Ferns and lycophytes from Serra dos Carajás, an Eastern Amazonian mountain range

Abstract

In the state of Pará (Brazil), until the beginning of last decade little was known about the composition of the fern and lycophyte flora. The ferruginous mountains of Carajás are located in Southeastern Pará, mostly inserted in the Floresta Nacional de Carajás. The objective of this work is to present a complete and updated list of fern and lycophyte species occurring in all vegetation types from Carajás ferruginous mountains as a contribution to the knowledge of these plant groups from the Brazilian Amazon. The species list was based on specimens collected between 2007 and 2013. About 1068 specimens deposited in the BHCB Herbarium were studied. A total of 186 species of pteridophytes were recorded, 175 species of ferns distributed in 22 families and 68 genera, and 11 species of lycophytes distributed in three families and four genera. The fern and lycophyte flora of Serra dos Carajás region corresponds to 64% of the Pará state flora of these groups and 34% of the Brazilian Amazon fern and lycophyte flora. Seven taxa are presented as new records for Pará state: Asplenium abscissum, A. otites, A. praemorsum, Blechnum lanceola, Elaphoglossum minutum, Doryopteris collina, and Hemionitis tomentosa. Three species are endemic to Serra dos Carajás, Isoetes cangae, I. serracarajensis, and Selaginella stomatoloma.

Key words:
Amazonia; canga; FLONA Carajás; floristic; pteridophytes