Four New Species of Svitramia Cham. (Melastomataceae, Melastomeae) from Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

Summary. Four new species of Svitramia (Melastomataceae), S. integerrima, S. minor, S. petiolata and S. wurdackiana are described and illustrated. The genus now includes six species, all endemic to Brazil. The centre of diversity lies in the Serra da Canastra, Minas Gerais State. All the species occur on rocky slopes in the southwestern part of the state. The genus Svitramia (Melastomataceae, Melastomeae) was described by Chamisso (1834) based on S. pulchra, collected in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The genus remained monotypic for almost 150 years until Wurdack (1973) described S. hatschbachii, from Sao Tome das Letras, Minas Gerais State. These two species can be characterized by the following characters: buds covered by cucullate bracteoles, 5-merous flowers, 5- locular ovary sericeous at the apex, 10 subisomorphic stamens, connective with ventral appendage, and leaves frequently with strigose-ciliate margins. These features suggest proximity to Tibouchina Aubl., although species of the latter genus possess dimorphic stamens with markedly bilobed or bituberculate ventral appendages. During a floristic inventory carried out by Romero & Nakajima (1999) in the Serra da Canastra National Park, four new species were collected: Svitramia