Old for people, new for science: a previously undescribed species of harvested Vellozia (Velloziaceae) endemic to the Chapada Diamantina National Park, Bahia (Brazil)

Abstract

The overharvesting of a plant can disturb population dynamics, threatening the species (Ticktin 2004, Rolland et al. 2011). This is especially true for narrowly restricted ones (IUCN 2017), such as the ‘candombá’, endemic to the Chapada Diamantina National Park (CDNP), northeastern Brazil. The extent of occurrence of the candombá is less than 200 km2 (Conceição et al. 2017), and the plant has been traditionally used to ignite fires in wood stoves (Ministério do Meio Ambiente 2007, Oliveira et al. 2013, 2015), with this use continuing today.