Preeliminary studies on the genus Staelia (Spermacoceae, Rubiaceae)

SALAS, R.M.; CABRAL, E.L.

Leuven

Conferencia; Third International Rubiaceae Conference; 2006

National Garden of Belgium. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belguim

Staelia Cham. & Schltdt. is an American genus consisting of herbs or suffrutices. It differs from the other genera of the Spermacoceae by its fruits, which are dehiscent in three parts, two apical caducous pieces and one basal persistent piece. The genus consists of c. 14 species. Ten species, eight of which are endemic, occur in Brazil. The others are distributed in Argentina (2 species), Paraguay (2 species), Uruguay (2 species) and Bolivia (2 species). The taxonomic revision of the genus Staelia resulted in the description of five new taxa. Also, new combinations were made, new synonyms established and known geographical areas expanded. The present study further comprises an analysis of exomorphological, palynological and chromosome data. The pollen morphological study revealed uniformity in form, sculpture and structure of the pollen in most of the taxa. The chromosome numbers are consistent with the basic number reported for the tribe Spermacoceae.