Synopsis of Rubiaceae from the Iguaçu National Park, Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

Iguaçu National Park represents the largest fragment of Inland Atlantic Rainforest of Paraná state. The vegetation is predominantly seasonal semideciduous forest, in the areas of Foz do Iguaçu and Capanema and a transition of this with Araucaria forest, in the Céu Azul area. This work aimed to recognize the genera and species of Rubiaceae occurring in the Park, through monthly collections from August 2013 to July 2014, supplemented with sporadic collections from May 2018 to April 2019. Thirty-five species were recorded, belonging to 19 genera. The most representative genera were Palicourea and Psychotria with five species, Galianthe, Manettia, Borreria with three, Geophila and Coccocypselum with two, and the other genera with only one species each. The areas with the major species richness were Foz do Iguaçu, with 24, of which four are exclusive to this area, followed by Céu Azul with 22 species, of which eight are exclusive. Of the 35 species recorded, seven occur in all areas and in both forest formations, seven occur only in the Araucaria forest area, and 20 occur only in the seasonal semideciduous forest. Borreria orientalis is highlighted due to its restricted distribution in Brazil, occurring only in Paraná, and Manettia tweedieana is considered endangered.

Key words:
Seasonal Semideciduous forest; Araucaria Forest; taxonomy