A new species of Microlicia (Melastomataceae) from Brazil

ROSANA ROMERO

Romero, R. (Universidade Federal de Ubed~mdia, Instituto de Biologia, Caixa Postal 5933, Ubedfmdia, Minas Gerais, 38400-901, Brazil). A new species of Microlicia (Melastomataceae) from Brazil. Brittonia 52: 142-144. 2000.---A new species of the genus Microlicia, M. tiara, from the highland "campo rupestre" vegetation of Serra da Canastra National Park, S~o Roque de Minas, Minas Ger- ais, Brazil, is described and illustrated.

Key words: Microlicia, Melastomataceae, taxonomy, highland vegetation, cam- po rupestre, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Romero, R. (Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Departamento de Botfinica, Caixa Postal 6109, Campinas, S~o Paulo, 13083-970, Brazil). A new species of Microlicia (Melastomataceae) from Brazil. Brittonia 52: 142-144. 2000.--No presente trabalho 6 descrita e ilustrada uma nova esp~cie do g~nero Microlicia, M. flava, que ocorre nos campos rupestres do Parque Nacional da Serra da Can- astra, Sao Roque de Minas, Minas Gerais, Brasil.

The genus Microlicia D. Don. has a pre- dominant ly Brazilian distribution with a few taxa in Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia, and interior Guyana (Wurdack, 1993). In Brazil the genus includes many endemic species in the states of Minas Gerais, Goifis, and Bahia. In my prel iminary efforts to review the genus Microlicia, I found a new species during a ftoristic survey in the Serra da Canastra National Park of southwestern Mi- nas Gerais.

Microl icia flava R. Romero, sp. nov. (Fig. 1)

TYPE: B R A Z I L . Minas Gera is : S~o Roque de Minas, Parque Nacional da Serra da Canas t ra , 2 0 ~ 1 7 6 46015 ' - 47~ trilha do pared~o da Serra da Can- astra, topo do morro, 1490 m, 17 Apr 1997, Romero et al. 4 i 3 6 (HOLOTYPE, HUFU, ISO- TYPES, U E C , U S ) .

Suffrutex 20 cm altus. Caulis teres, glaber, decorti- cans. Ramuli 4-costati, primum punctato-glandulosi demum glabriusculi. Laminae sessiles, patulae, ellip- tico-lanceolatae, margine crenulato, utrinque densius-

cule impresso-punctata, 1-nervae. Flores solitarii. Pe- tala flava, apice acuminata. Ovarium 3-4-1oculare.

A M. martiana O. Berg ex Triana maxime affini sed praecipue corolla flava diversa.

Subshrub, ca. 20 cm tall. Stem terete, bark peeling off, without leaves at the base, glabrous. Young branches quadrangular, 4- costate, covered with sessile glands, gluti- nous, older branches quadrangular, with bark peeling off, leaf scars conspicuous, g l ab rescen t . L e a v e s sess i le , spread ing , blade 5 -8 X 1-2 mm, elliptic, apex obtuse, base attenuate, margin crenulate, densely covered with sessile glands on both surfac- es, slightly glutinous, with only one central vein. Flowers 5-merous, solitary. Pedicels 0 .5-1 .2 mm. Hypanthium 2.5-3 X 1.5-1.7 mm, oblong-campanulate, 10-costate, cov- ered with sessile glands, calyx lobes 3 - 4 m m long, subulate, apex acute, not apicu- late; petals 5 -7 X 3 mm, yellow, oblong, apex acuminate, margin glabrous, slightly undulate. Stamens 10, dimorphic, yellow, large stamens 5, the filaments 2-2.5 m m long, the thecae ca. 1.5 m m long, oval-ob- long, corrugate, with ros t rum ca. 0.3 m m

Brittonia, 52(2), 2000, pp. 142-144. ISSUED: 18 Aug 2000 �9 2000, by The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 U.S.A.

2000] ROMERO: MELASTOMATACEAE 143

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FIG. 1. Microlicia flava (from Romero et al. 4136). A. Habit. B. Hypanthium and calyx lobes. C. Small stamen. D. Large stamen. E. Petal. F. Detail of the branch. G. Leaf, adaxial surface.

long, the connec t ive p r o l o n g e d ca. 1.5 ram, wi th vent ra l a p p e n d a g e ca. 1 m m long, ex- p a n d e d and s l igh t ly acute ; sma l l s t amens 5, the f i laments ca. 2 m m long, the thecae ca. 1.5 m m long, o v a l - o b l o n g , cor ruga te , w i th ros t rum ca. 0.2 m m long, the connec t i ve

p r o l o n g e d ca. 0.5 m m , wi th vent ra l a p p e n d - age 0 . 1 - 0 . 2 m m long, obtuse . O v a r y supe- rior, 3-4-1ocular , g l ab rous ; s ty le 4 - 5 m m long, f i l i form, g l ab rous , s t i gma t runcate . C a p s u l e not seen.

Distribution, ecology, and p h e n o l o g y . - -

144 BRITTONIA [VOL. 52

This species is known only from the Serra da Canastra in Minas Gerais, occurring in the highland "campo rupestre" vegetation.

Most Microlicia species have magenta flowers. Yellow flowers are very unusual, occurring in only about six species of the genus.

Microlicia flava resembles M. martiana O. Berg ex Triana by having elliptic leaves with both surfaces covered with sessile glands, pedicellate flowers, hypanthium covered with sessile glands, calyx lobes 3- 4 mm long, with an acute non-apiculate apex and petals with an acuminate apex and glabrous margin.

The 4-costate branches, sessile and spreading leaves with crenulate margins and only one central vein, corrugate thecae, and specially the yellow flowers, distin- guish Microlicia flava from M. martiana. The latter differs in having quadrangular branches, that are not 4-costate; erect leaves with short petioles (0.4--0.6 mm); 3-nerved leaf blades with entire to undulate margins; smooth thecae; and magenta petals.

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to John J. Wurdack for helpful comments about Microlicia; the Smithsonian Institution for a research grant to study the collections at the United States National Herbarium; the Universidade Fed- eral de Ubedandia for the facilities of the Herbarium Uberlandense (HUFU) and the financial support for the fieldwork; the In- stituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente (IBA- MA) for the permission to collect in the Serra da Canastra National Park; and CNPq for a research grant. I thank Volker Bittrich and Angela Borges Martins for their review of the manuscript; and Eduardo Kickh6fel for the illustration; particular thanks are given to Waiter S. Judd and two anonymous reviewers.

Literature Cited

Wurdaek, J. J. 1993. Melastomataceae. Page 260. In: Flora of the Guianas, Fascicle 13. Koeltz, Berlin.