ABSTRACT
Senecio L. comprises 60 species in Brazil, distributed predominantly in high-elevation grasslands (campos de altitude) and rupestrian fields (campos rupestres) of South and Southeastern regions. This taxon has a problematic taxonomy, especially if we consider the South American and Brazilian species. This study contributes to the taxonomic knowledge of Senecio species occurring in the State of Rio de Janeiro and was based on field trips made by the first author, literature, and analysis of herbaria material. We registered 14 species, two of them, S. bonariensis Hook. & Arn. and S. juergensii Mattf., are new records for the State of Rio de Janeiro. These species are native and usually grow in mountainous areas or marshy environments. Among the species studied, 10 are endemic to Brazilian flora, four being restricted to the State of Rio de Janeiro. A key of identification, descriptions, illustrations, biogeographical and morphological comments, and phenology for each species are provided.
biodiversity; Compositae; flora; taxonomy
