European Journal of Taxonomy (Apr 2017)

Description of 11 new Astiella (Spermacoceae, Rubiaceae) species endemic to Madagascar

  • Inge Groeninckx,
  • Steven Janssens,
  • Erik Smets,
  • Brecht Verstraete

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2017.312
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 0, no. 312

Abstract

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Astiella is an herbaceous genus endemic to Madagascar, originally described with a single species A. delicatula Jovet. Molecular and morphological evidence place it in the tribe Spermacoceae s. lat. of Rubiaceae. During herbarium studies and fieldwork in Madagascar, 11 new Astiella species were identified and these are described here: A. antongilensis Groeninckx sp. nov., A. antsalovansis Groeninckx sp. nov., A. confusa Groeninckx sp. nov., A. deblockiae Groeninckx sp. nov., A. desseinii Groeninckx sp. nov., A. homolleae Groeninckx sp. nov., A. latifolia Groeninckx sp. nov., A. longifimbria Groeninckx sp. nov., A. perrieri Groeninckx sp. nov., A. pulla Groeninckx sp. nov., and A. tsaratanensis Groeninckx sp. nov. The genus Astiella now holds 12 species in total that are all endemic to Madagascar.

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