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Type: Article
Published: 2026-08-19
Page range: 149-160
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Stachytarpheta pradoi (Verbenaceae): a new species described from long-overlooked Bolivian specimens and recent Brazilian collections

Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP); Instituto de Biociências; Departamento de Biodiversidade; Av. 24-A; 1515; Bela Vista; 13506-900; Rio Claro; SP; Brazil
Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP); Instituto de Biociências; Departamento de Biodiversidade; R. Prof. Dr. Antônio Celso Wagner Zanin; 250 - Distrito de Rubião Junior; 18618-689; Botucatu; SP; Brazil
Programa de Pós-Graduação Stricto Sensu em Ambiente e Sociedade e Herbário José Ângelo Rizzo; Universidade Estadual de Goiás; Câmpus Sudoeste; Sede Quirinópolis; Avenida Brasil; 435; Conjunto Hélio Leão; 75860-000; Quirinópolis; GO; Brazil
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Departamento de Botânica; Av. Carlos Chagas Filho 373; Cidade Universitária; CEP 21941-590; Rio de Janeiro; RJ; Brazil
Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora; Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; Departamento de Botânica; Herbário Leopoldo Krieger; Juiz de Fora; MG; 36036-900; Brazil
Eudicots Duranteae Lamiales Neotropical flora South America

Abstract

Stachytarpheta pradoi (Verbenaceae) is described as a new species based on fieldwork and examination of herbarium collections. Distributed in Bolivia and Brazil, it occurs in dry, open habitats, including sandy and rocky plains at elevations between 400 and 560 m. The main distinguishing features of the species include densely hirsute-villous branches; leaf blades with an attenuate base, decurrent into petiole; narrow-cylindrical inflorescences up to 1 m long; linear or narrowly lanceolate bracts, shorter than or equaling the calyx in length, with the abaxial surface glabrescent and the margins conspicuously ciliate, and lilac or blue corollas. To address the longstanding misidentification of Bolivian specimens of Stachytarpheta pradoi as Stachytarpheta canescens, a detailed discussion of the taxonomic identity and geographic distribution of both species is provided. A preliminary conservation status assessment suggests that Stachytarpheta pradoi can be treated as Endangered (EN).

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How to Cite

Cardoso, P.H., Nascimento, G.M., Morais, I.L.D., Trovó, M. & Salimena, F.R.G. (2026) Stachytarpheta pradoi (Verbenaceae): a new species described from long-overlooked Bolivian specimens and recent Brazilian collections. Phytotaxa 770 (2): 149–160. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.770.2.7