Manihot gratiosa and M. lourdesii spp. nov. (Manihoteae,Euphorbiaceae) from the Brazilian Cerrado

During a botanic expedition in 2013 to study the taxonomy of the genus Manihot in the Cerrado biome, numerous specimens were collected in the Chapada dos Veadeiros region, in central Brazil. After careful analyses, two new species of this genus were discovered. Manihot gratiosa and M. lourdesii are herein described and illustrated. Both species can be distinguished from morphologically similar species by a combination of characters such as shape and overlapping of leaf lobes, indumentum, type and aspect of inflorescence, integrity of pistillate sepals, as well as shape, integrity, and size of bracts of both male and female flowers.