Faramea baturitensis (Rubiaceae: Coussareeae), a new species from “Serra de Baturité,” Northeast Brazil

As part of an ongoing study of the taxonomy and systematics of Rubiaceae of the state of Ceará, Brazil, a new species, Faramea baturitensis , is here recognized, described, and illustrated. The new species occurs in “Serra de Baturité,” a relic of the Atlantic Forest. Detailed data on the distribution, habitat, phenology, and conservation status of the new species, as well as a key to species of Faramea in Ceará, are provided.


Introduction
Faramea (Rubiaceae, tribe Coussareeae) is a neotropical genus with c. 150 species distributed from Mexico to northern Argentina (Taylor et al. 2004), with records of 90 species for Brazil, of which c. 59 % (53 spp.) are endemic.There are records of 18 species for the Northeast Region of Brazil, but only four species are cited for the state of Ceará (BFG 2015;2018).
Faramea is generally associated with the rainforest understory and is well represented in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil (Jardim & Zappi 2008).Its representatives are characterized by the following: branches horizontal, stems flattened and often costate along the internodes; leaves opposite, distichous, generally vinaceous to lilac when young; stipules entire, generally aristate; flowers tetramerous, calyx tube often developed, corolla usually blue, violet, vinaceous or white, with valvate aestivation; fruits drupaceous, spherical, globose to reniform, pyrene with rigid to papery wall, a raphal pore, a single seed, and lateral embryo inserted in a cartilaginous endosperm (Taylor & Jardim 2020).
As part of our study of Rubiaceae of the Northeast Region of Brazil, and the "Flora do Ceará: saber para conservar" project, a new species of Faramea is here proposed and illustrated.

Materials and methods
The study was based on field observations and a comparative analysis of morphological characters of specimens from the CEPEC, EAC, HUEFS, HUVA and UFRN herbaria (acronyms according to Thiers, continuously updated), literature, and photos of type collections.
Geographic distribution data were obtained from specimen labels.General descriptive terminology follows Radford et al. (1974).The illustrations were made from material deposited at EAC and photographs.The conservation status was informally evaluated based on IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, Version 14 (IUCN 2019).

Taxonomic treatment
Phenology: Flowering specimens have been collected in January, March, April, and May, and fruiting specimens have been collected in February, May, and October.
Distribution and habitat: The species is known only from "Serra de Baturité" (Figs. 2B, 3) and is generally a small tree in the understory of ombrophilous forest fragments at 600-1000 m elevation.In contrast, the similar species Faramea hyacinthina is widely distributed in the Atlantic Forest (from Sergipe State to Paraná State) and usually associated with semideciduous forest (BFG 2018).Etymology: The specific epithet refers to the occurrence of the species in "Serra de Baturité," Ceará State, Brazil.
Remarks: The new species resembles Faramea hyacinthina, due to its terminal inflorescences and flowers with a blue corolla and a relatively long calyx tube, but can be distinguished from it by the following set of characteristics: tree habit within ombrophilous forest (vs.shrubby habit within semideciduous forest), usually larger leaf blades (8.5-15[-20] vs. [-5]8-10[-12] cm long) without marginal venation (vs.with marginal venation that scarious margin when dry), thyrsoid inflorescence (4-5-radiate) (vs.dichasial), usually reduced pedicels (0.4-12 mm long) thickened towards the apex when in fruit (vs.long pedicels [10-20 cm long] with a similar diameter throughout when in fruit), and calyx shorter in fruit (1.2-2 mm long), with hyaline papillae at apex (vs.calyx longer in fruit [2-4 mm long], without papillae], respectively. Conservation status: Faramea baturitensis is known only from collections made in "Serra de Barurité," Ceará.The Baturité Massif is known for its small farms and extensive tourism on private properties, which are used as leisure areas.Due to real estate development, at higher elevations its natural vegetation is reduced to small forest fragments.The area includes eight municipalities and is part of the "Área de Proteção Ambiental -APA Serra de Baturité," an open conservation unit that allows the sustainable use of land for agriculture and construction.In the short to medium term, habitat destruction (Fig. 2C) and a restricted area of occurrence may lead to a decrease in the populations of this species.The extent of occurrence (EOO) of the species was estimated to be 26,442 km 2 , which qualifies it for the Critically Endangered (CR) category, while the area of occupancy (AOO) was estimated to be 20,000 km 2 , which qualifies it for the Endangered (EN) category (Bachman et al. 2011;IUCN 2019).According to this data, the above information and IUCN (2019) criteria, F. baturitensis would be classified as Endangered (EN): B2 a, i, ii, iii in an official IUCN Red List assessment.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. A-C.Habitat and field photo of Faramea baturitensis, Guaramiranga, Ceará State, Brazil. A. Branch with bud; B. Partial view of habitat: fragments of the ombrophilous forest; C. Habitat degradation due to cutting vegetation.(A. by J. Jardim; B. by V.S. Sampaio; C. by E.B. Souza.)