New geographical records of Myrcia s . l . ( Myrteae , Myrtaceae ) from South America , with a focus on Brazilian taxa

New geographical records for 29 species of Myrcia s.l. (Myrtaceae) from the Neotropics are presented here. They occur in the Amazon, Atlantic Forests and “Cerrado” vegetation of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, and Peru. The first occurrences of species are also cited for Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, and Peru. Short diagnostic descriptions, taxonomic and ecological comments, and geographic distribution maps are also presented.

The Catálogo de Plantas e Fungos do Brasil (Forzza et al. 2010) provides an updated list of Brazilian algae, land plants and fungi with almost 41,000 species, of which more than 46% are endemic to Brazil (Forzza et al. 2012).The number of vascular plants cited is close to 33,000 and yet this number of species is far from a complete account of the native plant diversity as a whole (Forzza et al. 2012;Sobral and Stehmann 2009).
Myrcia s.l. is the second richest genus of Myrtaceae in the Neotropics with ca.770 species distributed from Mexico to Uruguay (WCSP 2014).The most species-rich Myrcia s.l.vegetation are the Atlantic Forest, Brazilian Amazon, and Cerrado with 254, 99, and 91 species respectively (Sobral et al. 2014).With the aim of contributing to a further update of the geographic distribution of Myrcia species, 44 new geographical records in the genus are provided here.The data come from analyzed specimens available at BM, BR, C, ESA, G, INPA, K, M, MBML, NY, P, PEUFR, UFP, and US Herbaria collection (Thiers 2014).McVaugh, Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 18(2): 80. 1969.Figure 1.

Myrcia amazonica
Myrcia bracteata is known from French Guyana to northern Brazil (WCSP 2014) in the Amazon vegetation (Sobral et al. 2014).Here new geographical localities are recorded for Brazilian Amazon in Amapá and Roraima, and also for the Atlantic Forest in Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro.It is also the first geographical record of this species for Colombia and Bolivia in the Amazon Forest domain.
Myrcia cardiaca grows in "Cerrado" vegetation and is known from the states of Goiás and Mato Grosso (Sobral et al. 2014;WCSP 2014).Here new geographical localities are recorded in São Paulo (Brazil).
Myrcia dichasialis is recorded to Venezuela and Peru (WCSP 2014).Here new geographical localities are recorded for the Amazon Forest in Colombia (Prov.Amazonas).
Myrcia eximia is endemic to Brazil and recorded for "Cerrado" and Atlantic Forest vegetation in the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Goiás (Sobral et al. 2014).Here new geographical localities are recorded in Mato Grosso and Piauí (Brazil).
Myrcia fenzliana occurs from Dominican Republic to southern Brazil (Sobral et al. 2014;WCSP 2014), recorded for "Cerrado" and Atlantic Forest from Bahia to São Paulo (Sobral et al. 2014).Here new geographical localities are recorded for the northern portion of "Cerrado" vegetation in Maranhão (Brazil).
Myrcia laruotteana grows from Brazil to Paraguay (WCSP 2014) and is widely distributed in the Amazon and Atlantic Forests, "Caatinga", and "Cerrado" vegetation (Sobral et al. 2014).However, there is a lack of collections from some states.Here new geographical localities are recorded in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
Myrcia lucida is recorded from Venezuela, Bolivia, and Brazil (WCSP 2014) where it is found in the states of Amazonas and Mato Grosso in Amazon Forest and related vegetation (Sobral et al. 2014) Shrubs, 3 m tall.Leaves 6.5-10.5 × 3.5-6 cm, lanceolate or ovate, apex acute, base cuneate, rounded or cordate, midvein flat on the adaxial lamina surface, petiole sessile to 0.2 cm long.Inflorescence paniculiform, main axis 8-9 cm long; calyx 5-lobed, rounded; staminal disk and style base pubescent.Fruits not seen.
Myrcia marginata is recorded from the western region of Brazil in Cerrado vegetation in the states of Goiás and Mato Grosso (Sobral et al. 2014;WCSP 2014).Here new geographical localities are recorded in Minas Gerais (Brazil).
Myrcia minutiflora is found from French Guiana to northern Brazil (WCSP 2014) in the Amazon Forest (Sobral et al. 2014).Here new geographical localities are recorded in Roraima (Brazil), confirming the species as widely distributed in the Amazon.
Myrcia oblongata is recorded in Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil (WCSP 2014) where it can be found in the Atlantic Forest from Minas Gerais to Rio Grande do Sul (Sobral et al. 2014).Here new geographical localities are recorded for gallery forest in Cerrado vegetation in Goiás (Brazil).
Myrcia pinifolia is distributed from Bolivia to western Brazil (WCSP 2014), where it is recorded for Cerrado vegetation in the states of Goiás and Bahia (Sobral et al. 2014).Here new geographical localities are recorded in Mato Grosso (Brazil), corroborating the connection among populations from savanna vegetation in Bolivia and Brazil.
Myrcia pubiflora is recorded to Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil (WCSP 2014), where it occurs from the state of Espírito Santo to Rio Grande do Sul in Atlantic Forest   midvein flat on the adaxial lamina surface, petiole 0.1-0.2cm long.Inflorescence paniculiform, main axis ca.3-4.5 cm long (when young); calyx 5-lobed, rounded; staminal disk and style base glabrous.Fruits 0.9 cm in diameter, globoid, glabrous.
Myrcia saxatilis grows in the Amazon Forest from French Guiana to northern Brazil (WCSP 2014), where it has been considered restricted to the state of Amapá (Sobral et al. 2014).Here new geographical localities are recorded in Amazonas and Pará (Brazil).
Myrcia tijucensis is endemic to the southern part of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Sobral et al. 2014), and here the northeasternmost record for this species is presented from Espírito Santo (Brazil).
Myrcia tomentosa is widely distributed in South America, from Panama and Trinidad and Tobago to Brazil (WCSP 2014).In Brazil, it occurs in the Amazon and Atlantic Forests and Cerrado vegetation (Sobral et al. 2014).Here new geographical localities are recorded in Roraima (Brazil) close to the border with Venezuela and Guyana.ovate to oval, apex rounded, base cordate, midvein flat or raised on the adaxial lamina surface, sessile.Inflorescence paniculiform, main axis 6-10 cm long; calyx 5-lobed, rounded; staminal disk and style base glabrous.Fruits 0.5-0.8cm in diameter, subgloboid, purple to dark-purple when mature.
Myrcia verticillaris is known from southern Brazil in Rio Grande do Sul and in the northern portion of Uruguay (Sobral et al. 2014;WCSP 2014).Here the first geographical record in Paraguay (department ofMissiones), is cited.
. Here new geographical localities are recorded in Distrito Federal, Goiás and Mato Grosso (Brazil).