Microlicia almedae R. B. Pacifico & Kriebel 2026, sp. nov.

Le résumé fourni par la source

Microlicia almedae R. B. Pacifico & Kriebel sp. nov. Figs 2, 3, 4, 5 A, D Type. Brazil • Bahia: Rio do Pires, Serra do Barbado, acesso por Catolés, ao longo da trilha que liga o Vale dos Frios até a base da Serra do Barbado “ pelas costas ”, ca. 13°18'18"S, 41°54'04"W, 1650–1825 m, 3 December 2025, fl., fr., L. Daneu 796, L. C. Gomes & E. A. Ramos (holotype: JABU barcode JABU 00001705!; isotypes: CESJ barcode CESJ 085957!, CAS and CEPEC [to be distributed], RB!). Description. Openly-branched, erect shrubs 0.6–1.5 m tall. Branchlets subterete, sparsely glandular-punctate, sulcate on the sides opposite to each other, nodes thickened, stem angles unwinged, internodes 1.5–2.5 mm long. Leaves sessile, ascendant, decussate, flat, imbricate, semi-amplexicaul; blades 8.9–11.8 × 5.9–7.3 mm, ovate to elliptic ovate, chartaceous, light green and concolored (when fresh), becoming brownish when dry, base slightly attenuate, apex acute to acuminate, both surfaces glandular-punctate, margin inconspicuously serrulate and ciliate with gland-tipped trichomes 0.8–1.2 mm long, the apical trichome to 1.5 mm long, 3 - nerved from the base, the venation flat, not prominent on both leaf surfaces, tertiary veins not evident. Flowers 5 - merous, ebracteolate, terminal, clustered at the apex of the branches; pedicels 2–3 mm long (4–5 mm long in fruit); hypanthia at anthesis 3.5–5.0 mm long, 4.0– 5.5 mm wide at the torus, campanulate, reddish when fresh, becoming brownish when dry, glandular-punctate and densely covered with stout gland-tipped trichomes 0.5–1.5 mm long; calyx tubes inconspicuous ca. 0.2 mm long; calyx lobes 7.6–9.5 mm long, 1.3–1.7 mm wide at the base, narrowly lanceolate, reddish as the hypanthia when fresh, becoming brownish when dry, apex acute terminating in a gland-tipped trichome to 1.5 mm long, tardily deciduous, externally glandular-punctate and sparsely covered with gland-tipped trichomes 0.8–1.2 mm long, margin entire and ciliate with similar trichomes; petals 18–25 × 11–14 mm, oblong-obovate, magenta, margins entire, eciliate, apex shortly acute, both surfaces glabrous; stamens 10, dimorphic; antesepalous (larger) stamens with filaments 4.2–6.2 mm long, magenta, glabrous, thecae (excluding rostra) 1.9–3.5 × 0.6–1.0 mm, dark purple when fresh, oblong, externally corrugate, polysporangiate, rostra 0.4–0.6 mm long, the ventrally inclined pores 0.2–0.3 mm wide, nearly circular, pedoconnectives 4.7–8.7 mm long, magenta, the appendages 1.4–1.6 mm long, magenta with a yellow apex, apically truncate to emarginate; antepetalous (smaller) stamens with filaments 4.3–5.7 mm long, magenta, glabrous, thecae (excluding rostra) 1.6–2.4 × 0.5–0.7 mm, yellow when fresh, oblong, externally corrugate, polysporangiate, rostra 0.3–0.6 mm long, the ventrally inclined pores ca. 0.2 mm wide, nearly circular, pedoconnectives 1.6–2.2 mm long, the appendages 0.4–0.6 mm long, yellow, apically truncate to emarginate; ovaries (at anthesis) ca. 4.6 × 3.1 mm, superior, subovoid, glabrous, 3 - locular; styles ca. 9.5 mm long, glabrous, sigmoid, stigma truncate. Fruits subovoid loculicidal capsules 5.3–7.4 × 4.7–5.4 mm (at maturity), pale brown, 3 - valvate, dehiscent from the apex to the base (basipetal), columellas deciduous, fruiting calyx lobes to 12.5 mm long, lately deciduous. Seeds ca. 0.6 mm long, oblong-reniform, testa foveolate. Recognition. Differs from Microlicia giuliettiana (Figs 5 B, 5 E, 6) and M. pulchra (Fig. 5 V) by its ovate to elliptic-ovate leaves (vs. broadly ovate to orbicular in M. giuliettiana; narrowly elliptic in M. pulchra; Fig. 5), hypanthia covered with gland-tipped trichomes (vs. glabrous in both M. giuliettiana and M. pulchra), elongated calyx lobes 7.6–9.5 mm long (vs. ca. 4 mm long in M. giuliettiana, 3.5–5 mm long in M. pulchra), and petals 18–25 mm long (vs. 10–12 mm long in M. giuliettiana, 15–16.5 mm long in M. pulchra). In addition, Microlicia almedae differs from M. giuliettiana by its modally larger leaves, 8.9–11.8 × 5.9–7.3 mm (vs. 6–9 × 5–6 mm), and uniformly magenta petals (vs. petals pink with a red band abaxially on the right side; Fig. 6); M. almedae also differs from M. pulchra in its wider leaves, 5.9–7.3 mm wide (vs. 4–5 mm wide), and capsules with deciduous columellae (vs. persistent). Etymology. This species is named in honor of the authors’ friend and colleague, Dr. Frank Almeda (1946 –), Senior Curator Emeritus of the herbarium of the California Academy of Sciences (CAS), Department of Botany, San Francisco, California, USA. Dr. Almeda is an internationally recognized expert on the family Melastomataceae and has made numerous contributions to plant systematics, including studies on the Brazilian flora and on the tribe Lavoisiereae. Throughout his career, he has also been a generous collaborator and mentor, supporting and inspiring students and researchers from several parts of the world. Distribution, habitat, and phenology. Microlicia almedae is known only from Serra do Barbado, Pico da Lapa Grande, and Campo do Bicota in the municipalities of Abaíra and Rio do Pires, Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil (Fig. 7). It grows in campo rupestre exposed to full sun (Fig. 4 C) at elevations of ca. 1430–1825 m and was collected flowering in November – December and fruiting in December. Conservation status. Microlicia almedae has an EOO of 2,511 km 2 and an AOO of 12 km 2. These values support an Endangered (EN) conservation status under criterion B of the IUCN (2024). All known populations of M. almedae occur within a protected area, the Área de Proteção Ambiental da Serra do Barbado. Although this environmental protection area allows certain types of land use and economic activities, it still provides an important level of protection for the populations of M. almedae and many other narrowly endemic plants (e. g., Hind 1995; Woodgyer and Zappi 2005; Salariato et al. 2011; Saavedra et al. 2014; Giulietti and Silva 2016; Pacifico and Almeda 2018, 2022 b, 2025; Carmo et al. 2022). Additional specimens examined (paratypes). Brazil • Bahia: Abaíra. Catolés, Campo do Bicota, próximo a subida que dá acesso ao campo, [ca. 13°19'17.32"S, 41°51'6.05"W], [ca. 1430 m], 28 November 1999, fl., A. S. Conceição 462 & G. L. Campos (HUEFS, UEC!). • Rio do Pires. Pico da Lapa Grande, acesso por Catolés passando pelo Vale dos Frios, coletada ao longo da trilha da base ao topo do pico, ca. 13°18'39"S, 41°54'34"W, 1650–1825 m, 4 December 2025, fl., fr., L. Daneu 801, L. C. Gomes & E. A. Ramos (CAS!, JABU!, RB!).

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.