Glandularia lobata (Velloso) P. Peralta & Thode (2010: 30)

Cardoso, Pedro Henrique, Valério, Vanessa Imaculada Dos Reis, Neto, Luiz Menini & Salimena, Fátima Regina Gonçalves, 2021, Verbenaceae in Espírito Santo, Brazil: richness, patterns of geographic distribution and conservation, Phytotaxa 484 (1), pp. 1-43 : 12-13

5.1. Glandularia lobata (Velloso) P. Peralta & Thode (2010: 30) . (Figs. 1B, 5E)

Herbs 25‒30 cm high, branches tetragonal, hirsute or strigose, pedicellate glandular trichomes present. Leaves opposite, petiole 2‒5.2 mm long, blade 1.3‒3.7 × 1‒1.6 cm, chartaceous, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, apex acute, base obtuse to truncate, decurrent, margin incised-serrate, ciliate, adaxial surface strigose, abaxial surface pubescent along the veins. Inflorescences 1.2‒1.9 cm long, arranged in a trimerous disposition, peduncle of the main spikes 2‒2.5 cm long, peduncle of the lateral spikes 3‒3.3 cm long, pedicellate glandular trichomes present; bracts 2‒3.5 mm long, ovate to lanceolate, abaxial surface strigose to pubescent, pedicellate glandular trichomes present or not, margin ciliate; calyx 4‒5 mm long, externally sparsely pubescent, pedicellate glandular trichomes present or not; corolla 5.2‒6 mm long, purple. Fruit 2‒2.7 mm long, surrounded by the persistent calyx.

Distribution and habitat:— Glandularia lobata is distributed in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, associated with humid and cold climate ( O’Leary & Thode 2016). In Brazil, it is found in the Atlantic Forest and Pampa domains, in all states of South and Southeast regions ( O’Leary & Thode 2016, O’Leary et al. 2020). In Espírito Santo, it was exclusively found in the campos de altitude of the Parque Nacional do Caparaó.

Phenology:— Collected with flowers and fruits in March, September, and October.

Preliminary conservation assessment:— This is a common species with a wide distribution ( O’Leary & Thode 2016), and occurs inside PAs in South America. Considered “Least Concern” (LC) ( IUCN 2019).

Selected material:— BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Dores de Rio Preto, Parque Nacional do Caparaó , 20 October 2012, fl., T . B . Flores et al. 1336 ( ESA, RB); Serra do Caparaó, Pico da Bandeira , 3 March 1959, fl. and fr., H . S . Irwin 2783 ( NY); Iúna, Parque Nacional do Caparaó , 20 September 2012, fl. and fr., A . V . Scatigna et al. 259 ( UEC) .

Notes:— Glandularia lobata has two varieties: G. lobata var. glabrata (Moldenke) P. Peralta & Thode (2010: 30) and the type-variety. According to O’Leary & Thode (2016) G. lobata var. glabrata is different from the type-variety by the presence of strigose branches, trimerous inflorescences, and glandular trichomes absent in the bracts and calyx, while G. lobata var. lobata presents hirsute branches, tetramerous inflorescences, and glandular trichomes present in bracts and calyx. However, the analysis of several collections of G. lobata ( Cardoso et al. 2019a, 2019e, Santiago et al. 2020) has not allowed us to follow this delimitation. We observed a wide variation in the indument of the branches (from glabrescent to strigose or densely hirsute), and the arrangement of the inflorescences (both trimerous or tetramerous) is not always associated to the indument patterns established in the circumscription of the varieties. Similarly, the presence or absence of glandular trichomes in the bracts and calyx are not also related to the other characteristics used for delimitation of the infraspecific taxa. O’Leary & Thode (2016) recorded the occurrence of G. lobata var. lobata for the Espírito Santo state (Irwin 2783 (NY)), but this specimen presented neither hirsute branches nor inflorescences arranged in a tetramerous disposition, showing a nitid confusion about the infraspecific taxa of G. lobata . Further studies are needed to understand the delimitation of these infraspecific taxa.

Illustrations in O’Leary & Thode (2016).