"Heisteria Jacq. (Olacaceae) in Brazilian Amazon"
Olacineae, Amazonian flora, Taxonomy
Heisteria Jacq. is a neotropical genus with 35 species and center of diversity located in Amazon. These species are trees or shrubs, rarely liana, dioecious, with small flowers, internally pubescent or not, with 10 or more rarely 5 stamens, which have an acrrescent calyx-fruit. The last revision of this genus was in 1984. Heisteria's taxonomy still has gaps, such as the absence of illustrations of most species, comments on species affinity, and the existing identification key is not efficient. This work aims to carry out a taxonomic study of Heisteria species that occur in the Brazilian Amazon. 16 species are presented: H. acuminata (Humb. & Bonpl.) Engl., H. amazonica Sleumer, H. amphoricarpa (Ducke) Sleumer, H. barbata Cuatrec., H. cauliflora Sm., H. densifrons Engl. H. duckei Sleumer, H. huberiana Sleumer, H. laxiflora Engler, H. maguirei Sleumer, H. maytenoides Spruce ex Engl., H. nitida Engl., H. ovata Benth., H. pentandra (Benth. Ex Reissek) Engl., H. scandens Ducke and H. spruceana Engl.. In this work, it´s proposed the synonymization of H. insculpta in H. cauliflora. Lectotypifications are also proposed for five names: H. acuminata, H. maytenoides, H. nitida, H. ovata and H. pentandra. From these species, 13 are restricted to the biome and, from these 13, 3 are endemic from country. H. maytenoides is new registry for the Brazilian Amazon and for Brazil. Other new occurrences: H. acuminata and H. cauliflora, for Amapá; H. duckei, for Pará; H. huberiana, for Amazonas, Rondônia and Tocantins; H. laxiflora, for Bahia, Mato Grosso and Sergipe; H. maguirei and H. maytenoides, for Amazonas; H. ovata, for Roraima and Brasília; and H. spruceana, for Amapá, Pará and Tocantins. A data on the history of the genus, and on morphology, as well as preliminary conservation status, descriptions, identification key, illustrations and information on the biology of the species are presented.