Checklist of angiosperms from the Pedra Furada Municipal Park, northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Due to the scarcity of data on the biotic diversity of rocky outcrops, this work presents the checklist of flowering plants (angiosperms) from the Pedra Furada Municipal Park (8°34’30” S, 36°52’45” W; 3 ha), in the northeast region of Brazil. Random samples were carried out from Jan-Dec 1998 and 2004-2009, totaling 125 species and 44 families. Fabaceae (14 spp.), Euphorbiaceae (13), Convolvulaceae (10), Cyperaceae (7), Apocynaceae (6), Cactaceae (6) and Bromeliaceae (5) comprise about 50% of the species. Due to variations in the rock slope and soil depth, the plants are distributed throughout three environments: slopes (65 species), plateaus (39) and escarpments (5), with some of them occurring both in plateaus and slopes (17). Among the species of the park, some are endemic to the caatinga (e.g. Piptadenia stipulacea and Maytenus rigida), and others are restricted to rocky outcrop areas (Ameroglossum pernambucense and Pithecoseris pacourinoides), providing evidence of the park’s relevance to the preservation of the local flora.