Three New Species of Neocalyptrocalyx (Capparaceae) for South America

Abstract

Abstract— Neocalyptrocalyx (Capparaceae) is a Neotropical genus that comprises eleven species that occur in the lowlands of Brazil, Guyana, French Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, and Ecuador. The study of collections deposited in herbaria added to field observations allowed the recognition of three species as new to science, and those are formally presented here: Neocalyptrocalyx aequatoriensis, known only from eastern Ecuador, Neocalyptrocalyx atlanticum from the Atlantic Forest, and Neocalyptrocalyx polycataphyllus from the Brazilian Amazonia. Neocalyptrocalyx aequatoriensis represents the new westernmost boundary for the genus and the first generic record for Ecuador. We present diagnoses, descriptions, ink illustrations, field photos, distribution maps, notes on ecology, habitat, morphology, phenology, conservation status, and a key to distinguish the new species from related species.