Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Passiflora</Emphasis> subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Decaloba</Emphasis> (Passifloraceae) from Brazil

Three new species from Brazil are described and illustrated. Passiflora cervii, P. jiboiaensis, and P. transversalis all belong to Passiflora subg. Decaloba.     

Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ocotea</Emphasis> (Lauraceae) from the <Emphasis Type="Italic">campos rupestres</Emphasis> of Brazil

Three new hermaphrodite species of Ocotea (Lauraceae) from the campos rupestres of Brazil are described and illustrated: Ocotea pumila, which is known from Bahia state; and Ocotea colophanthera and Ocotea rupestris both from Minas Gerais state. Their diagnostic features are pointed out, and a discussion of their relationships to other species of Ocotea is provided.     

Two new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Calathea</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Marantaceae</Emphasis>) from South-eastern Brazil

Summary   Calathea dryadica and Calathea reginae are described, circumscribed and illustrated. These new species are probably endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro State in Southeast Brazil and are considered critically endangered because of the restricted geographic area of occurrence, sometimes enclosed by densely urbanised areas.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cambessedesia tiradentensis</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Melastomataceae</Emphasis>), a new species from Brazil

Summary  A new and probably endemic species of Cambessedesia DC. is described from campo rupestre vegetation, as part of a floristic survey of Melastomataceae from the S?o José mountain range, Tiradentes District, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Miscellaneous  Accepted for publication April 2008.     

Two new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erythroxylum</Emphasis> sect. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhabdophyllum</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Erythroxylaceae</Emphasis>) from north-eastern Brazil

Summary   Erythroxylum longisetulosum I. Loiola & M. F. Sales and E. timothei I. Loiola & M. F. Sales (sect. Rhabdophyllum) from north-eastern Brazil are described and illustrated, and their taxonomic and ecological relationships are discussed.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Matayba obovata</Emphasis>, a new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Matayba</Emphasis> sect. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Matayba</Emphasis> (Sapindaceae) from Brazil

The new species, Matayba obovata (Sapindaceae), from southern and southeastern Brazil is described, illustrated, and contrasted to its putatively closest relatives. Palynological characters are also described. The new species belongs to sect. Matayba. A key to identify M. obovata and related species in the Atlantic Forest is included.     

Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Davilla</Emphasis> (Dilleniaceae) from Bahia,Brazil

Three new species of Davilla (Davilla sessilifolia, Davilla minutifolia and Davilla aymardii) from Bahia, Brazil, are described and illustrated. Affinities and diagnostic characteristics of each species are discussed. The new species belong to Davilla sect. Homalochlaena.     

Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stigmidium</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sphaerellothecium</Emphasis> (lichenicolous ascomycetes) on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stereocaulon</Emphasis>

Sphaerellothecium stereocaulorum sp. nov., Stigmidium beringicum sp. nov., Stigmidium stereocaulorum sp. nov. and goniocysts are described on Stereocaulon species from the northern Holarctic. Endococcus nanellus is reported new to Alaska and Mongolia. Taxonomical novelties Sphaerellothecium stereocaulorum Zhurb. & Triebel, Stigmidium beringicum Zhurb. & Triebel, Stigmidium stereocaulorum Zhurb. & Triebel.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhynchospora rheophytica</Emphasis> (Cyperaceae), a new species from western Bahia,Brazil

A new species of Rhynchospora section Tenues, from western Bahia, Brazil, is described, illustrated, and compared to related species.     

A new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Polygala</Emphasis> subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hebeclada</Emphasis> (Polygalaceae) from central Brazil

Polygala pauciramosa, a new species from the Federal District and the state of Goiás is described, illustrated, and compared with related species of Polygala subgenus Hebeclada. The new species is an herb that grows in seasonally to permanently wet savannas. A key to the species of Polygala subgenus Hebeclada from Goiás state, Brazil is provided.     

A new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Macroptilium</Emphasis> (Benth.) Urb. (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leguminosae</Emphasis>: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Papilionoideae</Emphasis>: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phaseolinae</Emphasis>) from North-Eastern Brazil

Summary  A new species of Macroptilium sect. Microcochle (Benth.) J. A. Lackey is herein described from the states of Piauí and Bahia, Brazil. Macroptilium cochleatum is characterized by few-flowered inflorescences, calyx teeth longer than the tube, a tightly four-coiled keel, and linear, patent fruits. The discovery of this unique Macroptilium species, with its distally coiled keel, expands the diagnostic features of the genus. A key to the Brazilian species of sect. Microcochle is provided.     

Two new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Goniopteris</Emphasis> (Thelypteridaceae) from Brazil

Two new species of Goniopteris endemic to the state of Espírito Santo (Brazil) are described and illustrated: Goniopteris bradei and G. salinoi. Morphological comparisons with similar species, as well as two identification keys, are presented. One key includes the Brazilian species most similar to G. bradei, and the other includes those Goniopteris species with glandular hairs, including G. salinoi.     

Two new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Calycolpus</Emphasis> (Myrtaceae) from Brazil

Two new species of Calycolpus from Brazil are described and illustrated, C. andersonii from Pará and C. sessiliflorus from Bahia.     

Two new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mezilaurus</Emphasis> (Lauraceae) from Brazil

Ongoing taxonomic work on Mezilaurus has revealed two new species of the genus in Brazil, which are here described and illustrated. The first one, Mezilaurus glabriantha, from the state of Espírito Santo, represents the third endemic species known from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, and Mezilaurus microphylla occurs in seasonally dry forests from the central Brazilian state of Tocantins. A key to distinguish the extra-Amazonian species of Mezilaurus from Brazil is provided.     

Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ipomoea</Emphasis> L. (Convolvulaceae) from Southern Brazil

Ipomoea L. is the most speciose genus of the Convolvulaceae, comprising c. 140 species in Brazil. Three new species are described and illustrated from Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina states: Ipomoea pampeana P. P. A. Ferreira & Miotto, I. riograndensis P. P. A. Ferreira & Miotto and I. sulina P. P. A. Ferreira & Miotto.     

Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Abarema</Emphasis> (Leguminosae,Mimosoideae) from south-eastern Brazil

Summary  Three new species of Abarema Pittier (Leguminosae) are described and illustrated: A. villosa Iganci & Morim, A. limae Iganci & Morim and A. barnebyana Iganci & Morim from the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. A. villosa is similar to A. brachystachya (DC.) Barneby & J. W. Grimes, but has villous leaflets, a pilose and truncate ovary and a corolla three times longer than the calyx. Both A. limae and A. barnebyana resemble A. jupunba (Willd.) Britton & Killip in having rhombic leaflets and heteromorphic inflorescences, but are differentiated by leaflet size and indumentum, and pod size and shape.     

Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Luetzelburgia</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leguminosae</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Papilionoideae</Emphasis>) from the caatinga of Bahia,Brazil and an identification key to all species of the genus

Three new species of the Brazilian genus Luetzelburgia Harms (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae, Sophoreae sensu lato (Vataireoid clade)) are described and illustrated under the names Luetzelburgia harleyi D. Cardoso, L. P. Queiroz &; H. C. Lima, L. neurocarpa D. Cardoso, L. P. Queiroz &; H. C. Lima and L. purpurea D. Cardoso, L. P. Queiroz &; H. C. Lima. All three occur in the caatinga vegetation of the State of Bahia, Eastern Brazil. A discussion of the morphological characters distinguishing the new species from their close relatives, as well as an identification key to all known species of Luetzelburgia, are presented.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Funastrum rupicola</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apocynaceae:</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">Asclepiadoideae</Emphasis>), a new species from Bolivia

Summary   Funastrum rupicola Goyder, a new species of Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae from Bolivia, is described and illustrated. The conservation status of this species is assessed.     

Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stelis</Emphasis> (Orchidaceae) from Mexico

Three new species of the genus Stelis from Mexico are described and illustrated; they were recently collected in the Tacana volcano region of Chiapas, and are named as S. annedamoniae, S. hagsateri, and S. soconuscana. For each species information is provided about habitat, phenology, and conservation status, and the relationships with similar taxa are discussed. Stelis andamoniae is similar to S. hagsateri and both are sympatric at the Tacana volcano; they are members of the Stelis argentata complex. The first has red-wine flowers, and glabrous sepals, while S. hagsateri has greenish-yellow flowers and glandular-papillose sepals. Stelis soconuscana is similar to S. bidentata, from which it is different by its broader leaves, raceme as long as the leaf, smaller flowers, and its distribution.