Swartzia hilaireana Mansano & Torke, 2016

Swartzia hilaireana Mansano & Torke , sp. nov.

Differs from S. pilulifera by having 3–6 pairs of lateral leaflets, the terminal leaflet blade 5.2–17 mm long, the pedicels 7–9 mm long, and the gynoecium rufo-sericeous, with the stipe 2.5–4 mm long and the ovary 3.5–6 × 2.4–3.2 mm.

Type:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Mun. Ouro Preto, estrada em direção a Torre, cerca de 30 m da Trilha da Mata do Baú, Parque Estadual do Itacolomi , 18 September 2004, fl. & fr., L. C P. Lima, F. C. P. Garcia, A. Fiorini & V. F. Dutra 209 (holotype: RB; isotypes: OUPR, VIC, NY). ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ) .

Tree 1.2–10 m tall; pubescence consisting of appressed to suberect, simple hairs, these mostly 0.3–0.4 mm long; leafbearing portion of branchlets more or less terete, longitudinally striate, 5–7.5 mm thick at middle of internodes, sericeous or glabrescent. Stipules linear-lanceolate, 1.2–1.5 × 0.3–0.4 mm, sericeous abaxially, glabrescent adaxially, persistent. Leaves imparipinnate, with 3–6 pairs of lateral leaflets; petioles terete, narrowly winged, pulvinus 2.5–6.6 cm × 2–2.7 mm, sericeous to glabrescent; rachis 10–28 cm × 2.5–3.5 mm, marginate along segments, more evidently so toward distal ends of segments, sericeous abaxially, glabrescente adaxially, stipellate, the wings narrowly obtriangular, 2.5–4.5 mm wide at broadest point measured across the rachis, sericeous abaxially, glabrescent adaxially, the stipels linear-lanceolate, 2–8.5 × 1.5–3 mm, sericeous abaxially, glabrescent adaxially, persistent; petilolules canaliculate, 2.5–5 × 2–3 mm, sericeous abaxially, glabrescent adaxially; leaflet blades chartaceous, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, the terminal blades 5.2–17 × 2.6– 8.9 cm, the lateral ones ca. 3.7–16.8 × 2.5–9.1 cm, the basal most pair smaller and less elongate than the others, the abaxial surface rufo-sericeous to glabrescent, the adaxial surface sparsely sericeous to glabrescent, the base cuneate to rounded, the apex acuminate and mucronate, the midrib and secondary veins impressed adaxially, raised abaxially. Inflorescences simple or compound racemes, with a single order of branching, axillary or borne from fairly recently defoliate nodes on branchlets just below leaves, ca. 30–100-flowered, flowers spirally arranged, the axis lanose, terete, 8.5–11.5 cm, ca. 3 mm in diameter near base; bracts triangular, 5–7 × 2–3 mm, lanose abaxially, glabrous adaxially, persistent, estipulate; pedicels ebracteolate, compressed longitudinally, 7–9 × 2 mm, lanose; flower buds ellipsoid, 6–7 × 5–6 mm, lanose. Calyx actinomorphic, splitting irregularly, lanose abaxially, glabrous adaxially, the segments 3–4, subequal, the lobes reflexed, 5–7 × 3–4 mm. Corolla lacking. Androecium zygomorphic, the stamens dimorphic; larger stamens 2, abaxial, glabrous, the filaments longitudinally compressed, tapering apically, 4–5 × 0.3–0.5 mm, glabrous, the anthers oblong, 1.4–2.6 × 0.8–1.5 mm, glabrous; smaller stamens, central on the floral axis to adaxial, glabrous, the filaments longitudinally compressed, 3–4.5 × 0.1–0.2 mm, glabrous, the anthers oblate, 0.7–1.4 × 1–1.3 mm, glabrous. Gynoecium monopistillate, rufo-sericeous except in the glabrous style; stipe terete, 2.5–4 × 1–2 mm; ovary elliptic, 3.5–6 × 2.4–3.2 mm; ovules 6–10; style lateral but arising at ovary apex, perpendicular to ovary axis, slightly down-curved, terete, 1–1.3 × 0.3 mm, glabrous; stigma punctiform. Fruit single-seeded, orange when mature, sparsely pubescent; stipe c. 3–6 × 2–4 mm, terete; body 1.8–2.5 × 1.4–1.8 cm, ellipsoid. Seeds black, ellipsoid, 1.6–1.8 × 1.1–1.4 cm; aril white, fleshy, fimbriate, ca. 0.6–0.8 × 0.5–0.7 cm, covering about half of the seed on the hilar side.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Mun. Carandaí, Pedra do Sino Hotel Fazenda, BR 040 , km 6, Mata do Bugiu , 01 October 2005, fl., N. F. O. Mota & J. R. Stehmann 377 ( BHCB, RB) ; idem, Trilha da Matinha , 04 June 2005, fl., N. F. Mota & J. R. Stehmann 240 ( BHCB, RB) ; Mun. Caratinga, Faz. Macedônia / Genibra , trilha do triângulo, 04 November 1991, fl., P. I. S. Braga et al. s.n. ( BHCB 22.478 About BHCB , SPF 117.867 About SPF ) ; idem, 21 December 1991, fl., P. I. S. Braga et al. s.n. ( BHCB 22.479 About BHCB ) ; Mun. Catas Altas, Serra do Caraça , 19 February 2001, fr., R. C. Mota 1227 ( RB) ; Mun. Itabira, Estrada Itabira a Ipoema , km 0.3, 05 May 2003, fr., A. A. de Luz 116 ( RB) ; idem, 21–28 February 1817, fl, A. Saint-Hilaire 2205 ( P) ; Mun. Mariana, Samitri , 17 May 2001, fr., R. C. Mota & L. Viana 471 ( BHCB) ; idem, Distrito de Alegria, Mina de Fábrica Nova ( CVRD) a 1.200 m de altitude, January 2003, fl., A. Salino & N. F. O. Moys 8242 ( BHCB) ; idem, Estrada da Torre 21, Alegria do Sul , 25 August 1999, st., S. M. Faria et al. 1742 ( RB) ; Mun. Ouro Preto, estrada em direção a Torre, cerca de 30 m da Trilha da Mata do Baú , Parque Estadual do Itacolomi , 18 September 2004, fl. & fr., L. C. P. Lima et al. 209 ( RB, VIC) ; idem, Trilha do Parque Estadual do Itacolomi , 16 February 2005, fr., L. C. P. Lima & S. C. Ferreira 291 ( RB, VIC) ; idem, 24 October 2004, fl., L. C. P. Lima & F. C. P. Garcia 216 ( OUPR, VIC) ; idem, 24 October 2004, fr., L. C. P. Lima & F. C. P. Garcia 2 24 ( OUPR, VIC) ; idem, Trilha do Alcan , 08 December 2004, fr., L. C. P. de Lima & M. E. F. de Araújo 258 ( OUPR, VIC) .

Distribution:— Swartzia hilaireana is found in seasonal forests of the transition zone between cerrado and Atlantic forest in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil ( Figure 2 View FIGURE 2 ).

Epithet:— This species is named after Augustin Saint-Hilaire, a French botanist and traveler, who made the first collection of the species during his first voyage to Brazil in February 1817.

Flowering and fruit periods:— Collected in flower from June to January, and in fruit from February to August.

Comments:— We assign Swartzia hilaireana to Swartzia sect. Swartzia based on its possession of sectional characters such as ebracteolate pedicels, apetalous flowers, two larger stamens, a relatively compact gynoecium, with the ovary less than twice as long as wide, the style lateral and much shorter than the ovary, and the stigma punctiform, and single-seeded fruits. The geographical distribution in Minas Gerais and the densely pubescent gynoecium suggest a close relationship with Swartzia pilulifera Bentham (1840: 90) , but the new species differs from the later by having more pairs of lateral leaflets, longer leaflets, longer pedicels, a longer ovary stipe, and larger ovary (see Table 1). In addition, S. hilaireana has a rufo-sericeous gynoecium, while S. pilulifera has a golden-villous one. Differences between the two species and other species of sect. Swartzia that occur in the state of Minas Gerais are enumerated in Table 1.

Conservation status:— Following the categories and criteria of the IUCN Red List ( IUCN 2001, 2014), we assess the conservation status of S. hilaireana as Vulnerable (VU). The assessment is based on the following observations and criteria: the extent of occurrence (EOO) estimated by the software GeoCAT ( Bachman et al. 2011) to be 8478 km 2 (criterion B1), known from only six localities (B1a), continuing decline inferred in the extent and quality of habitat (B1b). Moreover, only one of the six known populations is in a protected area, and populations in Mariana and Caratinga municipalities may have been affected by the failure of the San Marcos dam, which released large quantities of toxic tailings and polluted water from a corporate mining operation.