Flora of the canga of the Serra dos Carajás, Pará, Brazil: Erythroxylaceae

Abstract

This work presents a floristic survey of Erythroxylaceae from the canga vegetation of Serra dos Carajás in the state of Pará, Brazil. Within the study area, the family is represented by nine species of Erythroxylum: Erythroxylum carajasense, E. citrifolium, E. leptoneurum, E. macrophyllum, E. mucronatum, E. nelson-rosae, E. rufum, E. squamatum and E. subracemosum. Erythroxylum carajasense and E. nelson-rosae, both endemic to the ferruginous formations of the Serra dos Carajás, are here evaluated as Endangered (EN) according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Morphological descriptions, comments on geographic distribution and preferred habitat are provided, as well as illustrations of the main features for species identification. Additionally, E. ligustrinum var. carajasense Plowman was raised to the specific rank.