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| Syzygium nusatenggaraense Sunarti & Y.W.Low, in Sunarti, Rugayah, Low & Lucas, 2022. Illustration by X.Y. Loh. |
A new rainforest tree species of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), Syzygium nusatenggaraense Sunarti & Y.W.Low is described here based on two collections from the Lesser Sunda Islands. This species is superficially similar to Syzygium arcanum P.S.Ashton, a Bornean endemic tree species, but differs in a suite of morphological characters and geographic distribution. The new species is illustrated, and description is here given.
Keywords: endemic; Mount Batulanteh; taxonomy; Wallacea; West Nusa Tenggara Province
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| Syzygium nusatenggaraense Sunarti & Y.W.Low. A. habit of a leafy flowering branch; B. close-up of lower leaf surface showing densely black dotted glands; C. close-up of a flower bud showing the apex terminating with a pointed rostrum; D. flower bud opened longitudinally; note the densely packed and folded stamens surrounding the immature style. All drawn from the type, Kostermans 18766 (SING). Illustration by X.Y. Loh. |
Syzygium nusatenggaraense Sunarti & Y.W.Low, sp. nov.
Diagnosis: This species is morphologically similar to Syzygium arcanum P.S.Ashton but differs in having young twigs smooth and slightly compressed (vs angular and sharply 4-ribbed in S. arcanum), the leaf base obtuse (vs narrowly cuneate in S. arcanum), up to 30 pairs of secondary veins with spaces in between veins c. 1 mm wide (vs up to 10 pairs and 6‒7 mm wide in S. arcanum), lower leaf surface sparsely black dotted (vs densely black dotted in S. arcanum), and flower buds obovoid with an abrupt pointed rostrum to 3 mm long (vs ovoid and without a conspicuous rostrum in S. arcanum).
Etymology: The species epithet denotes the fact that the species is so far known only from Lesser Sunda Islands, where it was collected from Flores and Sumbawa.
Habitat and ecology: In Flores, Syzygium nusatenggaraense was recorded from the highlands of Potjo Gurung, Ruteng at 1700 m asl (Verheijen 1963; Mees 2006); in Sumbawa, it was recorded from moist evergreen forest dominated by Dipterocarpus retusus (Dipterocarpaceae) at 500–700 m asl.
Siti Sunarti, Rugayah, Yee Wen Low and Eve Lucas. 2022. Syzygium nusatenggaraense (Myrtaceae), A New Rainforest Tree Species with A Calyptrate Calyx from the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. Telopea. 25: 1–6. DOI: 10.7751/telopea15658
Satu spesies pohon hutan hujan baru dari suku jambu-jambuan atau Myrtaceae, Syzygium nusatenggaraense Sunarti & Y.W.Low diterbitkan disini berdasarkan kepada dua koleksi dari Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara. Spesies ini mirip dengan satu spesies pohon endemik Borneo Syzygium arcanum P.S.Ashton, tetapi berbeda dalam rangkaian karakter morfologi dan distribusi geografisnya. Spesies baru tersebut diilustrasikan dan deskripsi diberikan di sini.
