Malvaceae juss. na cidade de Caxias, Maranhão, Brasil

Abstract

The floristic survey is an important tool for obtaining more in-depth knowledge of plant formations and their distribution in the region where it is carried out. This work aimed to know the diversity of Malvaceae in the city of Caxias / MA, cataloging the species found and characterizing the morphological aspects through description, with the elaboration of na identification key for the studied species. Expeditions were carried out to observe, collect and identify botanical material in demarcated points (Inhamum Environmental Protection Area, Balneário Veneza and Morro do Alecrim) and random points in the city, after the species identification, the specimens underwent an taxonomic analysis , where the morphological characteristics were described. After the botanical description, an identification key was elaborated for the described species, using the characters that best identified the studied species. Thirty species were identified, distributed in 16 genera of seven subfamilies in the municipality of Caxias / MA. The most representative genera were Sida with nine species, followed by Helicteres with six species and Hibiscus with two species. The other genera presented one species each. In relation to the most abundant genera, the work is similar to other surveys of Malvaceae in the cerrado who also had the genus Sida as the most abundant followed by the genus Helicteres. From the data obtained, it can be inferred that the city of Caxias has a considerable diversity of Malvaceae species, despite the fact that the research had a break in several months of the year 2020 due to the pandemic of the new corona virus, which it made collections impossible and identification of some species. Finally, the results of the research will contribute to the knowledge of flora of the Caxias and East from Maranhão.