Bignoniaceae da Serra do Teixeira, Paraíba: taxonomia, distribuição geográfica e conservação.

Abstract

The family Bignoniaceae has about 830 species distributed in 82 genera with a predominantly Pantropical distribution in the Neotropics, this region being the main center of diversity of the family, with about 80% of the species. The family is divided into six monophyletic tribes and two informal clades, of which three were found in the study area, Serra de Teixeira, PB-Brazil: Tribe Bignonieae, Tabebuia Alliance and Jacarandeae. The tribe Bignonieae includes about 50% of the species so far described for the family, being the most diverse clade of lianas in Neotropical forests. The Tabebuia alliance has about 14 genera with 147 species, making it the largest clade in the family. Jacarandeae has only two genera with about 50 species, being a sister group to the other species in the family. Half of the species diversity of Bignoniaceae occurs in the Northeast region of the country and even though the number of studies on the family has increased in this region in recent years, we can still say that it is relatively few, the floristic and taxonomic studies with the family. The present study aimed to study the diversity of species of the Bignoniaceae family occurring in the complex of Serra de Teixeira-PB. This study was based on field collections that occurred during field trips during the period from March 2020 to June 2021 in the most varied phytophysiognomies of the mountain, thus contemplating the dry and rainy seasons, as well as visits to the Herbaria Rita Baltazar de Lima (CSTR, UFCG, Patos - PB) and Jaime Coelho de Moraes (CCA, UFPB, Areia- PB). Studies were carried out with images of botanical material deposited in digital databases (RFLORA, MO and NY). In all, 24 species distributed in 13 genera of the Bignoniaceae family were studied in the Serra de Teixeira. We present identification keys, taxonomic descriptions, distribution, habitat and phenology data, and illustrations for all species. Three new records were registered, one new occurrence for the Caatinga Biome and two new occurrences for the State of Paraíba.