Lantana radula Swartz (1788: 92)

Cardoso, Pedro Henrique, Valério, Vanessa Imaculada Dos Reis, Neto, Luiz Menini & Salimena, Fátima Regina Gonçalves, 2021, Verbenaceae in Espírito Santo, Brazil: richness, patterns of geographic distribution and conservation, Phytotaxa 484 (1), pp. 1-43 : 17

6.6. Lantana radula Swartz (1788: 92) . (Figs. 2B, 6C)

Shrubs 1.5‒2 m high, branches tetragonal, without prickles, hirsute, glandular sessile trichomes present. Leaves opposite, petiole 3‒6 mm long; blade 3.2‒7.4 × 2‒4.3 cm, chartaceous, ovate to elliptical, apex acute to acuminate, base obtuse, decurrent along the petiole, margin entire near the base, serrate toward the apex, ciliate, adaxial surface opaque, strigose, profoundly bullate, abaxial surface hirsute along the veins, densely covered by glandular sessile trichomes. Inflorescences 1.4‒1.8 cm long, rachis elongated up to 3.5 cm long in fructification, 1‒2 per axil, peduncle 3.2‒4 cm long, hirsute, glandular sessile trichomes present; bracts unequal, external 6‒8 mm long, obovate, internal 5‒6 mm long, ovate, abaxial surface, strigose, glandular sessile trichomes present, margin ciliate; calyx 1.4‒1.6 mm long, 4-toothed; externally hirsute, glandular sessile trichomes present, not accrescent in fruit; corolla 6.5‒8 mm long, white. Fruit ca. 4 mm long, vinaceous, external surface smooth.

Distribution and habitat:— Lantana radula is widely distributed throughout the Neotropical Region ( Silva 1999, Silva & Lima 2012). In Brazil, it occurs in the Caatinga, Cerrado, and Atlantic Forest, in the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Goiás, and Minas Gerais ( Silva et al. 2020). This is the first record of the species for the Espírito Santo state, in the municipality of Santa Teresa, found in dense rainforest. It was recorded in one SPA of this state, the Reserva Biológica Augusto Ruschi.

Phenology:— Collected with flowers in January, May, June, and December and with fruits in January, June, and December.

Preliminary conservation assessment: —This is a common species, presents wide distribution ( Silva 1999, Silva & Lima 2012), and occurs inside PAs in South America. Considered “Least Concern” (LC) ( IUCN 2019).

Selected material:— BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Santa Teresa , 10 May 1984, fl., W . A . Hoffmann 86 ( MBML); Santa Teresa , 16 June 1985, fl. and fr., H . Q .B. Fernandes 1259 ( MBML); Santa Teresa , 26 January 1986, fl. and fr., H . Q .B. Fernandes 1761 ( HUEFS, MBML); Santa Teresa, Reserva Biológica Augusto Ruschi , 5 December 2002, fl. and fr., L . Kollmann & E . Bausen 5824 ( CESJ, MBML) .

Notes:— Lantana radula is characterized by the hirsute branches; adaxial surface of the leaf blade profoundly bullate, abaxial surface hirsute along the veins, densely covered by glandular sessile trichomes, unequal bracts, and white corolla with yellow throat. It is similar to Lantana undulata , but can be differentiated by the hirsute branches; base of leaf blade obtuse and obovate external bracts (vs. sparsely strigose branches; base of the leaf blade cuneate and wide-ovate external bracts in L. undulata ).

Illustrations in Silva & Lima (2012).