We performed floristic surveys and characterized contiguous but physiognomically different restinga vegetation in Tamandaré municipality, Pernambuco State, and compared these floras with other restinga areas along the northeastern coast of Brazil. A total of 104 species were identified, in 88 genera and 54 families. The families with the most species were: Myrtaceae (seven), Fabaceae and Cyperaceae (six), and Euphorbiaceae (five). The restinga area studied had three different physiognomic types: nonflooded open grassland, nonflooded open shrubland, and nonflooded open forest. The most characteristic species were as follows: open grassland - Abildgaardia scirpoides Nees, Borreria verticillata (L.) G. Mey., Cuphea flava Spreng, Cyperus hermaphroditus (Jacq.) Standl.; open shrubland - Abarema cochliacarpos (Gomes) Barneby & J.W. Grimes, Byrsonima gardneriana Juss., Byrsonima sericea DC., Croton sellowii Baill., Stigmaphyllon paralias A. Juss.; and open forest - Andira nitida Mart. ex Benth., Manilkara salzmannii (A. DC.) H.J. Lam., Pera glabrata (Schott) Poepp. ex. Baill., Protium bahianum Daly, Saccoglotis mattogrossensis Malme. Cluster analysis showed two distinct floristic groups of restinga vegetation in northeastern Brazil - one formed by the restingas of Pernambuco (Sirinhaém, Tamandaré and Paiva (Cabo de Santo Agostinho)) and the other formed by the restingas of Pernambuco and Alagoas (Boa Viagem - Recife and Maceió).
physiognomy; floristics; northeastern Brazil; coastal vegetation
