Five new species of Vernonieae (Asteraceae) from Espírito Santo, Brazil

Abstract

Espírito Santo is a hotspot of diversity in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, where five new species of Vernonieae from the genera Cololobus, Lepidaploa, Lessingianthus, Piptocarpha, and Vernonanthura were found, and four of them occur in the municipality of Santa Teresa. These discoveries show that current knowledge on biodiversity in Espírito Santo is incipient, even in sites with decades of biological inventories, such as Santa Teresa. Here, all five species are described with comments about distribution, conservations status, phenology and taxonomic affinities. We also provide illustrations and a distribution map of the new species. According to the criteria of IUCN red list, Cololobus argenteus and Vernonanthura spathulata must be included in endangered (EN) category.

Novelties in Lepidaploinae (Asteraceae, Vernonieae) from the easternmost campos rupestres of Minas Gerais, Brazil: two new species and a range expansion

“…in the number of mature individuals at Serra do Padre Ângelo, as the entire area where this species was collected and observed was affected by the September 2020 fire. Monge et al (2018) assessed this species as Data Deficient, due to the few samples collected at the time of description. The new records reported here allow us to update this assessment.…”

“…A survey in the region would certainly be useful. With the current knowledge of the species, based on the low number of locations, the low EOO and AOO, and the observed and inferred reduction in the quality and extent of the habitat as a result of the abovementioned threats, we assess Lessingianthus squamosus as Endangered, according to the criterion B2ab (iii,v) Similar species and remarks -Lessigianthus squamosus was described based on three collections from the municipalities of Santa Leopoldina and Santa Teresa, in the central region of the state of Espírito Santo (Monge et al 2018), where it grows on granitic/gneissic inselbergs.…”

“…Cass. and Lessingianthus H.Rob., together accounting for ca 75% of the diversity of the group (Monge et al 2018;Ribeiro & Telles 2018). The delimitation of these two genera is nevertheless problematic, as it relies mostly on micromorphological characters, an issue derived from the circumscription changes in Vernonia Schreb., in which many species of Lepidaploa and Lessingianthus were once placed (Robinson 1999;Keeley & Robinson 2009).…”

“…After careful examination of this material, two are described as new species below. The third taxon was identified as Lessingianthus squamosus M.Monge & Semir, a recently described species known only from the state of Espírito Santo (Monge et al 2018), thus representing an expansion of the geographical range and a new record for the state of Minas Gerais. In this work, we present descriptions for the new taxa, with illustrations, photographs, distribution maps, preliminary conservation status assessments, and comments on their ecology.…”

Increasing the known floristic diversity of Brazilian inselbergs: two new species of Mandevilla (Apocynaceae) from Espírito Santo

“…The region of Santa Teresa has been designated as one of the pilot areas of the Biosphere Reserve of Atlantic Forest in Espírito Santo, with many areas with high priority for biodiversity conservation (Mendes & Padovan 2000;Monge et al 2018;. Inselbergs are particularly abundant, but many remain unexplored because they are accessible only by air (Sarthou et al 2009) (Fig.…”