RESEARCH PAPER First record of Pleroma boraceiense (Brade) P.J.F. Guim. & Justino (Melastomataceae) in Minas Gerais state, Brazil Luciana Leit ~ ao Justino 1 , Berenice Chiavegatto Campos 2 ,F  atima Regina Gonc ß alves Salimena 1 , Daniel Elias Ferreira Barbosa 1 , Paulo Jos  e Fernandes Guimar ~ aes 3 , Marinez Ferreira de Siqueira 3 1 Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Programa de P os-graduac ß~ ao em Ecologia, Campus Universit  ario, Martelos, 36036-900, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil 2 Centro de Ensino Superior de Juiz de Fora, Campus Arnaldo Janssen, Luz Interior 345, Santa Luzia, 36030-776, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil 3 Escola Nacional de Bot^ anica Tropical, ENBT-JBRJ, Pacheco Le~ ao 2040, Solar Imperatriz, Horto, 22460-036, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil This paper presents the first record of Pleroma boraceiense in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. This new occurrence is significant because the species had a restricted original distribution with about 10 gatherings in S~ ao Paulo State, in the Serra do Mar. On the other hand, a previous study showed a low floristic similarity between the Melastomataceae flora of the Serra do Mar State Park and that of Serra Negra region. In order to evaluate the environ- mental similarity, a predictive species distribution modelling has been developed. The gath- ering site in Minas Gerais (RPPN Mato Limpo) showed high suitability. It suggests the need for creation of protected areas in Serra Negra, since the region is suffering environ- mental impacts. Based on the recent phylogeny of the Melastomateae tribe and for the purpose of correct classification of the studied species, a new combination was made for Pleroma boraceiense. Keywords: Atlantic Forest, conservation, Melastomateae, Serra Negra, Tibouchina Submitted: March 5, 2018 Revised: June 13, 2018 Accepted: September 30, 2018 1 Introduction The Atlantic Forest stands out for the richness of its flora, being considered one of the richest biodiversity ecosystems in the world (Stehmann et al. 2009), with 15,444 species of angiosperms distributed in 2,069 gen- era and 218 families (Flora do Brasil 2020). Of the 14,552 vascular species found in the Atlantic Domain, 6,933 are endemic, which leads us to conclude that half of all this diversity is exclusive, and corresponds to almost 2% of the Earth’s plant species (Stehmann et al. 2009). The Melastomataceae A. Juss. family is the sev- enth most diverse with 581 species (Flora do Brasil 2020). In contrast to all this wealth, the Atlantic Forest is currently reduced to less than 8% of its original cover- age due to factors such as deforestation, agriculture, hunting, mining and disorderly urban growth (BRASIL 2010). Serra Negra stands out as an important remnant of the Atlantic Forest located in the southern part of the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais state, in the Mantiqueira Range region, and is composed of a mosaic of forest and grasslands vegetation, sheltering high diversity and numerous endemisms (Salimena et al. 2013). The region flora is represented by 1,033 taxa and 469 genera and, of this total, five species of phanero- gams are endemic to the area and 58 are listed in the list of endangered species of Minas Gerais (Salimena Correspondence: Luciana Leit~ ao Justino, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Programa de P os-graduac ß~ ao em Ecologia, Campus Universit ario, Martelos, 36036-900, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil Email: luciana_lj@hotmail.com © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 233 Feddes Repertorium 2018, 129, 233–240 DOI: 10.1002/fedr.201800005