Taxonomic Novelties from the Espinhaço Septentrional: Two New Species of Pleroma and the First Records of Melastomataceae from the Morro das Marombas, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract— During a botanical expedition carried out by the Centro Nacional de Conservação da Flora to northern Minas Gerais, Brazil, the first records of Melastomataceae were catalogued for the Morro das Marombas, in the Serra de Montevidéu, situated on the Espinhaço Septentrional. These first records and an identification key for the melastomes from Morro das Marombas are presented. Among these records, the first collection of Marcetia viscida is documented in Minas Gerais, and two new microendemic species of Pleroma were found and are described and illustrated here. Pleroma congestifolium resembles three congeners from the Cerrado of Minas Gerais (P. ferricolum, P. martinellii, and P. trinervium) to which it is compared, and their morphological relationships and differences are discussed. Pleroma martinellii is a remarkable new species, and it can be morphologically approximated to two species (P. congestifolium and P. velutinum) from the Cerrado of Minas Gerais and Bahia. Preliminarily, we suggest the Deficient Data category as the conservation status for both species.