Verbenaceae J. St.-Hil. no Parque Estadual da Serra do Brigadeiro, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Abstract

Verbenaceae is included in the order Lamiales with 34 genera and approximately 800 species with greatest richness in the Neotropical Region. Brazil is an important center of diversity with several endemic taxa, distributed in the Espinhaço Range and Serra da Mantiqueira in Minas Gerais state. The Serra do Brigadeiro State Park (PESB) is located in the east of Serra da Mantiqueira, Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais, including forest formations like dense ombrophilous forest (montane and high montane), montane semideciduous seasonal forest and campos de altitude interspersed with areas disturbed especially by coffee cultivation. Four expeditions were carried out between 2022 and 2024 in the PESB area to collect botanical material and observe the species in the field. The collected material was herborized and deposited in the collection of the CESJ Herbarium of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora. To complement this analysis, the study included allVerbenaceae records for the PESB area found in the virtual herbarium collection platforms. Twelve taxa were found in five genera, with Lantana being the most numerous with five species, followed by Lippia (4 spp), Verbena (2 spp), Glandularia and Stachytarpheta (1 spp each). The species widely distributed in Tropical Region are Lantana camara, L. fucata, L. tiliifolia, L. trifolia, Lippia origanoides, Stachytarpheta cayennensis and Verbena litoralis, found on roadsides, trails and in anthropized areas. With distribution in South America, Verbena rigida occurs in campos de altitude in transition with semideciduous seasonal forests. The species endemic to Brazil are Glandularia lobata var. glabrata, Lantana nivea, L. robusta, Lippia mantiqueirae, with the latter being endemic of the Serra do Brigadeiro State Park and Caparaó National Park in the Serra da Mantiqueira in Minas Gerais state. The record of Lantana nivea Vent. confirms the occurrence of the species in Brazilian territory.