taxonID	type	description	language	source
B53B87D9FF9BFFFFFF6A2AF6D7924548.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis: Staelia fimbriata differs from other species by having up to 12 stipular fimbriae on each side of the stem, corolla 3 – 4 mm long with a ring of trichomes internally on the tube below the stamens insertion area, then scattered trichomes through the tube, and capsule 1.9 – 2.1 mm long.	en	Zavatin, Danilo Alvarenga, Ramos, Renato, Prado, Jefferson, Salas, Roberto Manuel, Carmo, João Afonso Martins Do (2025): Staelia fimbriata, a new species of Rubiaceae (Spermacoceae) from the Espinhaço Range of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Phytotaxa 720 (1): 46-56, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4
B53B87D9FF9BFFFFFF6A2AF6D7924548.taxon	materials_examined	Type: — BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Monte Azul, Serra dos Marombas, 15 ° 08 ’ 24.5 ” S, 42 ° 47 ’ 26.6 ” W, 1100 m, 1 August 2024, D. A. Zavatin et al. 2286 (holotype SPF!, isotypes to be distributed to: BHCB, CTES, MEXU, RB, UEC).	en	Zavatin, Danilo Alvarenga, Ramos, Renato, Prado, Jefferson, Salas, Roberto Manuel, Carmo, João Afonso Martins Do (2025): Staelia fimbriata, a new species of Rubiaceae (Spermacoceae) from the Espinhaço Range of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Phytotaxa 720 (1): 46-56, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4
B53B87D9FF9BFFFFFF6A2AF6D7924548.taxon	description	Subshrubs 30 – 80 cm tall, roots woody. Stems branched from half of the plant height to the apex, erect, internodes 4 – 5 mm long, subcylindrical, becoming subtriangular on the nodes, older branches pubescent, younger branches puberulous and pilose, green-blackish when dried, purplish on the nodes. Leaves verticillate, sessile, 1.9 – 2.9 × 0.3 – 0.5 mm, leaf blade elliptic-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, base smoothly wide, apex acuminate, adaxial and abaxial surface glabrous, puberulous, or pubescent, margin glabrate or pubescent, trichomes usually grouped in patches scattered on the leaf blade, slightly succulent, veins inconspicuous with axillary brachyblasts forming fascicles. Stipular sheaths 0.3 – 0.6 mm long, glabrous or glabrescent, truncate, margin entire or with 1 – 2 hyaline trichomes on each side, ca. 0.2 mm long, 2 – 12 fimbriate on each side of the stem, fimbriae 0.4 – 0.7 mm long, narrowly triangular to triangular or subulate, glabrous or with 1 – 2 glutinous trichomes at the apex, colleter-tipped. Flowering branches indeterminate, inflorescences in glomerules, 5 – 15 per flowering branch, axillary, 6 – 10 mm diam., subglobose, bracts elliptical, foliaceous, bracteoles reduced, filiform, colleter tipped. Flowers sessile, homostylous; hypanthium obovoid, pubescent, calyx 2 - lobate, calyx tube ca. 1 mm long, lobes 1.8 – 2.9 mm long, narrowly triangular, acuminate, triangular, acuminate, margin pilose, glabrous to glabrescent, half of the corolla length, with 1 or 2 colleters between the lobes; corolla 3 – 4 mm long, white, with a ring of moniliform trichomes internally on the throat below the stamens insertion, some trichomes scattered on the throat, pubescent externally; stamens longer than the corolla lobes, anthers 0.8 – 1 mm long; style 4 – 5 mm long, stigma bifid, papillate, nectariferous disk entire. Capsules 1.9 – 2.1 mm long, pubescent, calyx lobe ¾ the length of the capsule. Seeds 0.8 – 0.9 mm long, obovoid, ventral surface with a longitudinal groove and persistent strophiole, dorsal surface convex, blackish, testa reticulate papillate on the ventral surface, reticulate foveate on the dorsal surface, cells irregular, isodiametric or polygonal.	en	Zavatin, Danilo Alvarenga, Ramos, Renato, Prado, Jefferson, Salas, Roberto Manuel, Carmo, João Afonso Martins Do (2025): Staelia fimbriata, a new species of Rubiaceae (Spermacoceae) from the Espinhaço Range of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Phytotaxa 720 (1): 46-56, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4
B53B87D9FF9BFFFFFF6A2AF6D7924548.taxon	biology_ecology	Phenology: — Materials were collected with flowers and fruits in April and August.	en	Zavatin, Danilo Alvarenga, Ramos, Renato, Prado, Jefferson, Salas, Roberto Manuel, Carmo, João Afonso Martins Do (2025): Staelia fimbriata, a new species of Rubiaceae (Spermacoceae) from the Espinhaço Range of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Phytotaxa 720 (1): 46-56, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4
B53B87D9FF9BFFFFFF6A2AF6D7924548.taxon	etymology	Etymology: — The epithet of this species comes from the Latin word ‘ fimbria’ referring to the numerous stipular fimbriae on the stem, which can be up to 12 per side.	en	Zavatin, Danilo Alvarenga, Ramos, Renato, Prado, Jefferson, Salas, Roberto Manuel, Carmo, João Afonso Martins Do (2025): Staelia fimbriata, a new species of Rubiaceae (Spermacoceae) from the Espinhaço Range of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Phytotaxa 720 (1): 46-56, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4
B53B87D9FF9BFFFFFF6A2AF6D7924548.taxon	distribution	Habitat and Distribution: — Staelia fimbriata grows in deep soils of white quartz sand, in places locally called “ areal ” or “ areinha branca ” in the municipality of Monte Azul, Minas Gerais. These areas are characterized by sparse vegetation, with a low density of individuals, as exposed soil predominates (Fig. 3). These environments are isolated at altitudes between 1,100 and 1,300 m, distributed non-contiguously, with patches of the soil of up to two hectares. Thus, we consider that the areas in the region were well sampled, corroborated by a survey in herbaria, which allows us to consider that this is a microendemic species until now (Fig. 4). The sandy formations are in depressions amidst rocky outcrops resembling dunes, and the wind acts in the transport and weathering off the surrounding rocks, forming rocky complexes isolated by savanna vegetation (Fig. 5 A). Fieldwork in this region has occurred predominantly recently in the last five years, and the sandbanks were always prioritized in botanists’ searches. As it is a perennial species, finding S. fimbriata is possible because the plant can be recognized even if sterile.	en	Zavatin, Danilo Alvarenga, Ramos, Renato, Prado, Jefferson, Salas, Roberto Manuel, Carmo, João Afonso Martins Do (2025): Staelia fimbriata, a new species of Rubiaceae (Spermacoceae) from the Espinhaço Range of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Phytotaxa 720 (1): 46-56, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4
B53B87D9FF9BFFFFFF6A2AF6D7924548.taxon	conservation	Preliminary conservation status: — Staelia fimbriata is considered microendemic to Serra das Marombas in Monte Azul, found in two subpopulations totalling an AOO of 8 km 2. EOO was not measured as it need at least three occurrences to do so. Fire frequency is low in the habitats where S. fimbriata occurs, probably due to the isolation by rocks and scant vegetation cover (Fig. 5 B). The main impact perceived in the region is trampling of the sandy areas, where drastic impacts to the low vegetation coverage occurs, as they are used as a form of predatory tourism attracted by the uniqueness of the sands, especially in the Serra de Montevidéu. In trampled areas, it is also possible to notice an even lower density of the existing herbaceous shrub vegetation. As those areas are extremely restricted, with small superficies, it was possible to count population size, notoriously less than 50, which permits to adopt C criteria (IUCN 2024). New species recently described for the region have indicated the same pattern of low numbers of individuals of shrub species, even in different kind of substrate (Zavatin et al. 2023), such as Chionanthus monteazulensis Zavatin & Lombardi (2023: 290), with 28 individuals counted in the field until September 2024 (Zavatin et al. 2023). Besides, it is possible to project a decline by other drastic sources of impact that are in progress, as plans for quartzite mining which are underway in both subpopulations areas (Fig. 5 C). At the same time, the future implementation of wind farms may cause damage to the vegetation by opening access roads and installing turbines (Fig. 5 D). Considering these aspects, this species can be indicated as Critically Endangered (CR), according to criteria B 2 ab (ii, iii, iv, v) C 2 a (i) D.	en	Zavatin, Danilo Alvarenga, Ramos, Renato, Prado, Jefferson, Salas, Roberto Manuel, Carmo, João Afonso Martins Do (2025): Staelia fimbriata, a new species of Rubiaceae (Spermacoceae) from the Espinhaço Range of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Phytotaxa 720 (1): 46-56, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4
B53B87D9FF9BFFFFFF6A2AF6D7924548.taxon	discussion	Similar species and remarks: — Staelia fimbriata is morphologically similar to S. glandulosa R. M. Salas & E. L. Cabral (2012: 507), S. hatschbachii Kirkbride (1997: 376), and S. thymbroides Schumann (1888: 77) mainly by the verticillate leaves and colour of the corolla. However, S. fimbriata can be distinguished from S. glandulosa by the branches without superficial glutinous trichomes (vs. glutinous sticky surface all over the entire individuals of S. glandulosa, a secretion from vascularized coleters) and the corolla throat with a ring of trichomes in the tube at the stamens insertion area, then scattered through the tube (vs. a ring of trichomes in the middle of the tube, then glabrous); from S. hatschbachii by the slightly succulent leaves (vs. leathery), the up to 12 stipular fimbriae (vs. 3 of S. hatschbachii), the corolla length 3 – 4 mm (vs. 1.8 – 2.2 mm 3 of S. hatschbachii), the corolla throat with a ring of trichomes in the tube at the stamens insertion area, then scattered through the tube (vs. a ring of trichomes in the tube at the stamens insertion area, then glabrous 3 of S. hatschbachii) and the capsule length 1.9 – 2.1 mm (vs. 0.9 – 1.1 mm 3 of S. hatschbachii); and from S. thymbroides by the plants 30 – 80 cm tall (vs. 20 – 25 cm of S. thymbroides), the corolla length 3 – 4 mm (vs. 4 – 5 mm of S. thymbroides), the corolla colour white (vs. whole corolla lilac or blue or bicolor, with lilac or blue corolla lobes of S. thymbroides) and the corolla throat with a ring of trichomes in the tube at the stamens insertion area, then scattered through the tube (vs. two rings of trichomes in the tube, then scattered between them of S. thymbroides) (Table 1).	en	Zavatin, Danilo Alvarenga, Ramos, Renato, Prado, Jefferson, Salas, Roberto Manuel, Carmo, João Afonso Martins Do (2025): Staelia fimbriata, a new species of Rubiaceae (Spermacoceae) from the Espinhaço Range of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Phytotaxa 720 (1): 46-56, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4
B53B87D9FF9BFFFFFF6A2AF6D7924548.taxon	materials_examined	Additional specimens examined (paratypes): — BRAZIL. Monte Azul: Serra das Marombas, 15 ° 08 ’ 24.5 ” S, 42 ° 47 ’ 26.6 ” W, 1160 m, 25 April 2023, D. A. Zavatin et al. 1616 (SPF!); Serra de Montevideo, Morro das Marombas, 15 ° 08 ’ 29 ” S, 42 ° 47 ’ 28 ” W, 1180 m, 7 August 2021, G. Martinelli et al. 21703 (RB 0144483!); Serra de Montevideo, Morro das Marombas, 10 ° 08 ’ 33 ” S, 42 ° 47 ’ 28 ” W, 1134 m, 9 April 2022, M. Verdi et al. 9138 (SPF! RB 01477840!).	en	Zavatin, Danilo Alvarenga, Ramos, Renato, Prado, Jefferson, Salas, Roberto Manuel, Carmo, João Afonso Martins Do (2025): Staelia fimbriata, a new species of Rubiaceae (Spermacoceae) from the Espinhaço Range of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Phytotaxa 720 (1): 46-56, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.720.1.4
