Pteridoflora of the “Refúgio Ecológico Charles Darwin” (Igarassu, Pernambuco, Brazil)

Abstract

This paper presents a floristic survey of the pteridophytes of the “Refúgio Ecológico Charles Darwin”, located at the municipality of Igarassu, Pernambuco State, Brazil. This area is a remnant of the Atlantic forest, which has been preserved during the last 40 years. In order to contribute to the knowledge of the ferns and its ecological traits in Pernambuco, 13 field expeditions were made during a period of one year and a half. Thus observations and collection of plants were carried out, during the rainy and the dry seasons. Twenty one species were registered, distributed in 16 genera and 12 families: Thelypteridaceae (5 spp.), Polypodiaceae (3 spp.), Schizaeaceae (3 spp.), Blechnaceae (2 spp.), Aspleniaceae (1 sp.), Cyatheaceae (1 sp.), Davalliaceae (1 sp.), Dennstaedtiaceae (1 sp.), Dryopteridaceae (1 sp.), Pteridaceae (1 sp.), Selaginellaceae (1 sp.) and Vittariaceae (1 sp.). It was registered a new reference for the northeastern Brazil: Schizaea subtrijuga Mart. The local pteridophyte species are preferentially herbaceous, terrestrial, hemicryptophyte, inhabiting the interior of the forest, as ciophilous. Despite most of the species is widely distributed in the state, the occurrence of species not frequently registered in remnants of Atlantic forest in Pernambuco, as Cyclodium meniscioides (Willd.) C. Presl, Salpichlaena volubilis (Kaulf.) J. Sm., Polypodium aureum L. var. aureum and Selaginella dendricola Jenman, and the new reference for the northeastern Brazil enhance the importance of this pteridoflora.