Survey of the apocynaceae family in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil deposited in Recife herbaria

Abstract

The Apocynaceae Juss. family is dispersed throughout the tropical and subtropical zones of the world, considered one of the largest families of angiosperms. Diverse, its individuals are trees, shrubs, herbs, and lianas. In Brazil, it occurs in all its biomes, with the Atlantic Forest being the most expressive. In the states of Pernambuco and Paraíba, the most found genera are Allamanda, Aspidosperma, Mandevilla, and Plumeria. The aim of this study was to survey the species of Apocynaceae recorded in the state of Pernambuco through the cataloging of herbaria in the city of Recife-PE. Visits were made to the herbaria to observe the collected species and verify the list found in the digital collection of SpeciesLink using the accession numbers. The catalog obtained from the collection was organized in an Excel spreadsheet to construct a table and graph that demonstrate the most frequent genera and species. A total of 1968 species of Apocynaceae are recorded in the herbaria of the city of Recife, with the most prominent genera being Mandevilla, Aspidosperma, Allamanda, Himatanthus, Tabernaemontana, and Rauvolfia. The high frequency of appearance of certain genera in Pernambuco is evident when comparing the records of this study with the existing literature. Therefore, it is of great importance to conduct research focused on the family and its representatives to better understand the region's flora and further explore the potential of this family.