Salacia delicatula (Celastraceae: Salacioideae), a new, pauciflorous species endemic to Bahia State, Brazil

Summary A new species of Salacia (Celastraceae, Salacioideae) from southwestern Bahia, Brazil, is described here. Salacia delicatula Lombardi & Biral belongs to “core Salacia ” clade, characterised by rotaceous flowers with a flat disc, grouped in pauciflorous inflorescences. The new species is distinguished by its unique combination of pilose branches, pauciflorous pedunculate inflorescences and long-pedicellate flowers. It resembles S. arborea (Schrank) Peyr. and S. krigsneri Lombardi, both endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, by its few-flowered (1 – 3) inflorescences with a short peduncle (1 – 5.8 mm long), but differs from these by its indumentum, composed of scabrous, ivory trichomes on reddish twigs and the pedicel length, which is always longer than the peduncle (8 – 12.5 mm long). Salacia delicatula is endemic to the mata de cipó , a Montane Seasonal Deciduous Forest with many lianas, and is known from only two, small populations located outside protected areas. Although still poorly known in the wild, the available data indicate that S. delicatula has a restricted geographic distribution, with a small area of occupancy and extent of occurrence, few known locations, and ongoing anthropogenic pressure on its habitat; it is, therefore, here provisionally assessed as Endangered sensu IUCN.