Species of Heisteria (Olacaceae) in the Brazilian Amazon
APG IV, neotropical Flora, Plant taxonomy Santalales
Heisteria N.J. Jacquin (Olacaecae) has about 35 species, occurring in Africa and in Central and South America. The last systematic review of this genus was done in the 1980s. Although this review was done relatively recently, it still exhibits considerable gaps, such as a lack of illustrations and of comments on the affinities of several species. In addition, many collections in regional herbaria (IAN, INPA, and MG) were not treated. The identification key to species, mainly based on vegetative characteristics, needs to be reviewed. For this, an updated taxonomic treatment is proposed for the species of Heisteria occurring in the Brazilian Amazon. To date, 17 taxa have been reported, and the center of diversity of the genus is in the Amazon, especially in the state of Amazonas.