Araceae from Caparaó National Park, MG-ES, Brazil

Abstract

Araceae is among the families with the highest species richness for the Atlantic Forest biome and is characterized by the presence of spadix and associated to a bract, the spathe. This work aims to inventory the species of Araceae of the Caparaó National Park, with key identification, descriptions and diagnostic illustrations of the species. For that, we carried out collection expeditions in the months of January, April and November of 2017, in different trails, altitudes and vegetation formations of ParNa. The collected material was deposited in the RB herbaria and the duplicates sent to the UNOP herbaria. These were analyzed in addition to samples available on sites of speciesLink, Jabot and Herbal Virtual-Reflora. We found twenty one native species to the Atlantic Forest, distributed in four genera, the most representative being Anthurium and Philodendron with nine species each. In addition, two new records for Brazilian states (Xanthosoma maximilianii for Espírito Santo and Philodendron acutatum for Minas Gerais), an endemic species of this Conservation unit (A. mourae) and three new species for science, were evidenced. These results reinforce the importance of floristic studies and the conservation of ParNa Caparaó.

Key words:
semideciduos seasonal forest; dense ombrophilous forest; inventory of flora; conservation unit