Agarista pulchra
Agarista pulchra is a small shrub of Brazil, belonging to the heath family, Ericaceae. The 2023 Bahia flora reports it from Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest regions.[1]
Appearance
The Bahia flora describes shrubs about one metre tall. The leathery, oval to oblong leaves have smooth, flat edges. White flowers have joined petals forming a tube or narrow urn, six to ten millimetres long. The fruit is a small rounded to egg-shaped capsule.[1]
The Bahia flora distinguishes it from the similar Agarista coriifolia partly by its longer style.[1]
Habitat and seasonal records
Within Bahia, it grows in sandy grassland, rocky open cerrado, upland rocky vegetation and rock outcrops. The flora reports flowering and fruiting from June to October and December to January, based on the regional material reviewed.[1]
Judd's earlier treatment records iron-rich soils in open grassland, on slopes and in low woodland and thickets. It limits the species to a small area of south-central Minas Gerais; the later Bahia flora documents a broader range, including specimens from Abaíra and Lençóis.[2][1]
Botanical names
Kew accepts the name Agarista pulchra G.Don, published in 1834. It lists Andromeda pulchra, Leucothoe pulchra and Gaylussacia leptobotrys among its synonyms.[3]
The Bahia flora treats Agarista pulchella as a separate species.[1] A 2023 nomenclatural study designated a lectotype for A. pulchra, selecting reference material to fix the application of its name; the publisher's abstract records that action.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Sampaio, A. A., Romão, G. O., Dórea, M. C. and Oliveira, R. P. (2023). Flora da Bahia: Agarista (Ericaceae). Sitientibus série Ciências Biológicas 23; account6, p.8; doi:10.13102/scb9151. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ Judd, W. S. Agarista pulchra. New York Botanical Garden, electronic treatment based on Flora Neotropica Monograph 66 (1995). Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Agarista pulchra G.Don. Plants of the World Online. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ Dalastra, C. H. and Heiden, G. (2023). Typifications and nomenclatural notes on Agarista (Ericaceae, Vaccinioideae, Lyonieae). Phytotaxa 618(1), 1–17; publisher abstract; doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.618.1.1. Accessed 9 October 2026.