Hirtella santosii Prance, Revista

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 : 21

4.8. Hirtella santosii Prance, Revista Brasil. Bot. 2(1): 34. 1979. Fig. 8

Shrub, up to 2 m tall, young branches hispid, becoming sparsely hispid with age, lenticellate. Leaves elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 11–14 × 3.8–5.7 cm, chartaceous, discolorous, base rounded, apex acuminate, acumen 4–7 mm long, sparsely hispid to glabrescent adaxially, sparsely hispid abaxially, margin sparsely hispid, midrib prominulous adaxially, prominent abaxially, hispid, primary veins 11–13 pairs, sparsely hispid to glabrescent on both surfaces, discoid glands throughout the lamina; petiole 3–4 mm long, hispid, terete, eglandular; stipules 2, ca. 4 mm long, lanceolate, chartaceous, hispid, persistent. Inflorescence terminal, racemose, densely hispid; bracts 1, lanceolate, 2–3 mm long, hispid, with sessile glands; bracteoles 2, triangular, ca. 1 mm long, hispid, with sessile glands. Flowers 2–2.5 cm long, sparsely hispid, pedicel ca. 1.1 cm long; receptacle campanulate, ca. 3 mm long, glabrous except at throat; sepals triangular, 3–3.5 mm long, pubescent, reflexed; petals white, triangular to rounded, 4–5 mm long, glabrous; stamens 7, in a complete circle, filaments vinaceous 1.3–1.4 cm long, united at base; ovary ca. 1.5 mm long, villous, style ca. 1.5 mm long, basal 1/3 hirsute. Drupe not seen.

Material examined: Domingos Martins, BR-262, prox. a Vitor Hugo, Rio Jucu, Braço Sul, 17.I.1995, fl., G. Hatschbach

61601 ( CEPEC). Linhares, Reserva Natural Vale, Estrada Paraju, km 0, 2.XII.2006, fl., E.J. Lucas 974 ( CVRD, ESA, K, RB) .

Additional material: BRAZIL. BAHIA: Almadina, Serra do Corcovado , acesso pela fazenda de Seu Francisco, 23.XI.2014, fl., R. Asprino 112 (RB) .

Hirtella santosii is similar to H. hebeclada as mentioned before but can be characterized by the rounded leaf base, longer acumen and higher number of primary veins. Collected with flowers in December.

Hirtella santosii is an Atlantic Forest endemic species, and is recorded to Alagoas, Bahia and EspÍrito Santo ( Asprino 2023; Asprino & Amorim 2016). In the latter it is recorded by only two collections, in Ombrophilous forest and Mata de Tabuleiro, in Domingos Martins and Linhares municipalities, one of them inside a protected area (Reserva Natural Vale). This species is assessed as Endangered (EN) for the country ( Brasil 2022) and we suggest the same category for the state.