Agarista angustissima
Agarista angustissima is a narrow-leaved shrub in the heath family, Ericaceae. It is native to Minas Gerais in Brazil and is accepted as a distinct species by Kew.[1]
Appearance
The Serra do Cipó flora describes a shrub one to three metres tall, sometimes leaning on surrounding vegetation. Its leaves are folded lengthwise and usually only one to four millimetres wide. Their slender, flexible stalks help distinguish it from the similar Agarista duartei, which has shorter, rigid stalks and stiffer leaves.[2]
The flowers are cream-greenish or yellowish, with a fused petal tube six to eleven millimetres long. Brown, rounded capsules develop afterwards.[2]
Habitat and records
The 2014 flora places it in the Espinhaço Range, around Serra do Cipó and the Diamantina Plateau. In Serra do Cipó it grows among rocks or on stony ground that does not flood. Flowering specimens were recorded in March, May and August–November; fruiting specimens in February and August–November. These collection records are a regional guide, not evidence that flowering is confined to those months.[2]
A 2018 survey combining field collections and herbarium records listed the species in Diamantina and Serro. Its conservation table recorded it as not assessed under the sources consulted at that time. This does not establish that it is secure or supply a present-day threat category.[3]
Botanical name
Paul Taubert published the name in 1893. The original material came from a Glaziou collection made near Biribiri in March 1892. The plant was later placed in Leucothoe as Leucothoe angustissima; the current Kew treatment returns it to Agarista.[4][1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Agarista angustissima Taub. Plants of the World Online. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Romão, G. O. and Souza, V. C. (2014). Flora da Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais: Ericaceae. Boletim de Botânica da Universidade de São Paulo 32(1), 43–70; account 1.1, pp.44–46. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ Cruz, A. C. R., Nunes-Freitas, A. F. and Costa, F. N. (2018). Ericaceae na região central da Cadeia do Espinhaço, Minas Gerais, Brasil. Rodriguésia 69(4), 1789–1797; methods and table 1. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ Judd, W. S. Agarista angustissima. New York Botanical Garden, electronic treatment based on Flora Neotropica Monograph 66 (1995). Accessed 9 October 2026.