Abstract
Abstract This study aims to assess the diversity of Inga in the state of Espírito Santo (ES), in order to establish diagnostic characters and circumscription of the species through a detailed analysis of botanical collections. This analysis was based on morphological analysis of specimens collected in the ES and deposited in herbarium collections. The study provides identification keys, descriptions, illustrations, taxonomic comments, geographic distributions, distribution patterns, and phenology data for the species. Twenty-six taxa of Inga were recognized in ES. Of these, 14 (52%) are endemic to Brazil, one of which, Inga teresensis, is restricted to ES. Species of Inga occur predominantly in dense ombrophilous forest (23 taxa), followed by seasonal semideciduous forest (16 taxa), open ombrophilous forest (nine taxa), and pioneer formations (eight taxa). Among dense ombrophilous forests, a higher diversity of Inga species was present in slope forests (22 taxa) than tabuleiro forests (15 taxa). Inga aptera, I. cabelo, I. maritima, I. platyptera, and I. unica are listed as threatened. The distribution of four taxa, I. aptera, I. ciliata subsp. ciliata, I. cylindrica, and I. subnuda var. luschnatiana was extended to ES.
Highlights
Inga is a monophyletic genus that can be recognized by its pinnate leaves, conspicuous leaf nectaries between pairs of leaflets, nucoid legume fruit type, and seeds surrounded by sweet white sarcotesta (Pennington 1997; Richardson et al 2001)
We present the richness of Inga in Espírito Santo (ES) providing an identification key, descriptions for the recognition of taxa, illustrations, comments on taxonomy, geographical distribution, phenology data, and local names
Inga is represented in ES by 26 taxa, totaling about 20% of the species reported in Brazil for this genus (BFG 2018)
Summary
Inga is a monophyletic genus that can be recognized by its pinnate leaves, conspicuous leaf nectaries between pairs of leaflets, nucoid legume fruit type, and seeds surrounded by sweet white sarcotesta (Pennington 1997; Richardson et al 2001). The genus is comprised of about 300 species distributed in tropical and subtropical forests between Mexico and Uruguay, with representatives in the Greater and Lesser Antilles (Pennington 1997; Lewis & Rico Arce 2005). It is the third largest genus of the mimosoid clade and the largest of the Ingeae tribe (Lewis & Rico Arce 2005; LPWG 2017). Brazil is one of the major centers of diversity of the genus, with 134 species, of which 52 are endemic (BFG 2018). The Atlantic Forest is one of the main centers of endemism in Brazil (Pennington 1997; Garcia 1998). 26 species have been reported in Espírito Santo (ES) by Dutra et al (2015)
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