Whiteheart

Description

Oxypetalum cordifolium subsp. harleyi Fontella & Goyder from the state of Bahia in NE Brazil is described and illustrated. The flabelliform lobes of the corona and the blade-like retinaculum indicate a close relationship not only with Oxypetalum cordifolium (Vent.) Schltr., but also O. mexiae Malme, O. pedicellatum Decne. and O. subriparium Malme. The characters used to distinguish these species are re-examined and the taxonomy of the group is revised. Five taxa are recognised and are treated as regional subspecies of O. cordifolium. The subspecies are largely allopatric, although at its southernmost limit (eastern Rio de Janeiro) the distribution of subsp. brasiliense converges with that of subsp. pedicellatum, and the local variant subsp. mexiae occurs at the northernmost limit of subsp. brasiliense (Vicosa in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais). Four new combinations are proposed and Gothofreda cordifolia Vent., the basionym of O. cordifolium, is lectotypified. A key to the five subspecies is presented.