ORCHIDACEAE JUSS. NA SERRA DE ITABAIANA, SERGIPE, BRASIL

Abstract

The Serra de Itabaiana is located near the coast of Sergipe, in the municipalities of Areia Branca and Itabaiana. It is part of the Parque Nacional Serra de Itabaiaba, which is characterized as being an ecotone. Orchidaceae Juss. is one of the most diverse families in the world and is the fourth richest in the study area. This paper presents a taxonomic survey of the orchids from the area. The fieldwork was carried out during july 2006 to january 2009 in several habitats of the study area and during the dry and rainy seasons. The vouchers are at UFP Herbarium, with duplicates at ASE, BHCB, HUEFS and RB. The current work registered 25 species belonging to 17 genera. Habenaria (5 spp.) and Epidendrum (3 spp.) were the most diverse. It represents around 70% of the total orchid species recorded for the State of which 14 are new records (see Flora of Brazil, www.jbrj.gov.br). The large number of orchid species, which five of them are endemic to Brazil supports the area as a Conservation Site and reinforces the needs for floristic-taxonomic inventories for a better knowledge of the real diversity of the family in the Brazilian Northeastern.