"Poaceae Barnhat in the Caxiuanã National Forest, Eastern Amazon, Brazil"
Gramineae, Pará, taxonomy, North region, conservation
Poaceae is a family of flowering plants with about 11,000-11,500 species distributed globally, with great diversity in the tropics. It occurs in the most varied ecosystems and plant formations, showing great variation in habit and life forms and widely used in the human diet (cereals such as rice, wheat and oats), as well as ornamental plants and forage in agriculture. Taxonomic studies on the family have intensified in Brazil in recent years, however, in the North region they still incipient. In this context, the aim of the present study was to carry out a taxonomic study of Poaceae in the Caxiuanã National Forest (CNF), Pará, Brazil, as a way of contributing to the knowledge of grasses in the Amazon, as well as to the knowledge of the flora of this biome. The CNF is located in the north of the state of Pará and has about 330,000 hectares. The climate is of the Am type, humid tropical, with great annual precipitation. The vegetation is predominantly composed of Terra Firme Forests, in addition to having Igapó, Várzea Forests, some Campinaranas and aquatic vegetation. The collections were carried out by exploratory walks, following the usual methodologies of collection and herborization. The material was identified with the help of specialized literature. Thirty-nine species were found, of which Bambusoideae and Panicoideae were the most rich subfamilies, with 16 species each. The genus with most richness was Pariana Aubl., with eight species. More than 50% of the species on the list occur in Terra Firme forests, which correspond to most part of the Caxiuanã National Forest. Identification keys for genera and species are presented, as well as descriptions, illustrations and photographs.