A new species of Goeppertia (Marantaceae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

A new species, Goeppertia albobracteata (Marantaceae), from the Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil is proposed. It was first reported from Ceará State and is morphologically similar to G. cylindrica and G. truncata by sharing elliptic to largely obovate, pleated leaves, spathes slightly curved at their apex, and yellowish flowers. The new species differ by having a smaller inflorescence with white spathes and the outer staminode longer than the corolla lobe.

We provide a diagnosis, a morphological description, taxonomic notes, preliminary conservation status, a distribution map, illustrations, a plate with photographs of the species in the field, and an identification key to Goeppertia species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest having spathes with recurved apices. Key word s: Neotropic, Serra de Itacoatiara, Taxonomy, Zingiberales. The genus Goeppertia Nees (1831: 337) comprises ca. 250 species distributed throughout the Neotropical region (Govaerts & Kennedy 2016).

It is the most representative genus of Marantaceae in Brazil, with 94 species (Saka 2024), which are found mainly in tropical forest habitats at elevations below 1500 m (Kennedy et al. 1988). Goeppertia was re-established based on molecular analyses (Borchsenius et al. 2012), being characterized by simple inflorescences (rarely an inflorescence composed of several partial inflorescences) spirally arranged spathes, and straight to spreading corolla lobes (Borchsenius e t al. 2012).

Fifty species of Goeppertia are currently recorded in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (BAF) (Saka 2024), and preliminary phylogenetic analyses (Saka 2016) indicate that all BAF species belong to Breviscapus clade (Borchsenius et al. 2012) regardless of morphological features characterizing infrageneric sections. Northeastern Brazil holds much of the diversity of Goeppertia, especially Bahia State (25 of 94 species of Goeppertia) (Saka 2024), although recent publications have likewise emphasized the diversity found in the states of Pernambuco and Sergipe (e.g., Saka 2013, Luna et al. 2016).

Ceará State largely falls within the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil, which is characterized by high average temperatures and low annual precipitation rates (Moro et al. 2015). However, due to local geographical factors (such as elevation and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean), wet and sub-humid enclaves (Silva & Cavalcante 2004) can be found within a mosaic of diverse landscapes (Moro et al. 2015). The project “Flora of Ceará: From Knowledge to Conservation” is currently underway to inventory of this state’s biodiversity (e.g., Nóbrega et al. 2024).

During floristic-taxonomic studies within the project, herborized specimens identified as G. burle-marxii (Kennedy 1982: 2365) Borchs. & S. Suárez in Borchsenius et al. (2012: 629) that had been collected in the BAF of Ceará State were identified. Morphological studies of fresh material and the analysis of the protologue and type collections of G. burle-marxii, however, identified distinct characteristics of those specimens that could not be included in the morphological concept of G. burle-marxii.

After consulting the specialized literature (Melo 2008, Saka 2016, Saka 2017), we concluded that these specimens constituted a new species. The new species described here is compared with the most morphologically similar taxa - G. burle-marxii, G. cylindrica (Roscoe 1828: t.40) Borchs. & S. Suárez in Borchsenius et al. (2012: 630), and G. truncata (Link ex A. Dietrich 1831: 26) Borchs. & S. Suárez in Borchsenius et al. (2012: 634) - in terms of vegetative aspects and spathes with recurved apices.

We provide a morphological description, illustrative drawings, a distribution map, ecological data, phenological information, etymology, comments concerning the relationship between this new species and morphologically similar taxa, its preliminary conservation status, and a key to the species of Goeppertia with spathes with recurved apices from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.