A new combination in Cerradicola (Leguminosae)

The new combination Cerradicola praeandina is validly published here.

Taxonomic novelties in Pentaphylacaceae: Four new species of Ternstroemia from Brazil

Pentaphylacaceae (Ericales) comprise 14 genera and ca. 510 species distributed in subtropical and tropical regions worldwide. In Brazil, the family is represented by two genera (i.e., Freziera and Ternstroemia) with 21 species, after the inclusion of the four new species described here. Ternstroemia bahiensis is endemic to the Caatinga domain, T. rupestris is endemic to the Atlantic Forest-Cerrado transition, while T. megaphylla and T. longipetiolata are endemic to the Amazon Forest domain. Morphological descriptions and comments on habitat, distribution, conservation, phenology, and taxonomy affinities are presented for all the new species, plus line drawings, distribution map, and an identification key to all Ternstroemia species from Brazil.

Disentangling the taxonomy of the Galactia-Camptosema- Collaea complex with new generic circumscriptions in the Galactia clade (Leguminosae, Diocleae)

The Galactia clade is one of three major lineages of the papilionoid legume tribe Diocleae. It comprises eight genera and approximately 140 species almost entirely restricted to the Americas. Establishing stable generic boundaries within this clade has been a challenge because of its tortuous taxonomic history and the broad polyphyly of the genera of the so-called Galactia-Camptosema-Collaea complex. Previous molecular phylogenetic studies revealed some well-supported lineages, but did not advance towards any new taxonomic arrangements. We carried out maximum parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of a combined dataset including our previously published multilocus molecular data (nrITS and ETS and plastid trnK/matK and trnT-Y regions) and 82 morphological characters. The resulting topologies largely concur with those previously reported based on molecular data only, where Camptosema and Galactia appear as broadly polyphyletic, with species scattered among five (Camptosema) and seven (Galactia) of the twelve lineages that are newly recognized here at genus level. We are therefore proposing the following new taxonomic rearrangements within the Galactia clade: descriptions of the new genera Caetangil, Cerradicola, Mantiqueira, and Nanogalactia; resurrection of Betencourtia; and the subsuming of Neorudolphia into Rhodopis and of Camptosema sect. Macropetalum into Cratylia.

Five new species of Ruellia (Acanthaceae) from the Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil

Five new species of Ruellia from the Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil are described: Ruellia curupira, R. fulozinha, R. insurrecta, R. jiboia, and R. taboleirana. Ruellia curupira (from the States of Alagoas and Bahia), R. fulozinha (Alagoas and Pernambuco), R. insurrecta (Alagoas), and R. jiboia (Alagoas and Bahia) occur exclusively in forested areas, whereas R. taboleirana is restricted to “Tabuleiros litorâneos” (Tabuleiro savanna) vegetation from Rio Grande do Norte to Alagoas. Due to the restricted distribution, resulting from high fragmented areas and the imminent threats, the five new species here proposed are provisionally considered under some degree of threat in accordance with the IUCN criteria. We provide morphological descriptions, comments on morphological affinities, data on habitat and distribution, as well as illustrations and photographs of living plants.