Myrsine adamsonii Fosberg & Sachet

Myrsine adamsonii Fosberg & Sachet

Myrsine adamsonii Fosberg & Sachet, Smithsonian Contr. Bot., 21:4, 1975.

Rapanea myricifolia f. marquesensis, F. Brown, Flora, 219, 1935 [pro parte].

Rather slender shrub 3–4 m tall, glabrous, branchlets about 3 mm thick, cataphylls tightly wrapped around terminal buds, which are stoutly subulate, 4–5 mm long, leaves not especially crowded, blades broadly elliptic, rather thin, up to 10 × 4.5 cm, apex bluntly acute to obtusish, both surfaces obscurely but rather densely papillatepunctate, venation not prominent but distinct, main veins 16–20 on a side, variously spaced, rather widely divergent from a slender midrib, neither precisely parallel nor opposite, one or two fainter and shorter ones in most intervals, main ones anastomosing about 3 mm from margin to form a somewhat undulating submarginal vein, network obscure, base acutish, slightly decurrent into a slender curved petiole 8–13 mm long; persisting dried flower 4-merous; calyx lobed nearly to base, lobes ovate, obtuse or appearing acutish because infolded with 1-several prominent black spots dorsally, margins thin, glandular, ciliolate, lobes spreading in fruit; corolla with very short tube, lobes elliptic, to about 2 mm long, granulate ciliolate; anthers narrowly ovate, blunt, apically papillate; stigma narrowly pyramidal, fleshy, about 2 mm long, 4-sulcate when dry; fruits on short thick pedicels about 1 mm long and thick, in clusters of 3–5 on very short tubercle-like inflorescences about 2–3 mm long, drupe globose or subglobose, up to 5 × 4.5 mm, surface when dry rugulose with a mixture of obscure pale and dark dots, crowned with a broad disk-like very short style, and, until fairly mature, a subulate, sulcate, obliquely projecting stigmatic beak about 1 mm or so long, immature fruits with a subpersistent lanceolate-subulate, somewhat strap-shaped stigma over 1 mm long, caducous before complete maturity, fruit surface with somewhat obscure pale punctation.

SPECIMENS SEEN.—Nukuhiva I.: s.l. Quayle 1320 (BISH); 900 m, Brown 496 (BISH); Tapuaooa, 3100 ft. [900–1000 m], fruit said to be purple, PES (M & A) 577 (BISH, LeB, NY (as A & M)); Toovii Valley, 800 m, near the Tapuaooa shelter, Gillett 2200 (BISH, US, type, P); Tovii, 1000 m, Herb. S.F.I.M. 107 (P).

ETHNOBOTANY.—Nukuhiva name kautai (S.F.I.M. 107). LeBronnec (MS) was never able to ascertain Marquesan names for this or any other species.

Myrsine adamsonii Fosberg & Sachet

Rapanea myricifolia f. marquesensis F. Brown, Bish. Mus. Bull. 130:219, 1935.

Frutex gracilis foliis late ellipticis maxime 10 × 4.5 cm, chartaceis, petiolis gracilibus curvatis 8–13 mm longis 1 mm crassis; calyce prope basin lobato lobis ovatis, corollae lobis 2 mm longis ciliolatis, antheris anguste ovatis, stigmatis anguste pyramidalibus 2 mm longis, in fructibus persistentibus, fructibus globosis vel subglobosis maxime 5 × 4.5 mm, stylis brevissime persistentibus.

Rather slender shrub 3–4 m tall, glabrous, branchlets about 3 mm thick, cataphylls tightly wrapped around terminal buds, which are stoutly subulate, 4–5 mm long, leaves not especially crowded, blades broadly elliptic, rather thin, up to 10 × 4.5 cm, apex bluntly acute to obtusish, both surfaces obscurely but rather densely papillate-punctate, venation not prominent but distinct, main veins 16–20 on a side, variously spaced, rather widely divergent from a slender midrib, neither precisely parallel nor opposite, one or two fainter and shorter ones in most intervals, main ones anastomosing about 3 mm from margin to form a somewhat undulating submarginal vein, network obscure, base acutish, slightly decurrent into a slender curved petiole 8–13 mm long; persisting dried flower 4-merous; calyx lobed nearby to base, lobes ovate, obtuse or appearing acutish because infolded, with one to several prominent black spots dorsally, margins thin, glandular, ciliolate, lobes spreading in fruit; corolla with very short tube, lobes elliptic, to about 2 mm long, granulate ciliolate; anthers narrowly ovate, blunt, apically papillate; stigma narrowly pyramidal, fleshy, about 2 mm long, 4-sulcate when dry; fruits on short thick pedicels about 1 mm long and thick, in clusters of 3–5 on very short tubercle-like inflorescences about 2–3 mm long, drupe globose or subglobose, up to 5 × 4.5 mm, surface when dry rugulose with a mixture of obscure pale and dark dots, crowned with a broad disk-like very short style and, until fairly mature, a subulate, sulcate, obliquely projecting stigmatic beak about 1 mm or so long, immature fruits with a subpersistent lanceolate-subulate, somewhat strap-shaped stigma over 1 mm long, caducous before complete maturity, fruit surface with somewhat obscure pale punctation.

Myrsine adamsonii is probably most closely allied to M. niauensis, new species, which is described below, and its relationship discussed. Myrsine adamsonii also seems related to M. collina Nadeaud or its var. falcata, of Tahiti, but has broader thinner leaves, thicker branchlets, more prominent inflorescences, and much shorter petioles.

F. Brown’s name “Rapanea myricifolia f. marquesensis” is not used as basionym for the new species because he designated no type and gave no characters that could be used to tell what he had in mind. The species is named for the late Dr. A. Martin Adamson, entomological explorer of the Marquesas.

SPECIMENS SEEN.—Marquesas Islands: Nukuhiva I.: s.l. Quayle 1320 (BISH); 900 m, Brown 496 (BISH); Tapuaooa, 3100 ft [950 m] fruit said to be purple, Mumford & Adamson (NY sheet as Adamson & Mumford) 577 (BISH, NY); Toovii Valley, 800 m, near the Tapuaooa shelter, Gillett 2200 (BISH, US, type, P); Tovii, 1000 m, Herb. S.F.I.M. 107 (P), Marquesan name Kautai.

Myrsine adamsonii is a species of plant in the family Primulaceae. It is endemic to the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.

The epithet adamsonii commemorates Alastair Martin Adamson.