Summit vascular flora of Serra de São José, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

The campos rupestres form a mosaic of rocky savannas concentrated mainly along the Espinhaço chain, on theBrazilian shield. Though the Serra de São José lies over 100 km to the south of the Espinhaço chain, the camporupestre flora of this small range harbors several endemic plant taxa. The provided checklist is the result of two decadesof floristic research complemented with data from herbaria and literature. The flora is compared with the results ofseveral other pertinent surveys. A total of 1,144 vascular plant species, representing 50.3 species/km2, were documentedto date in the São José range, representing a species-richness per unit area over five times greater than other knowncampo rupestre floras. The most species-rich families were the Asteraceae (126 species), Orchidaceae (106),Melastomataceae (63), Leguminosae (60), Cyperaceae (45), Poaceae (41), Rubiaceae (37), Myrtaceae (28),Bromeliaceae (27), Eriocaulaceae (23), Lamiaceae (23), and Malpighiaceae (22).