Abstract
Pombalia Vand. (Violaceae) is represented in the Cerrado by a well-supported monophyletic group of species known as the Pombalia lanata complex, characterised by some unique vegetative and reproductive features within the genus. This group includes six species – Pombalia cristalina, P. insignis, P. lanata, P. poaya, P. strigoides and P. velutina – the first two of which are new to science. Pombalia lanata shows the widest geographical distribution throughout the Central Brazilian Plateau and the Espinhaço Range in Minas Gerais state, with a disjunction in Misiones Province, Argentina. Because most species in this group are narrow endemics, we evaluated the conservation status of all taxa. An identification key for the species, descriptions, illustrations, maps of geographical distribution and nomenclatural notes are also provided.
Highlights
The genus Pombalia Vand. (Violaceae) comprises 42 species distributed throughout the Americas (Paula-Souza & Ballard, 2014; Paula-Souza & Souza, 2015)
Of the six species in the Pombalia lanata complex, the most widely distributed and most variable morphologically is Pombalia lanata, for which the complex is named. This species shows a broad range of variation in leaf shape and size and indument type across its distribution from the northern Brazilian Plateau through the San Ignacio region in Misiones province, Argentina (Paula-Souza et al, 2011)
Intermediate forms growing in the same areas as well-defined morphotypes were detected on several occasions during our fieldwork, and these involved all species of the Pombalia lanata complex that occurred sympatrically, including, for example, at Chapada dos Veadeiros, Goiás state, where the endemic P. strigoides co-occurs with P. lanata and P. poaya
Summary
The genus Pombalia Vand. (Violaceae) comprises 42 species distributed throughout the Americas (Paula-Souza & Ballard, 2014; Paula-Souza & Souza, 2015). (Violaceae) comprises 42 species distributed throughout the Americas (Paula-Souza & Ballard, 2014; Paula-Souza & Souza, 2015). Half of these species are found in Brazil, and in this country the Cerrado (the Brazilian savanna), with 13 taxa, is the richest phytogeographical domain in terms of number of species of the genus (PaulaSouza, 2018). Preliminary phylogenetic studies have resolved a clade of six species corresponding to the Pombalia lanata complex (Paula-Souza, 2009). Five of these species occur in the Brazilian Cerrado [P. cristalina Paula-Souza, P. insignis,
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