Thinouia is a Neotropical genus of lianas with approximately 12 species and is the only genus in tribe Paullinieae with actinomorphic flowers. During a taxonomic revision of the genus and fieldwork in south-western Amazonia, we found a new species that appears similar to Thinouia trifoliata (ex Allosanthus) because of its racemiform inflorescence. However, before describing the new species, we had to confirm that Allosanthus was congeneric with Thinouia so we could place the new species in the correct genus. The results of the phylogenetic analysis, based on molecular data (trnL intron and ITS sequences), show that Allosanthus should be included in Thinouia. Thus, the new taxon is described here as Thinouia cazumbensis sp. nov. The new species is described, illustrated and phylogenetic trees showing relationships within supertribe Paulliniodae and Thinouia and the congeneric Allosanthus are given.

A taxonomic revision of Thinouia (Sapindaceae) is presented, including typification and descriptions for all accepted species. Phylogenetic analyses based on molecular data confirm that the genus is monophyletic and suggest two main clades with T. cazumbensis sister to the other species of the genus. Thirteen species of Thinouia are accepted, including a new species from Amazonia. The genus is distributed across continental tropical America, with its highest diversity found in South America. Its species can be distinguished by morphological details of leaves, indumentum, inflorescences, flowers, and fruits. We present a comprehensive review of the morphology and geographical distribution of the genus, along with an identification key, distribution maps, conservation risk assessments, illustrations, and comments on the ecology and taxonomy for all species, gathered from the literature and fieldwork.

Baraloto, C., P. Alverga, S. Baéz Quispe, G. Barnes, N. Bejar Chura, I. Brasil da Silva, W. Castro, H. Da Souza, I. De Souza Moll, J. Del Alcazar Chilo, H. Duenas Linares, J. Garate Quispe, D. Kenji, H. Medeiros, C. A. Rockwell, A. Shenkin, M. Silveira, J. Southworth, G. Vasquez, and S. Perz. 2014. Trade-offs among forest value components in community forests of southwestern Amazonia. Ecology and Society 19(4): 56.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-06911-190456

Tibouchina triprovincialis is a new species collected in the Brazilian states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso, and Rondônia. All gatherings from Amazonas and Rondônia come from the “Parque Nacional dos Campos Amazônicos”, while the single gathering outside it comes from northwestern Mato Grosso. Dense and extensive populations of this small shrub occur in “hyperseasonal savannas”, i.e. savannic enclaves in the middle of the Amazonian rainforest, with a thick herbaceous layer and very few shrubs or trees, growing on poorly drained soils. Tibouchina triprovincialis differs from both T. aspera and T. spruceana by the smaller leaves, with shorter petioles, 0.6–1.5 mm long (vs. 3–10 mm in T. spruceana, 2–10 mm in T. aspera) and blades 5–11 mm long (vs. 20–50 mm in T. spruceana, 20–80 in T. aspera), the abaxial surface densely covered with broad scales that conceal the surfaces of veins and the actual surfaces between the veins (vs. moderately covered with slender scales or trichomes that do not conceal the surfaces beneath, on both the veins and the actual surfaces between the veins). As for extinction risk, we suggest that T. triprovincialis should be regarded as “Least Concern” (LC).

Abstract— The limited knowledge about origins and distribution patterns of biodiversity is a major impediment to understanding the Amazonian flora. Melastomataceae are one of the main elements of this flora, but the diversity in the family is still far from being satisfactorily known. Based on their absence in the Melastomataceae treatment in “Flora e Funga do Brasil” (FFB), we found and present here new species records for the Brazilian Amazon: Alloneuron ulei , Adelobotrys boissierianus, Miconia brachybotrya, M. cazaletii, M. charadrophila, M. sastrei , and M. zubenetana . Alloneuron ulei is also the first record for the genus and tribe Cyphostyleae in Brazil, which will allow its inclusion in FFB after this publication. We also report here 21 new records of Aciotis , Bellucia , Blakea, Clidemia, Henriettea , Macrocentrum , and Miconia for the Brazilian states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, and Roraima, also based on their absence in FFB. We also designate here a lectotype for Miconia brachybotrya . All but five of these 28 new records come from three initiatives regarding plant collections, the first in Apiacás, in the northern tip of Mato Grosso, the second along the Rio Juruá basin, in Amazonas, and the last one an effort on monitoring fauna and flora in several protected areas in all states in Northern Brazil. All these three initiatives were carried out in areas that have little previous collecting activity and hence were expected to produce important information on plant species distributions. We roughly estimate how well this expectation was fulfilled by comparing the number of new records for Brazil or the Amazonian states with the total number of collections made in the excursions and relating this to the accumulated number of Melastomataceae collections over all the concerned geographical area. The Brazilian Amazon is huge, amazingly diverse, and the knowledge about its plant species is still insufficient. Collecting plants in this area is challenging, and the most productive way to tackle the knowledge gaps on Amazonian plant diversity is to invest in botanists and well-equipped collection trips in remote areas. Nevertheless, these knowledge gaps will not be fulfilled unless there is a reliable source of information such as FFB, which provides a powerful tool for accessing taxonomic and distributional data on Brazilian plant species. Keywords —Biodiversity, botanical discovery, floristics, lectotype, species identification, taxonomy.