Spigelia genuflexa (Loganiaceae), a new geocarpic species from the Atlantic forest of northeastern Bahia, Brazil

Abstract. A new species of Spigelia L. (Loganiaceae), Spigelia genuflexa Popovkin & Struwe, sp. n., from the Atlantic forest of northeastern Bahia, Brazil, is described, being the first reported geocarpic species in the family. During fruit maturation, the basal infructescences bend down towards the ground, depositing the fruit on the surface (and burying it in soft kinds of ground cover, e.g., moss), whereas the upper ones do so slightly but noticeably. The species is a short-lived annual apparently restricted to sandy-soil habitat of the Atlantic forest of northeastern Bahia, with variable and heterogeneous microenvironment and is known from only two restricted localities. A short review of amphi- and geocarpic species is provided. A discussion of comparative morphology within Spigelia with regards to dwarfism, indumentum, and annual habit is included. A phylogenetic parsimony and Bayesian analysis of ITS sequences from 15 Spigelia species plus 17 outgroups in Loganiaceae confirms its independent taxonomic status: on the basis of sequence similarity and phylogenetic topology it is phylogenetically distinct from all Spigelia species sequenced so far.