Heteropterys rosmarinifolia, a new species of Malpighiaceae with verticillate leaves from savannas grasslands of central Brazil

Abstract

A new species of Heteropterys belonging to the Parabanisteria informal group is described for the savannas grasslands of the Serra do Tombador Natural Reserve, municipality of Cavalcante, State of Goiás, Brazil. Heteropterys rosmarinifolia is easily distinguished from the remaining Brazilian species of the Parabanisteria informal group due to its stems unbranched, leaves associated with the inflorescence verticillate, blades linear to very narrowly oblong, strongly conduplicate, ascending to upright, and sparsely sericeous to glabrous at age. We present a complete morphological description for the new species, photographic plates, comments on its distribution, ecology, and taxonomy, besides an identification key to the species of Heteropterys from the Parabanisteria group from the State of Goiás, Brazil.