
- Ramos BS 33079, Bangui to Claveria, Luzon, Ilocos Norte (P, L, K, BM)
- Ramos BS 42188, Bosoboso to Antipolo, Rizal (BRIT)
- Sandermann Olsen 112, Penigisan, Palawan, 650 m (C)
- Snow PPI 16297, Mt. Matalingahan, lower southeast slopes, Palawan (BRIT)
- Sulit PNH 21505, Mt. Suiro north slope, Biliran Island, Biliran, 580 m (L)
- Wilkie 29023, Barangay San Jose, Isabela, 300 m (E)
THAILAND
- Hansen 12140, Khao Luang, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 400 m (BKF, C, L)
- Suvarnakoses 527, Larnsaka, Nakhon Si Thammarat (C, BKF)
VIETNAM
- Eberhardt 2812, Indochina, haut cours de Bo giang, Thua Thien (C, P)
- Poilane 29391, poste 6 de province Quang Nam, Quang Nam, 600 m (P)
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