Palicourea goytacaz Torres-Leite, 2025

Torres-Leite, Filipe, Carrijo, Tatiana Tavares, Bruniera, Carla Poleselli & Goldenberg, Renato, 2025, A new endemic species from the Atlantic Forest with a distinct habit in Palicourea (Palicoureae, Rubiaceae), Phytotaxa 695 (2), pp. 293-300 : 294-298

Palicourea goytacaz Torres-Leite sp. nov. Figs. 1–2

Palicourea goytacaz resembles Psychotria dressleri Dwyer & C.W. Hamilton in Hamilton (1988: 223) by its architecture adapted for litter accumulation, and large obovate to elliptic leaves. It differs from the latter by the bifid stipules (versus ovate to lanceolate) and purple-blue fruits (vs. red).

Type:— BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, distrito de Rio Preto , localidade de Conceição do Imbé , Fazenda Aleluia , Serra do Macaco (lado esquerdo), 11 May 2016 (fr), I.G. Costa 802 (holotype RB barcode RB01399832; isotype MO barcode MO101352273) .

Description:— Shrubs up to 3 m tall, much branched, with a litter-trapping habit, i.e., with the leaves grouped at the apex of the branches and favoring litter accumulation; branches glabrous, smooth. Leaves with blades (18–)24–30(– 36) × (6–)10-15(–19) cm, smaller at the base of the inflorescence 6–15 × (2.5–)3–6(–7.5) cm, obovate to elliptic, base cordate, subcordate or acute, apex obtuse to acute, margins entire, chartaceous, discolor, drying greenish to reddish brown on the adaxial surface, paler and reddish on the abaxial surface, glabrous; petioles (4–)6–8(–10) × 2–4 mm, adaxially canaliculate, glabrous; midrib very prominent abaxially, slightly prominent adaxially, secondary veins (12–)17–22(–25) on each side of midrib, tertiary venation visible on both sides; domatia absent. Stipules sheathing, sheath truncate, 2–3 mm high, interpetiolar portion bifid, glabrous, breaking by fragmentation with age on the sheath, lobes aristate, 2 on each side, 2–3 mm long, inserted into sheath margin. Inflorescences terminal, congested, subsessile, peduncles 0–5 mm long, glabrous; bracts 1.2–2 × 0.5–1 mm, filiform, with marginal glandular appendages, glabrous; pedicels 1.5–2 mm long, glabrous. Flowers unknown. Fruits 0.8–1.5 × 0.5–0.8 cm, ovoid, purple-blue, fleshy, calyx remnants forming a tube 0.8–1.5 cm long, lobes 0.4–0.8 cm long; pyrenes plano–convex, ca. 8 × 5 mm, 4–5 ribbed dorsally, ventrally sulcate, brown.

Distribution and habitat:— Palicourea goytacaz is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. It occurs in Campos dos Goytacazes municipality, in the northern part of Rio de Janeiro ( Fig. 3 ), in a region locally called “Imbé.” The single population known for this species was found in the understory of a dense ombrophilous forest near a watercourse.

Phenology:— Samples with bracts from the inflorescences were collected in August. Flowers not seen. Fruits were collected in May.

Etymology:— The specific epithet refers to the Municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes (RJ), where the species is found. “Goytacazes” refers to the native people who inhabited the region, and their names can be translated as “forest runners” or “swimming people” ( Bueno 1999). The epithet “Goytacaz” is a substantive in apposition (see Turland et al. 2018, article 23.5) that can be applied to an individual or a thing that belongs to the “Goytacazes” people who inhabited the same region of the species described here.

Conservation status:— We suggest that this species should be considered Data deficient (DD) because only one population with a few individuals is known insofar. Palicourea goytacaz occurs near the Desengano State Park, an area of full protection, but no other samples from there have been found in herbaria. Since this Park is so close to the type locality, there is a good chance that other populations could be located during field expeditions.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes): — BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro: Mun. Campos dos Goytacazes, Fazenda Aleluia, Rio Preto , Imbé , alt. 170 m, 21°47’42.2”S, 41°37’01.1”W, 17 August 2019 (If), F. Torres-Leite, M. Monge, D.P. Volet & I.G. Costa 851, 856, 861 ( UEC) ; 862, 864 ( CAP, UEC).

Discussion:— The architecture and arrangement of leaves adapted to litter accumulation observed in Palicourea goytacaz ( Fig. 2 , A and C) is not common in Palicourea , but it was reported in other genera, such as Psychotria and Rudgea ( Hamilton 1988, Dwyer 1980, Torres-Leite et al. 2016). Palicourea goytacaz has persistent and bifid stipules, differing from Psychotria dressleri and Psychotria chitariana Dwyer & C.W. Hamilton in Hamilton (1988: 221), which bear ovate to lanceolate, caducous stipules. Another difference are the red fruits in both species of Psychotria , while Palicourea goytacaz has purple-blue fruits. Additionally, Psychotria dressleri occurs in Panama and Colombia, and Psychotria chitariana in Costa Rica, while the new species is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Rudgea macrophylla Bentham (1850: 456) and Rudgea quisquiliae Bruniera & Torres-Leite in Torres-Leite et al. (2016: 192) also have an architecture similar to the new species described here, and both occur in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. These two species, however, differ from Palicourea goytacaz by having entire stipules with evident appendages (vs. bifid, not appendaged) and orange ( Rudgea macrophylla ) and white ( Rudgea quisquiliae ) fruits.

The same litter-accumulating habit occurs in Palicourea woronovii ( Standley 1930: 155) Bruniera & C. M. Taylor in Taylor et al. (2015: 45) from the Amazon basin ( Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru), with the debris held especially by its enlarged stipules ( Taylor et al. 2015). This species differs from Palicourea goytacaz by the welldeveloped fimbriate-laciniate stipules with glandular appendages, inflorescences with long vinaceous peduncles and loose branches, and white fruits.

As mentioned above, the morphology and litter-trapping architecture of certain species allow them to accumulate leaves and other debris that fall from the forest canopy. Generally, these individuals have large leaves that are congested at branch apices, facilitating the accumulation of debris in the “trash basket.” This was also reported for some Paleotropical species of Psychotria ( Lachenaud & Jongkind 2013) , as well as for the Neotropical Palicourea woronovii , Psychotria chitariana , Psychotria dressleri , Rudgea macrophylla , and Rudgea quisquiliae ( Hamilton 1988, Taylor & Hollowell 2016, Zappi 2003, Bruniera 2015, Torres-Leite et al. 2016).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Holotype of Palicourea goytacaz Torres-Leite (RB01399832).

FIGURE 2. Palicourea goytacaz. A. Habit. B. Stipules at the apex of the branch. C. Leaf arrangement as a litter-trapping architecture that allows the accumulation of debris. D. Filiform bracts of the inflorescence. E. Ripe fruits with persistent calyces. Photos by A, C, D Filipe Torres-Leite. B. Marcelo M. Egea. E. Idimá G. Costa.

FIGURE 3. Map showing the geographic distribution of Palicourea goytacaz. The dark gray shading indicates the limits of the Campo dos Goytacazes municipality.