Hirtella, Pereira, Zanata, Cetra & Reis, 2014

Barros, Natália, Menezes, Luis Fernando Tavares de, Sothers, Cynthia & Peixoto, Ariane Luna, 2025, Flora of Espírito Santo: Chrysobalanaceae, Rodriguesia (e 00872024) 76, pp. 1-39 : 12

4. Hirtella L., Sp. Pl.1: 34. 1753.

Trees and shrubs. Leaves glabrous or with strigose or strigulose hairs, stomatal crypts absent; sometimes with 2 large bulbous myrmecophilous inflations at base of lamina, or often with many small submarginal or scattered discoid glands; petiole eglandular. Inflorescence usually a raceme or thyrse, more rarely a corymb or complex cyme. Bracts and bracteoles often with stipitate or sessile glands. Receptacle tube subcampanulate to narrowly cylindric, slightly gibbous, usually glabrous inside except near throat. Sepals usually spreading or reflexed, acute, often with sessile or shortly stalked glands on margin. Petals 5; Stamens 3–9, filaments far-exserted, glabrous, usually opposite to short filiform staminodes. Ovary usually inserted at mouth of receptacle tube; style filiform, far-exserted. Drupe with smooth thin hard non-granular endocarp with longitudinal shallow channels representing the lines of weakness that permit the seedling to escape (Prance 2003; Prance & Sothers 2003b).

The genus comprises 110 species, mainly distributed in the Neotropics, with only two species in the African continent ( Prance & Sothers 2003b). In Brazil, the genus occurs in all states with 68 accepted species ( Asprino 2023). In EspÍrito Santo it is represented by 10 species.