The Cactaceae in the Parque Nacional de Boa Nova, Bahia State, Brazil

ABSTRACT

Comprising 1,850 accepted species, the Cactaceae are distributed primarily in the Americas. Brazil is the third largest diversity center for the family, with 277 species. Within this last center, the Parque Nacional de Boa Nova (PNBN), in eastern Bahia State, occupies an area of 12,065 ha. The vegetation of the PNBN includes a west-east ecotone where the Mata Atlântica is replaced by mata-de-cipó and, futher to the west, by Caatinga. As part of the Cactaceae Action plan of 2011, this work presents a taxonomic account of the Cactaceae found in the PNBN, aiming to expand the knowledge of the local flora of this area. Four collecting trips were carried out and the material was collected in random tracks throughout one year in different environments of the Park. Ten genera and 15 species were recorded: Arrojadoa penicillata, Brasilicereus phaeacanthus, Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis, Cereus jamacaru, Cereus sp., Melocactus ernestii, Pereskia aculeata, P. bahiensis, Pilosocereus catingicola, P. pentaedrophorusssp.robustus, Rhipsalis hileiabaiana, R. russellii, Stephanocereus leucostele, Tacinga funalis andT. werneri. Among the different vegetation types found in the PNBN, the mata-de-cipó and the Caatinga had a higher number of species, with eight and five species respectively, while the Mata Atlântica had a single species.

Keywords:
Atlantic Rainforest; Caatinga; Conservation Unit; floristic study