Bromeliaceae of the Restingas of the State of Rio de Janeiro: Floristics and Phytogeography

Abstract

The sandy coastal plains (restingas) of Rio de Janeiro state occupy about 1.200km2 and, there, Bromeliaceae is one of the most important botanic family in species richness and ecological significance. The scarce knowledge about its biology and the habitat under anthropic pressure reinforce the importance of the present study. Floristics and geographical distribution were used to evaluate the similarity among the different restingas areas. The list of species was based on herbarium material, field works and bibliographic revision. Information about the distribution of each taxon was collected from national and foreign herbaria, as well as from literature. These data were plotted on maps. Sixty five species under 17 genera were found. Higher floristic similarity (>75%) was found among nearest geographically areas like Cabo Frio and Saquarema. Angra dos Reis region presents the lower similarity value (<35%) when compared to the other restinga areas. As previous authors have proposed, the phytogeographic analysis shows that the flora of the restinga would be originating from the stocks of the surrounding flora and, because of its recent formation, it is an area of few endemism. The presented data are of interest to solve taxonomic problems of some species and also to conserve ecologically important areas.