Flowers November and January; fruits in November. Growing in ferriferous soils. 
Vegetation type: campo rupestre. Between 1300 - 1400 m altitude. 
The decision on what material is to be selected as the type collection for this species is 
weak and circumstantially supported. First, Martius and Spix (1823) used the name for the first 
time in the book they wrote about their travels in Brazil, but gave no description or reference 
material for the species. Ten years later, in his paper on the Lauraceae collected by Sellow in 
Brazil, Nees (1833) gave the first description of the species, recognizing Martius' contribution to 
the name, but Sellow's collection studied is referred to without a number. In his study of the 
whole family, Nees (1836), who now attributes the species to Martius, cites as studied material 
one collection by Martius and one by Sellow, both without number. The work by Meissner 
(1864) for De Candolle's Prodromus cites more material, and most of it with numbers; 
unfortunately some of these specimens are missing and many are the bases for new created 
varieties. Most of authentic material known to date is that involved in the naming of varieties. 
The type of indument in the lower surface and inflorescence architecture of the collection 
Glaziou 18434 (type collection of Phoebe oleifolia) resemble the condition of those characters in 
C. erythropus. Further study in detail shows that floral characters (presence of red hairs on inner 
tepal surface, whorl II] stamens with two sporangia) as well as fruiting characters (pedicel 
swollen but hypanthium flat and not enlarged), are very much alike between these two "species". 
Variation of size and shape of leaves, even in some duplicates of type material of Persea 
erythropus, overlaps with P. oleifolia, and confirms the inclusion of the latter in the former. 
Specimens examined. BRASIL. Minas Gerais. Ouro Preto ad Cruzeiro, Schwacke 7363 
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