Background:

Through field work in the municipality of Altotonga, Veracruz, populations of a species of the genus Matelea with a small flower were located. This entity did not match with the species reported for Mexico, but it is morphologically similar to M. anomala, which is endemic to Bolivia.

Questions:

Do the Altotonga Matelea populations correspond to a new species for science or it is a disjunct distribution of M. anomala?

Studied species:

Matelea sp. nov.

Study site and dates:

Pancho Poza River Reserve, Altotonga, Veracruz, Mexico.

Methods:

A morphological comparison was made with Mexican species of Matelea and with M. anomala, using the cohesive species concept.

Results:

Matelea lilliputiana is described as a new species to science, endemic to the municipality of Altotonga, Veracruz. It differs from M. anomala in having a 5-lobed gynostegial crown with bifurcate apices (vs. crown not clearly lobed and fimbriate margins in M. anomala), angular stipe (vs. cylindrical) and a densely pubescent-hirsute calyx (vs. glabrescent). Additionally, M. lilliputiana is endemic to Mexico and grows in pine-oak forest with mesophyll elements, while M. anomala is endemic to Bolivia and grows in seasonally dry scrub.

Conclusions:

With the present discovery, the state of Veracruz reaches 126 species of Apocynaceae, with five endemics. Worldwide, it is the second species of the genus with corollas less than 5 mm long and the first in Mexico.

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