Melastoma septemnervium

Melastoma septemnervium are erect shrubs or small slender trees with 5 petal, medium-sized, pink flowers that have made them attractive for cultivation. The leaves have the 5 distinctive longitudinal veins (nerves) typical of plants in the family Melastomataceae.

Melastoma septemnervium
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Melastomataceae
Genus: Melastoma
Species:
M. septemnervium
Binomial name
Melastoma septemnervium
Synonyms

Melastoma candidum D. Don

Description

Melastoma septemnervium are erect shrubs or small trees up to 5 m tall.[2] Leaves are elliptical with short stiff hairs or scales on the upper surface and finer dense hairs on the lower surface but with a mixture of scales on the nerves.

Distribution

Native to Vietnam, southern China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands, and southern Japan.[2] Cultivated and naturalized in Hawaii but also reported to be abundant and invasive on Kauai and Hawaii Island from sea level up to 900 m elevation.[2]

Melastoma septemnervium grows in light forests, clearings, and grass lands, or on rocky slopes, but prefers mesic to wet areas and bog margin habitats in Hawaii.[2][3]

Taxonomy

Hawaiian populations of M. septemnervium were historically assigned to Melastoma malabathricum non L. but later were identified as M. candidum D. Don by Wagner et al. 1999 due to a number of consistently different traits, including a higher chromosome number (2n = 56 versus Melastoma malabathricum 2n = 24).[2]

M. septemnervium was first described by Loureiro in 1790 (Flora Cochinchinensis 1: 273–274).[4] M. septemnervium is the accepted name by some sources with M. candidum as a junior synonym,[1] but both names are used widely.

References
  1. ITIS - Integrated Taxonomic Information System Report Page Melastoma septemnervium Lour.
  2. Wagner, Warren L.; Herbst, Derral R.; Sohmer, S.H. (1999). Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai`i. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 910–911. ISBN 0-8248-2166-1.
  3. GISD - Global Invasive Species Database. Melastoma candidum
  4. Tropicos - Missouri Botanical Garden. Name Search > *Melastoma septemnervium Lour.
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