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During the development of the taxonomic treatment of Ernestia we came across a taxonomic novelty and a species for which taxonomic verification was needed from Colombia. Herein, we propose Ernestia rheophytica a new species belonging to the sensu stricto clade of the genus, and clarify the identity of Acisanthera goudotii, now treated as E. goudotii. We also clarify the status of the original material of E. goudotii and propose the lectotypification of E. ovata and its synonymization under E. goudotii. Ernestia rheophytica, as the name indicates, is a rheophytic species, a rare habit in Melastomataceae, especially in Marcetieae. 

Abstract PremiseA probe set was previously designed to target 384 nuclear loci in the Melastomataceae family; however, when trying to use it, we encountered several practical and conceptual problems, such as the presence of sequences in reverse complement, intronic regions with stop codons, and other issues. This raised concerns regarding the use of this probe set for sequence recovery in Melastomataceae. MethodsIn order to correct these issues, we cleaned the Melastomataceae probe set, extended it with additional sequences, and compared its performance with the original version. ResultsThe final probe set targets 396 putative nuclear loci represented by 6009 template sequences. The probe set has been made available, along with details on the cleaning process, for reproducibility. We show that the new probe set performs better than the original version in terms of sequence recovery. DiscussionThis updated, extended, and cleaned probe set will improve the availability of phylogenomic resources across the Melastomataceae family. It is fully compatible with sequence recovery and extraction pipelines. The cleaning process can also be applied to any plant‐targeting probe set that would need to be cleaned or updated if new genomic resources for the targeted taxa become available. 

Seven new Peruvian species of Blakea are described and illustrated here: Blakea eden, Blakea quinta, Blakea wilderi and Blakea yumi from the Department of Amazonas, Blakea pavida and Blakea rojasiae from the Departments of Amazonas and Cajamarca, and Blakea leoniae from the Departments of Amazonas and San Martin. Following IUCN criteria, we propose that most species should be considered as Endangered (EN) but for B. pavida, B. quinta and B. yumi, that should be recognized as Critically Endangered (CR) due to their restricted distributions and the intense ongoing human activity (agriculture and livestock) in their habitats. Additionally, we provide notes on the new records and species that have been published since Brako & Zarucchi’s checklist of the Peruvian flora in 1993, including the lectotypifications of Blakea brasiliensis, B. nareliana, and Topobea pittieri (B. henripittierii). Blakea gracilis and B. parvifolia are suggested to be excluded from Peru. Based on this, we present a list of 33 Blakea species currently accepted for Peru, 14 of which are endemic.   

A synopsis of the genus Meriania in Peru is presented here, where 36 species are recognized, 25 of which are endemic. This synopsis includes a key to the genera in the tribe Merianieae, a key to the recognized Meriania species for Peru, illustrations, comments on affinities, distribution and phenology, and nomenclatural notes. Peru is now the country with the second highest diversity of the genus. The departments in Peru with the highest number of species are Amazonas (18 species), Cajamarca (11 species) and San Martín (9 species), and 24 species are located within Amatope-Huancabamba Zone in northern Peru. Meriania in Peru is characterized by being trees and shrubs, lacking malpighiaceous trichomes, inflorescences panicles or rarely dichasia, or solitary, (4–)5–6-merous flowers, usually large, with lobed, subcalyptrate or calyptrate calyces with regular, irregular or circumscissile dehiscence, spreading to campanulate corollas, stamen connectives with dorsal and dorso-basal appendages, anthers usually with a dorsally inclined pore, and capsular fruits. We propose one new combination, Meriania sessilifolia (Cogn.) Rob.Fern., R.Goldenb. & Michelang. Lectotypes for Axinaea purpurea, Centronia sessilifolia. Graffenrieda acida, Meriania prunifolia, M. raimondii, M. rigida, M. rugosa, M. spruceana and Pachymeria rigida are also designated.