Lythraceae J.St.-Hil. nas Serras de São José e Lenheiro, Minas Gerais

Abstract

Lythraceae comprises approximately 600 species distributed among 28 currently accepted genera, with a predominantly pantropical distribution. In Brazil, the number of species is 244 (including native, naturalized, and cultivated ones), distributed among 15 genera and occurring in open dry, humid to aquatic environments, and rarely in forested areas, especially within the Campo Rupestre and Cerrado biomes. Owing to the diversity of species within the family, it is necessary to undertake taxonomic treatments in order to minimize identification errors. Considering that in the Serra de São José and Serra do Lenheiro, located in southern Minas Gerais, only broad floristic studies have been conducted, the main objective of this study is to carry out a taxonomic treatment of Lythraceae in this region. For data collection, studies were conducted on specimens deposited in herbaria, allowing for the correction and updating of identifications, as well as fieldwork to search for possible uncollected species. Finally, we present a taxonomic treatment of the seven species of the family occurring in the Serra de São José and Serra do Lenheiro, belonging to three genera, providing morphological descriptions, illustrations, and identification keys for these species, along with information on the conservation of potentially threatened taxa.