ABSTRACT
The Monimiaceae family includes 30 genera and about 400 trees or shrubs species distributed in tropical and undertropical regions, mainly in the South Hemisphere. In Brazil, it’s represented by 6 genera and about 95 species,Mollinedia and Siparuna are richest genera in species.Macropeplus a brasilian endemic genus, is restricted to high land areas, about a thousand meters of altitude, in stunted sparse forests, topical savannas and Atlantic forests located in the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Distrito Federal, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Since it’s creation, in the end of the last century, and until this work, it was considered monoespecific and an eight-variety genus. The present work recognizes 4 taxons that were raised to specie category: Macropeplus dentatus (Perkins) I. Santos & Peixoto, M. friburgensis (Perkins) I.Santos & Peixoto, M. ligustinus (Tul.) Perkins and M. schwackeanus (Perkins) I.Santos & Peixoto. The species are mainly distinct by leaves’ border consistence, as well as the dry leaves coloration, obtained in field or in laboratory. The floral laps length, the number of stames and the peduncle and pedicel length were also considered. M. ligustrinus the most distributed specie, occurring at Bahia, Minas Gerais, Goiás and Distrito Federal; M. friburgensis is restricted to Serra do Mar in the state of Rio de Janeiro, occurring at Nova Friburgo and Teresópolis municipal districts; M. schwackeanus is endemic of the state of Minas Gerais, occurring at Serra de Ouro Preto and Caparaó; M. dentatus occurs at Serra do Mar and Serra da Mantiqueira, in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. During the present work 9 field populations were located: 5 of M. ligustrinus, 1 of M. friburgensis and 3 of M. dentatus. No M. schwackeanus population can still be located in field.
Keywords:
Monimiaceae; Monimioideae; Macropeplus; Taxonomy