Calea riopardensis V.R.Bueno, Prata-Silveira & Bentes, 2025

Bueno, Vinícius R., Bentes, Marina Soares, Ramos, Renato, Zavatin, Danilo A. & Prata-Silveira, Ananda, 2025, Three new species of Calea (Asteraceae, Neurolaeneae) from the sky islands of the Espinhaço Range, Phytotaxa 689 (2), pp. 185-203 : 187

Calea riopardensis V.R.Bueno, Prata-Silveira & Bentes , sp. nov.

Type:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Rio Pardo de Minas, Parque Estadual de Serra Nova, 15°39’49.0”S, 42°46’14.0”W, 1385 a.s.l., 26 March 2023 (fl., fr.), L. A. A. Góes-Neto, P. L. S. Miranda, M. Piacesi, A. F. S. Pereira, L. C. Assis & J. A. N. Batista 784 (holotype: BHZB!). ( Fig. 1 )

Diagnosis:— Calea riopardensis resembles C. repanda , but is distinguishable from the latter by the petiole 0.6–0.7 cm long (vs. 1.3–1.5 cm), leaf base attenuate (vs. rounded), peduncle 1.75–3.25 cm long (vs. 0.45–0.7 cm), involucre 10.5–10.6 mm long (vs. 12.2–12.7 mm), ray floret corolla 15.8–16.5 mm long (vs. 13.4–13.8 mm), disc corolla 5.7–5.9 mm long (vs. 5–5.4 mm), and cypselae 3.5–3.8 mm long (vs. 3.0– 3.2 mm).

Shrubby habit, erect, branched, 0.6 m tall. Stems castaneous, cylindrical, non-striate, glabrous or strigose, internodes 0.68–1.67 cm long. Leaves decussate petiolate, 0.6–0.7 mm long; blades 2.1–4 × 0.65–2 cm, narrowly oblong to oblanceolate, base attenuate, apex obtuse, venation acrodromous basal, margin pauciserrate, whitish-green, slightly revolute on apex; abaxial surface glabrous, veins sparsely strigose, eglandular, adaxial surface glabrous; coriaceous, green, concolorous. Capitulescence cymose, axis 0–1.4 cm long, branching to 2 nd order ramifications, 2–4 secondary stems; peduncle 1.75–3.25 cm long, glabrous to sparsely strigose, eglandular. Capitulum heterogamous, radiate, involucrum wide cylindrical to narrow campanulate, 10.5–10.6 × 11–11.2 mm, 6-seriate; phyllaries conspicuously striate, two outermost series foliaceous, olivaceous, apex obtuse, margin entire, whitish-green, flat, glabrous, glandular-punctate; first series blade 4.75–6.3 × 3.8–5 mm, suborbicular to wide obovate, 6–7-striate; second series blade 4.6–6 × 3.6–3.8 mm, narrow ovate or oblong, 8-striate; three intermediate series scarious, pale green to pale yellow, apex rounded, margin entire, ciliate to densely ciliate, pale yellow, flat, glabrous; third series blade 6.5–8 × 3.4–3.8 mm, narrow ovate or oblong, 8-striate; fourth series blade 7.8–8 × 3.9–4 mm, oblong, 8–10-striate; fifth series blade 8–8.4 × 3.6–3.8 mm, oblong, 8–10-striate; innermost series blade 7.5–7.8 × 2.9–3 mm, narrow oblong, apex obtuse, margin entire, ciliate to densely ciliate, pale yellow, flat, glabrous, 8–10-striate, scarious, pale green to pale yellow. Receptacle convex, holopaleaceous, paleae 8–8.2 × 2.5–2.7 mm, oblanceolate, concave, apex obtuse, yellow. Ray florets 6–8, pistillate, corolla liguliform, 15.8–16.5 mm long, tube 3.5–4 mm long, limb 12.3–12.5 × 4.9–5 mm, wide oblanceolate to oblong, apex 4-lobulate, 5–7 veins, yellow, abaxial surface densely glandular-punctate, adaxial surface glabrous; style arms 0.6–0.7 mm long, yellow. Disc florets ca. 35, bisexual, corolla tubulose, 5.7–5.9 mm long, tube 1.7–1.9 mm long, lobes 1.1–1.3 mm long, yellow, glandular-punctate; anthers 2.4–3 mm long, apical anther appendages deltoid, yellow; style arms 0.7–0.9 mm long, linear, yellow. Cypselae 3.5–3.8 mm long, black, prismatic, ray cypselae 3- angled, disc cypselae 4-angled, sparsely puberulous or glabrous, ribs densely puberulous or glabrous; pappus 10–12 scales, bitypic, bilength or polylength, free, uniseriate, shorter scales 1.2–2.3 mm long, medium scales 1.7–1.8 mm long (present only in the polylength scales), longer scales 2.2–2.8 mm long, elliptical or oblong, rarely oblanceolate, apex obtuse, often acuminate, margins entire, erose.

Etymology:—The epithet “ riopardensis ” is the latinized form of the gentile of the Rio Pardo de Minas, the municipality where the species was collected.

Distribution, habitat and phenology:— Calea riopardensis occurs in the north of Minas Gerais ( Fig. 2 ). This new species grows in campo rupestre areas ( Miola et al. 2021) associated with sandy soils in elevations around 1385 m a.s.l.. The specimen was collected in March with florets and fruits.

Conservation Status:—The Serra Talhada State Park area still needs to present studies of its flora, which reflects a smaller number of plant collections in herbaria. We still have a few records to assess the distribution of species better. However, the Vulnerable status ( VU) is indicated, using D2 criteria, considering the knowledge of only one record for C. riopardensis . In the Espinhaço Range, fire, mining and cattle are the most common kinds of treats. However, the species is in a region with a lower incidence of fires, different from regions south of Serra do Espinhaço. Although quartzite mining has increased considerably along this mountain range, this activity is forbidden inside the protected area. The protected area manages to maintain reasonable control of anthropogenic pressures arising from the surrounding area. Unfortunately, the presence of cattle into areas of the park has been observed, which can compromise the population with stochastic events that degrade environmental conditions.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Calea riopardensis sp. nov. (Neurolaeneae, Asteraceae). A. Flowering branch. B. Leaf with pauciserrate margins, adaxial surface. C. Capitulum with ray florets removed to show involucre, paleae and disc floret arrangements. D. Phyllary of the first series. E. Phyllary of the second series. F. Phyllary of the third series. G. Phyllary of the fourth series. H. Phyllary of the fifth series. I. Phyllary of the sixth series. J. Ray floret. L. Disc floret. M. Cypsela with polylength pappus scales. A–L drawn from L. A. A. Góes-Neto 784 (BHCB); A–M: millimeter scale. Illustration by Débora Dalzotto.

FIGURE 2. Occurrence map of Calea riopardensis (Neurolaeneae, Asteraceae) in Brazil. Figure by: Renato R. Silva.