Turneraceae from Maranhão state, Brazil: taxonomic study and conservation

Norteastern Brazil, Piriqueta, taxonomy, Turnera.

Turneraceae includes 14 genera and 232 species, distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of America and Africa. In Brazil, Turneraceae is represented by the genera Oxossia L.Rocha., Piriqueta Aubl. and Turnera L., totaling 164 species, of which 116 are endemic in the country. In Maranhão, although in recent years many floristic works have emerged, taxonomic treatments focused on specific families are still scarce. Therefore, with the purpose of contributing to the knowledge of the Maranhense flora we conducted the taxonomic survey of the Turneraceae speciesfrom Maranhão. We present descriptions, identification key and updated comments of the geographical distribution. The geographical distribution of the species is in accordance with data from field expeditions and information of specimens in herbarium, and later represented in maps. The same distribution data were used to indicate conservation status according to the IUCN criteria. Turneraceae is represented in Maranhão by 21 species distributed in two genera: pyrinth with seven species and turnera with 14 species. Nine species (43%) are endemic from Brazil, including T. carolina M.J.C Silva & L. Rocha, described in Chapter 1 of this volume. Three species are first recorded for the state: Piriqueta guianensis N. E. Br., Turnera aurantiaca Benth. and Turnera blanchetiana Urb. Turnera aurantiaca is also a new occurrence for the northeast region of Brazil. Still, we expanded the distribution of the hitherto endemic, T. stipularis Urb. to the state of Pará.