Vol. 75 No. 2 (2020)
Articles

The importance of rediscovering rare and endemic plants: Two species of Pleroma D.Don (Melastomataceae), an update of conservation status, and improved descriptions

PDF
  • Paulo José Fernandes Guimaraes,
  • Caio Baez,
  • Patrícia Rosa,
  • Gustavo Martinelli,
  • Diego Nunes da Silva
Paulo José Fernandes Guimaraes
Diretoria de Pesquisas Científicas (DIPEQ), Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão, 915, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22460-030, Brazil
Caio Baez
Diretoria de Pesquisas Científicas (DIPEQ), Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão, 915, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22460-030, Brazil
Patrícia Rosa
Diretoria de Pesquisas Científicas (DIPEQ), Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão, 915, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22460-030, Brazil
Gustavo Martinelli
Diretoria de Pesquisas Científicas (DIPEQ), Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão, 915, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22460-030, Brazil
Diego Nunes da Silva
Diretoria de Pesquisas Científicas (DIPEQ), Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão, 915, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22460-030, Brazil
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/jopt-8902

Published 2020-11-18

Keywords

  • Campo de altitude,
  • Linnean shortfall,
  • Melastomateae,
  • Serra dos Órgãos,
  • taxonomic inflation,
  • Wallacean shortfall
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Guimaraes, P. J. F., Baez, C., Rosa, P., Martinelli, G., & da Silva, D. N. (2020). The importance of rediscovering rare and endemic plants: Two species of Pleroma D.Don (Melastomataceae), an update of conservation status, and improved descriptions. Webbia, 75(2), 293–304. https://doi.org/10.36253/jopt-8902

Abstract

The remaining portion of Atlantic Forest in the state of Rio de Janeiro constitutes a strategic challenge in the conservation of the biome, by concentrating high richness and endemism of species that are distributed in distinct vegetative fragments covering the mountainous regions. In the state, the genus Pleroma presents a high diversity, currently 45 species, of which 14 are endemic and several of these have knowledge gaps. This paper aims to document rediscoveries in the Três Picos State Park of two species of Pleroma that had not been collected for 69 and 100 years respectively. These discoveries resulted from the actions of the National Center for Plant Conservation, a division of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden. Updated descriptions, geographic information and distribution maps, and cited collections for these two species of Pleroma are presented here together with an assessment of their current conservation status. Based on IUCN criteria, we recommend a classification of Critically Endangered (CR) and Endangered (EN) for Pleroma virgatum and P. elegans, respectively.

PDF