A New Species Of Sciodaphyllum (Araliaceae) From The Choc? Biogeographical Region In Colombia

The genus Sciodaphyllum P. Brown (1756: 190) was recently re-established (Lowry et al. 2019a) to include the most diverse clade of Neotropical species previously placed in Schefflera Forster & Forster (1776: 45). Two additional genera, Crepinella Marchal (1887: 194) and Didymopanax Decaisne & Planchon (1854: 109), were also reinstated to accommodate the diversity of Neotropical Schefflera (Lowry et al. 2019b, Fiaschi et al. 2020, Plunkett et al. 2019). The genus Sciodaphyllum is native to Central and South America, ranging from Nicaragua to Bolivia (Lowry etA new species of Sciodaphyllum (Araliaceae), S. pygmaeum, is described and illustrated from the basin of the Anchicay? River in the Choc? Biogeographical region of Colombia. This new species differs from other members of the genus by being a small monocaulous shrub, with hollow branches, tubular stipular ligules, and fewer secondary branches in the inflorescence. The conservation status of S. pygmaeum is accessed to be Least Concern (LC) according to IUCN categories and criteria.