Serra da Pedra Branca (SPB) is a mountain range located in the Southwestern portion of the state Minas Gerais, in the municipality of Caldas (21°58'-21°55'S, 46°24'-46°22'W). It is a striking feature in the landscape, between 1100 and 1780 m.s.m., in a region that is part of the Atlantic Forest Domain and is considered as a priority area for conservation of the flora in Minas Gerais state. The vegetation is composed by a mosaic of "campo de altitude" (which occupy the greatest extension in the area), Seasonal Semidecidual Montane Forest, Dense Ombrophilous High-Montane Forest and Mixed Ombrophilous Forest. The aims of this study was the elaboration of a floristic survey of SPB added to the specimens collected by Anders Fredrik Regnell in the nineteenth century in Caldas and to analyze its floristic similarity with altitude areas of the Southeastern Region of Brazil. There were recorded 502 vascular plant species, distributed in 274 genera and 100 families. The majority of recorded species present herbaceous habit, terricolous, saxicolous and/or rupicolous (representing around 58% of recorded species), predominantly occurring in the "campo de altitude" (ca. 46%). The richest families were Polypodiaceae (20 spp.) and Dryopteridaceae (10 spp.) among the ferns, and Orchidaceae (56 spp.), Asteraceae (27 spp.) and Fabaceae (26 spp.) among the angiosperms. Just one species of gymnosperm was recorded, Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze (Araucariaceae). Five new records were made for the Minas Gerais flora, 13 species are cited as threatened with extinction in the state and at least six are endemic to SPB. Amongst 127 species collected in XIX century in the region, only 29 collected again, while 375 new records were made for SPB. The analysis of floristic similarity performed between the flora of SPB and other altitude areas of Southeastern Region revealed isolation of SPB in relation to other areas, highlighting its floristic peculiarity, which can probably be explained by its location in a distinct hydrographic basin. The vegetation of the SPB must be considered as endangered since the presence of endemic species and/or threatened species, associated with local environmental conditions suffering accelerated rate of destruction, highlight the need for urgent actions to preserve local biodiversity.
RESUMO A Serra da Pedra Branca (SPB) localiza-se no sul do Estado de Minas Gerais, no município de Caldas (21°58’-21°55’S e 46°24’-46°22’W). Inserida no Domínio Atlântico e considerada área prioritária para a conservação da flora no Estado de Minas Gerais, é uma feição marcante no relevo, com cotas altimétricas entre 1100 e 1780 m.s.m. Apresenta um mosaico composto por campos de altitude (o qual ocupa maior extensão na área), Floresta Estacional Semidecidual Montana, Floresta Ombrófila Densa Alto-Montana e Floresta Ombrófila Mista. A família Gesneriaceae está representada na SPB por cinco espécies do gênero Sinningia: S. aggregata (Ker Gawl.) Wiehler, S. allagophylla (Mart.) Wiehler, S. douglasii (Lindl) Chautems, S. magnifica (Otto & A.Dietr.) Wiehler) e S. striata (Fritsch) Chautems. São apresentadas chave de identificação, descrições morfológicas, ilustrações, comentários ecológicos, taxonômicos e de distribuição geográfica das espécies.
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