Abuta alto-macahensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Menispermaceae. It is a climbing plant, with thick leaves, brownish flowers, and small orange drupes.
The species is native to south-east Brazil, and was named after the location where it was discovered. The name was originally suggested by Rupert Charles Barneby.
Distribution Abuta alto-macahensis is native to the wet tropical biome of Rio de Janeiro, in south-east Brazil. It is known from two protected regions of montane rainforest, at elevations of . Its extent of occurrence is estimated as .
Description Abuta alto-macahensis is a climbing liana. It grows up to tall. Younger stems are smooth, cylindrical, and ash-coloured or brown. Older branches are porous, and may have short hairs.
The leaves are thick, papery to leathery in texture, long, and wide. In shape, they are ovate to elliptical. The leaves have smooth edges. The leaf stems are long.
The female flowers are brownish, and grow on inflorescences. They have nine sepals, and three brownish carpels. The flower stalks are long, and can reach when fruiting. The male flowers and inflorescences are not known.
The fruits are small, smooth drupes. The drupes are long, and wide. The outer layer is orange and hairless. The seeds are surrounded by a translucent coat. They measure around long, and wide. The seeds have a woody endocarp, which is around long, and wide. The endocarp has a horseshoe-shaped groove along its long axis.
The species is similar to Abuta rufescens, though unlike A. rufescens, A. alto-macahensis has short hairs on its leaves, and hairless drupelets.
Taxonomy The type material was collected in Rio de Janeiro, in March 2004. The species was described in 2022, in the journal Phytotaxa.
Etymology The species' name, which refers to the location where the species was found, was originally suggested by Rupert Charles Barneby. The authors kept the name "in honour of [Barneby's] work and discovery".
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