Magnoliophyta, restinga vegetation, state of Ceará, Brazil

( Restinga ) vegetation is composed of the plant communities that grow on Quaternary Neosols along the entire Brazilian coast. Ceará state has a coastal extension of 578 km and lies totally within the semi-arid zone of northeastern Brazil. Here we present a checklist of the phanerogamic species found along the coast of Ceará that was compiled from surveys and collections found at the EAC herbarium (Fortaleza, Ceará). A total of 391 species distributed among 208 genera and 41 families were identified. The families with the greatest numbers of species were Fabaceae senso latu (130 species), Cyperaceae (51), Poaceae (47), Rubiaceae (27), Euphorbiaceae (19), Asteraceae (13), Bignoniaceae (11) and Malvaceae (12), representing over 78.77% of the species collected.

region, according to the classification proposed by Velloso et al. (2002). The coast of Ceará state is marked by the predominance of psammophilous vegetation (covering dunes). Cliffs are found in some regions ("Barreiras" Formation) The species listed in this study were compiled from data available in the Prisco Bezerra Herbarium (EAC) collection at the Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC) and from floristic surveys carried out in the Jericoacoara Environmental Protection Area (Matias and Nunes 2001;Matias and Silva 2001). All herbarium specimens were considered, including invasive species that grow in lacustrine environments and species typical of areas in contact with mangrove swamps; exotic species or those with doubtful identifications were excluded. A recent study indicated a Complexo Litorâneo phytoecological unit with the highest percentage of species collected, considering all of the EAC herbarium collection (24% species and 24% exsiccatae) (Freitas and Matias 2010).
The herbarium material comprises collections made in 21 coastal municipalities in Ceará state, all located on coastal plains with predominantly Quaternary Neosols.
The checklist places the genera in the family, followed by a species list. The classification system used was based on APG II (2003). Current species names and new synonyms were confirmed by consulting the MOBOT data base (2009) as well as the specialized literature for certain groups. The life forms of the species were identified based on the classification system of Whittaker (1975); information on the life forms was obtained from herbarium labels.  (Rambo, 1954;Pereira and Araújo, 2000;Kersten and Silva, 2005). A checklist prepared by Zickel et al. (2007) for Pernambuco state likewise noted high frequencies for the families Fabaceae (67 spp.), Poaceae (39 spp.), Cyperaceae (26 spp.) and Euphorbiaceae (25 spp.). In a recent floristic survey carried out in Piauí state that included part of the upper northeastern coast (F. S. Santos-Filho personal communication), the families Fabaceae, Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Euphorbiaceae were likewise found to have the highest number of species. These same families, together with the Orchidaceae, Bromeliaceae and Sapotaceae (Araújo and Henriques 1984;Assis et al. 2004;Martins et al. 2008) are well represented in restinga areas in southeastern Brazil.
The species Ipomoea asarifolia (Desr.) Roem. and Schult., Remirea maritima Aubl, Richardia grandiflora (Cham. and Schltdl.) Steud., Heliotropium lanceolatum Ruiz and Pav., Blutaparon portulacoides (A. St.-Hil.) Mears, Sesuvium portulacastrum (L.) L., and Mollugo verticillata L. (in addition to many members of the Fabaceae, Poaceae and Cyperaceae families) are among the most common plants in the dune areas and along the coast of Ceará state (Matias and Nunes 2001). Species of the families Poaceae and Cyperaceae produce large numbers of seeds and have great capacities for adapting to and resisting adverse environments (Bove et al. 2003). The species composition observed reflects not only of the peculiarities of the restinga ecosystem (e.g., high salinity, low levels of soil nutrients) but also habitat degradation.
Our survey indicates that 46.54% of the species recorded for the coastal areas of Ceará state are herbaceous plants ( Figure 2). This reflects the significant presence of pioneer species that rapidly colonize this environment (mainly dune areas typical of the Ceará coast), with low, open physiognomies of erect herbaceous species and creepingpsammophytes. The herbaceous species recorded in the present study can be found in frontal dunes or fixed dune    zones along most of the Brazilian coast (Pinto et al., 1984;Cordazzo and Costa, 1989). Matias and Nunes (2001) reported that woody restinga species occur in open or closed islands of vegetation, with a marked presence of Chrysobalanus icaco L., Abrus precatorius L. Anacardium occidentale L., Byrsonima crassifolia Kunth and Cereus jamacaru A. DC. The authors also noted that these woody species represent a mixture of cerrado and caatinga plants.
In general, many species observed along in this region of northeastern coast (northern coast of northeastern Brazil) are also present in the cerrado and caatinga biomes. Santos-Filho (personal communication) analyzed the restinga flora of Piauí state and, in spite of its floristic similarity with cerrado and caatinga, a significant presence of Atlantic Forest species was also noted.
The data presented here indicate the importance of herbaceous species in the physiognomic composition of beach areas. However, it is quite possible that due to their immediate proximity to the ocean the restinga areas of Ceará state have been widely altered due to human utilization for leisure and tourism. As such, conservation efforts focusing on coastal plant communities must include quantitative studies and attempt to decelerate anthropogenic impacts.