The importance of the Parque Nacional da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, for the conservation of Euphorbiaceae in Brazil

Abstract

The Brazilian flora is the richest in the world, where Euphorbiaceae are among the 10 most representative families. For the knowledge about this expressive diversity, the herbaria collections are the main repositories that hold information. The conservation of flora is directly related to the protection of species in situ, and the Conservation Units play this role effectively. Based on field collections and the study of herborized collections, the number of taxa referring to Euphorbiaceae with occurrence in Tijuca National Park (PNT), located in the metropolitan region of the city of Rio de Janeiro, was catalogued. In this study, we registered in Tijuca National Park the second largest number of Euphorbiaceae taxa ever documented in Brazilian conservation units. 385 collections were registered, representing 54 species and 28 genera of the family. Furthermore, the taxa documented in PNT represent 42% of the Euphorbiaceae genera that occur in Brazil and 74% of the genera that occur in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Of the species registered in the PNT, 52% are endemic to Brazil, 40% endemic to the Atlantic Forest, and 4% are endemic to the state of Rio de Janeiro.