Kielmeyera ferruginosa (Calophyllaceae), a new species from the Atlantic Forest, southern Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

Kielmeyera ferruginosa, a new species of Calophyllaceae from the Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, is here described and illustrated. The species is critically endangered and can be easily distinguished from other Kielmeyera species by the rusty coloration of the trunk and branches, orange-colored latex, and the occurrence in flooded areas. It differs from the other species of the section Prolifera by the leaves with secondary veins relatively more distant from each other and prominent on the abaxial surface. Diagnostic characters and the state of conservation of the new species are discussed, and an identification key for K. ferruginosa and related species from series Rupestres and Neglectae is provided.

Distribution patterns of Kielmeyera (Calophyllaceae): the Rio Doce basin emerges as a confluent area between the northern and southern Atlantic Forest

“…Most specimens of Kielmeyera (57%) were collected in areas that are not currently remnants or in which the remnants are extremely small (<3 ha) for holding healthy populations over lengthy periods. Only 17% of specimens were collected in Conservation Units and, possibly, three threatened species of Kielmeyera are not protected in any of them: K. ferruginosa [33], K. rufotomentosa [26] and K. rupestris [34], with the former species only recently discovered in an area that is already being disturbed [33].…”