Agarista hispidula var. tomentosa (Ericaceae), a new variety from Minas Gerais, Brazil

Agarista (Ericaceae) is a Neotropical genus of subshrubs, shrubs and trees in Ericaceae, highly associated with tropical mountainous environments, especially the Campos Rupestres of the Cerrado domain in the Espinhaço Range, southeast Brazil. The genus comprises 35 species and six varieties. Minas Gerais state hosts a high richness of the genus, comprising 16 species, eight of them endemic. Here we indicate two partially geographically overlapping and morphologically characterized varieties, separable primarily by the indumentum on the abaxial leaf surface. The new variety Agarista hispidula var. tomentosa from Minas Gerais state is described here, and it is readily distinguished from Agarista hispidula var. hispidula by its dense layer of unicellular hairs on the abaxial leaf surface covering the abaxial epidermis. This character state is also found in three other species and two varieties of Agarista, and it may function in avoiding water loss. A detailed description and photograph plates are provided for the new variety. A key and a distribution map to the varieties of A. hispidula is also provided.