A floristic survey was carried out in the Parque Estadual Intervales (PEI), Base Saibadela (24º14'08"S, 48º04'42"W), São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil. The PEI reserve, along with other conservation unities, compose the largest preserved area of Atlantic rain forest remained today. Monthly collections of botanical material were conducted from 1993 to 1997 and 1999 to 2002, mainly along trails and plots inside the forest. A total of 436 plant species, 74 monocots and 362 eudicotiledons (here including the parafiletic groups) were sampled, including five new species. The richness of the flora at Base Saibadela was similar to that observed for other Atlantic forest sites. The trees represented 57.1% of the species, followed by epiphytes (12.6%), lianas (10.3%), herbs (9.4%) and shrubs (9.2%). The families Myrtaceae (55), Rubiaceae (32), Fabaceae (25), Melastomataceae (23), Araceae (20), Lauraceae Orchidaceae and Solanaceae (14 species each one) showed the highest number of species. The genus Eugenia with 25 species was richest genera surveyed. Seed dispersal by animals was expressively higher than other modes, which comprises 80.7% of the 419 species where seed dispersal mode was determined, confirming the pattern found for other tropical wet forests, and highlighting the importance of plant-animal interactions to the Atlantic forest.
Biodiversity; tropical rainforest; Atlantic forest; floristic inventory; dispersion syndromes
