Miconia

Miconia salicifolia, photographed by Philipp Weigell.

Belongs within: Melastomatineae.

Miconia is a large genus of more than 900 species of trees and shrubs native to tropical parts of the Americas. It can be distinguished from closely related taxa by the possession of berry fruits. Inflorescences are usually terminal and bear small, most often white flowers (Liogier 1995).

Characters (from Liogier 1995): Shrubs or trees of diverse size and habit; leaves membranous to coriaceous, those of a pair sometimes unequal, variously pubescent; inflorescences paniculiform, spiciform or rarely corymbiform, terminal or rarely lateral; flowers 4-8-parted, usually 5-parted, mostly small, generally white; hypanthium tubular to urceolate; calyx-tube usually well developed but short, the sepals obsolete or present, variable in shape and size, the outer teeth commonly minute, rarely surpassing the sepals; petals mostly small, often inequilateral or retuse and flabellate-veined; stamens isomorphic or dimorphic, the filaments slender or complanate; anthers subulate, oblong, linear or obovate, 2-celled or 4-celled, opening by 1 or 2 pores or by 1 or 2 longitudinal slits; connective simple or variously prolonged or appendaged at base; ovary wholly or partly inferior, 2-several-celled, ovules usually numerous; style straight or declinate, commonly elongate, stigma truncate, capitate or peltate; fruit a many-seeded berry.

<==Miconia Ruiz & Pavon 1794 (nom. cons.) L95
    |--M. affinis DC. 1828 [incl. M. microcarpa DC. 1828] L95
    |--M. albicans F11
    |--M. alboviridis J87
    |--M. apiculata [incl. M. niedenzuana] JS87
    |--M. argentata G88
    |--M. barkeri JS87
    |--M. brevitheca H11
    |--M. favosa J87
    |--M. ferruginea J87
    |--M. foveolata Cogn. 1886 [=Acinodendrum foveolatum (Cogn.) Kuntze 1891] L95
    |--M. gracilis OV97
    |--M. hypioides JS87
    |--M. impetiolaris (Sw.) Don 1823 (see below for synonymy) L95
    |--M. laevigata (L.) DC. 1828 (see below for synonymy) L95
    |--M. lanata (DC.) Triana 1871 [=Clidemia lanata DC. 1828] L95
    |--M. lanceolata J87
    |--M. longifolia MM96
    |--M. luteola J87
    |--M. (sect. Chaenopleura) macayana Judd & Skean 1987 JS87
    |--M. micrantha H11
    |--M. mirabilis (Aubl.) Williams 1963 (see below for synonymy) L95
    |--M. ossaeifolia JS87
    |--M. pachyphylla Cogn. 1886 [=Acinodendrum pachyphyllum (Cogn.) Kuntze 1891] L95
    |--M. prasina (Sw.) DC. 1828 (see below for synonymy) L95
    |--M. punctata (Desr.) Don 1823 [=Melastoma punctata Desr. in Lam. 1797] L95
    |--M. pycnoneura Urban 1921 [incl. M. grisebachii var. reticulata Cogn. 1886] L95
    |--M. racemosa (Aubl.) DC. 1828 (see below for synonymy) L95
    |--M. rubiginosa (Bonpl.) DC. 1828 (see below for synonymy) L95
    |--M. salicifolia R96
    |--M. rigidissima JS87
    |--M. selleana J87
    |--M. serrulata (DC.) Naud. 1851 (see below for synonymy) L95
    |--M. simplex LB99
    |--M. sintenisii Cogn. 1886 [=Acinodendrum sintenisii (Cogn.) Kuntze 1891] L95
    |--M. splendens (Sw.) Griseb. 1860 [=Melastoma splendens Sw. 1788] L95
    |--M. subcompressa [incl. M. plumieri] JS87
    |--M. subcorymbosa Britton 1925 (see below for synonymy) L95
    |--M. tetrandra (Sw.) Don 1830 (see below for synonymy) L95
    |--M. tetrastoma JS87
    |--M. theaezans (Bonpl.) Cogn. in Mart. 1888 [=Melastoma theaezans Bonpl. 1807] L95
    |--M. thomasiana DC. 1828 (see below for synonymy) L95
    `--M. xenotricha JS87

Miconia impetiolaris (Sw.) Don 1823 [=Melastoma impetiolaris Sw. 1788, Tamonea impetiolaris (Sw.) Cook & Collins 1903; incl. Miconia wydleriana DC. 1828] L95

Miconia laevigata (L.) DC. 1828 [=Melastoma laevigatum L. 1759, Acinodendrum laevigatum (L.) Kuntze 1891, Tamonea laevigata (L.) Krasser in Engl. & Prantl 1893; incl. Melastoma portoricensis Spreng. 1822, Miconia pyramidalis DC. 1828] L95

Miconia mirabilis (Aubl.) Williams 1963 [=Fothergilla mirabilis Aubl. 1775, Tamonea guianensis Aubl. 1775, Miconia guianensis (Aubl.) Cogn. 1886; incl. Melastoma fothergilla Desr. in Lam. 1797, Diplochita fothergilla (Desr.) DC. 1828, Tamonea fothergilla (Desr.) Cook & Collins 1903] L95

Miconia prasina (Sw.) DC. 1828 [=Melastoma prasina Sw. 1788, Acinodendrum prasinum (Sw.) Krasser in Engl. in Prantl 1893; incl. Miconia collina DC. 1828] L95

Miconia racemosa (Aubl.) DC. 1828 [=Melastoma racemosa Aubl. 1775, Tamonea racemosa (Aubl.) Cook & Collins 1902; incl. Miconia brachypoda DC. 1828] L95

Miconia rubiginosa (Bonpl.) DC. 1828 [=Melastoma rubiginosa Bonpl. 1816, Tamonea rubiginosa (Bonpl.) Krasser in Engl. & Prantl 1893] L95

Miconia serrulata (DC.) Naud. 1851 [=Diplochita serrulata DC. 1828; incl. Chitonia macrophylla Don 1823, Miconia macrophylla (Don) Triana 1871 non Steud. 1844, Tamonea macrophylla (Don) Krasser in Engl. & Prantl 1893] L95

Miconia subcorymbosa Britton 1925 [incl. M. cubensis var. latifolia Cogn. in DC. 1891, M. cubensis var. minor Cogn. in DC. 1891, M. cubensis var. nervulosa Cogn. in DC. 1891] L95

Miconia tetrandra (Sw.) Don 1830 [=Melastoma tetrandra Sw. 1788, Cremanium tetrandrum (Sw.) Griseb. 1860, Tetrazygia tetrandra (Sw.) DC. 1828] L95

Miconia thomasiana DC. 1828 [=Acinodendrum thomasianum (DC.) Kuntze 1891, Tamonea thomasiana (DC.) Cook & Collins 1903; incl. Miconia vernicosa Naud. 1851] L95

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[F11] Fraga, R. M. 2011. Family Icteridae (New World blackbirds). In: Hoyo, J. del, A. Elliott & D. A. Christie (eds) Handbook of the Birds of the World vol. 16. Tanagers to New World Blackbirds pp. 684–807. Lynx Edicions: Barcelona.

[G88] Grubb, P. J. 1988. The uncoupling of disturbance and recruitment, two kinds of seed bank, and persistence of plant populations at the regional and local scales. Annales Zoologici Fennici 25: 23–26.

[H11] Hilty, S. L. 2011. Family Thraupidae (tanagers). In: Hoyo, J. del, A. Elliott & D. A. Christie (eds) Handbook of the Birds of the World vol. 16. Tanagers to New World Blackbirds pp. 46–329. Lynx Edicions: Barcelona.

[J87] Judd, W. S. 1987. Floristic study of Morne La Visite and Pic Macaya National Parks, Haiti. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum—Biological Sciences 32 (1): 1–136.

[JS87] Judd, W. S., & J. D. Skean Jr. 1987. Three new angiosperms from Parc National Pic Macaya, Massif de la Hotte, Haiti. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum—Biological Sciences 32 (1): 137–150.

[L95] Liogier, H. A. 1995. Descriptive Flora of Puerto Rico and Adjacent Islands: Spermatophyta-Dicotyledoneae vol. 4. Melastomataceae to Lentibulariaceae. Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico.

[LB99] Loiselle, B. A. & J. G. Blake. 1999. Dispersal of melastome seeds by fruit-eating birds of tropical forest understory. Ecology 80: 330–336.

[MM96] Mound, L. A., & R. Marullo. 1996. The thrips of Central and South America: an introduction (Insecta: Thysanoptera). Memoirs on Entomology, International 6: 1–487.

[OV97] Ochoa, R., C. Vargas, D. E. Walter & B. M. OConnor. 1997. Two new species of the genus Ceratotarsonemus (Acari: Tarsonemidae). International Journal of Acarology 23 (3): 177–183.

[R96] Righi, G. 1996. Colombian earthworms. Studies on Tropical Andean Ecosystems 4: 485–607.

Last updated: 16 March 2022.