From northern Minas Gerais, a new species of Melastomataceae

Brazil is the country with the greatest diversity of species of Melastomataceae, a family of plants with beautiful flowers, among which the most famous is perhaps the quaresmeira. At least one-third of these species occur in the state of Minas Gerais. And it is from Minas that the newest member of the family comes, Microlicia geraizeira Versiane & R. Romero, whose scientific description was published in April in the Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Geography.

Microlicia geraizeira is endemic to Minas Gerais, where it occurs in the Serra Nova e Talhado State Park. Located at the northern end of the Espinhaço Range, this park is in an area where the Caatinga and Cerrado biomes meet, and is still largely unexplored by botanists. The species' name pays homage to the geraizeiros, traditional communities that have been fighting for years to protect the biodiversity of northern Minas Gerais, threatened by eucalyptus monoculture, mining, and cattle ranching.

The specimen used for the description was collected during a scientific expedition led by the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, through the National Center for Flora Conservation (CNCFlora/JBRJ), between March 28 and April 11, 2022. The collector was Marcio Verdi, Project Coordinator for Strategies for the Conservation of Endangered Species - COESC/CNCFlora.

The expedition took place within the scope of the Pro-Species Project: All Against Extinction, as part of the Territorial Action Plan for the Conservation of Endangered Species in the Espinhaço Mineiro Territory (PAT Espinhaço Mineiro). On that occasion, more than 1,000 botanical samples were collected and included in the RB herbarium, along with 13 live plants (bromeliads, cacti, orchids, and insectivorous plants) for cultivation in the Bromeliad, Cactus, Orchid, and Insectivorous Plant collections of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden.

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