Lantana trifolia Linnaeus (1753: 626)

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 : 19

6.9. Lantana trifolia Linnaeus (1753: 626) . (Figs. 2B, 6E)

Shrubs 1‒1.5 m high, branches tetragonal, without prickles, densely strigose. Leaves 3-verticillate, petiole 3‒7.5 mm long; blade 5.5‒8.8 × 1.6‒4 cm, chartaceous, ovate, apex acute, base cuneate, margin entire near the base, crenate to serrate toward the apex, ciliate, adaxial surface opaque, strigose, slightly bullate, abaxial surface tomentose, abundant glandular sessile trichomes. Inflorescences 1.5‒2 cm long, rachis elongated up to 7 cm long in fructification, 1 per axil, peduncle 5.4‒7 cm long, strigose; bracts unequal, external 0.9‒1.1 cm long, oval-lanceolate, internal 5‒6.5 cm long, ovate, abaxial surface sericeous, glandular sessile trichomes present, margin ciliate; calyx 2‒2.5 mm long, truncate to 2-lobed, externally covered by glandular sessile trichomes, accrescent in fruit; corolla 4.5‒5 mm long, pink or lilac, throat yellow. Fruit 2.2‒2.3 mm long, external surface rugose, purple, surrounded by the persistent calyx.

Distribution and habitat:— Lantana trifolia is widely distributed throughout the Neotropical Region ( Silva & Lima 2012). In Brazil, it occurs in the Amazon Forest, Cerrado, and Atlantic Forest, and is considered an invasive and ruderal species ( Lorenzi 1991, Silva 1999, Silva & Lima 2012, Silva et al. 2020). This is the first record of L. trifolia in Espírito Santo, being found in disturbed areas of seasonal semideciduous forest. Not collected in SPAs in this state.

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

Preliminary conservation assessment: —This is a common species (ruderal), presents wide distribution ( Lorenzi 1991, Silva 1999, Silva & Lima 2012), being recorded inside PAs in South America. Considered “Least Concern” (LC) ( IUCN 2019).

Selected material:— BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Divino de São Lourenço , 23 January 2008, fl. and fr., L . Kollmann 10406 ( HUEFS, MBML); Santa Maria de Jetibá , 12 December 2016, fl. and fr., L . Kollmann 13278 ( CESJ, MBML) .

Notes:— Lantana trifolia is characterized by the branches without prickles; 3-verticillate leaves with acute apex and unequal bracts. It is similar to Lantana hypoleuca Briquet (1904: 1064) , a species distributed throughout the Distrito Federal, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro ( Silva et al. 2020), but differs by abaxial surface of leaf blade strigose, peduncles longer than 5 cm; external bracts 0.9‒1.1 cm long, and truncate to 2-lobed calyx (vs. abaxial surface of leaf blade glabrescent, peduncles up to 2 cm long; external bracts up to 7 mm long, and 4- toothed calyx in L. hypoleuca ).

Illustrations in Silva & Lima (2012).