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Issue: Vol. 759 No. 2: 28 May 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-05-28
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.759.2.4
Page range: 153-164
Abstract views: 0
PDF downloaded: 0

Plantago poranensis (Plantaginaceae): an overlooked, possibly already extinct new species from Mato Grosso do Sul, western Brazil

Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; Câmpus de Três Lagoas; CEP 79613-000; Três Lagoas; MS; Brazil
Eudicots biodiversity conservation cerrado identification key Lamiales Plantagineae threatened species

Abstract

The Plantago commersoniana species complex is a notoriously complicated group of rare, highly threatened plants, from which several new species have recently been segregated and described. However, taxonomic knowledge of this group is still deficient, as evidenced by herbarium samples that still cannot be assigned to currently recognised taxa with satisfactory reliability. In this work, a previously overlooked species of Plantago from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, western Brazil, is described. The new species is morphologically most similar to P. hatschbachiana and P. pyrophila, to which it is compared in detail. The only known gathering of the new species was made in 2003, and all subsequent attempts to recollect the species have failed. Therefore, it is unfortunately possible that the species is already extinct, although more searches are warranted. An identification key to Plantago in Paraguay, western Brazil and eastern Bolivia is provided, aiming at facilitating future searches for the new species in this area.

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How to Cite

Hassemer, G. (2026) Plantago poranensis (Plantaginaceae): an overlooked, possibly already extinct new species from Mato Grosso do Sul, western Brazil. Phytotaxa 759 (2): 153–164. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.759.2.4