Melastomataceae from the “ Parque Estadual do Guartelá ” , Tibagi , Paraná , Brazil : Species list and field guide

We studied an area with “Cerrado” associated to other vegetation types at the “Parque Estadual do Guartela”, Tibagi, in the state of Parana, Brazil. Herein, we have a list with all species of Melastomataceae recorded in the area with an illustrated guide including all of them. Despite the small area of this Conservation Unit, the park hosts a large number of species (36), in the following genera: Acisanthera , Chaetostoma , Lavoisiera , Leandra , Miconia , Tibouchina and Trembleya . The region where the park is located is considered the southern limit of the “Cerrado” biome, and also the limit of distribution of many Melastomataceae species. The distribution of the Melastomataceae species along the different vegetation types in the PEG seems to be a pattern for the family in general, registered also for other areas of “Cerrado” in Brazil.


Introduction
Melastomataceae occurs in tropical and subtropical regions (Clausing and Renner 2001), and in different vegetation types in Brazil (Goldenberg et al. 2012).It is one the richest families in the "Campos Rupestres" and "Cerrado" (Romero and Martins 2002;Goldenberg et al. 2012).The family has been traditionally organized in tribes (Cogniaux 1891;Renner 1993), from which three are the most common in both vegetation types cited above: Microlicieae has several genera almost restricted to "Campos Rupestres" and "Cerrado", while Melastomeae and Miconieae have widespread genera that are also rich in forested areas (Romero 2003;Goldenberg et al. 2012).
The flora of the "Cerrado" has been extensively studied in Brazil (Ratter et al. 2003), but studies on its southern borders are still scarce (Takeda et al. 1996;von Linsingen et al. 2006;Carmo et al. 2012).This is the case of some isolated remnants areas of "Cerrado" in the state of Paraná, where the flora is less rich than in the core areas up to the north but, on the other hand, has a large number of endemic species (Uhlmann et al. 1998;Hatschbach et al. 2005;von Linsingen et al. 2006;Cervi et al. 2007;Carmo da Escarpa Devoniana").The vegetation at the PEG (Figure 2) is made up mostly by different types of grasslands ("Estepe Gramíneo-Lenhosa" -EGL; "Campo Úmido" -CU; and "Campo Rupestre" -CR), and also by Araucaria forests ("Floresta Ombrófila Mista" -FOM) and one of the last remnants of "Cerrado" ("Savana Arborizada" -SA) in the state of Paraná (Veloso et al. 1991;Carmo et al. 2012)." The climate is Cfa according to Koeppen's classification, which means subtropical, wet and warm, with indirect influence of Cfb (temperate and wet).In the region, the monthly mean temperature is 18.7°C, with frequent frosts during the dry winter.Monthly mean precipitation is 116.23 mm; rain is more intense in January and February (SIMEPAR-"Estação Meteorológica de Telêmaco Borba").

Methods
Monthly collection trips were done between March 2011 and March 2013, and the samples deposited in the herbarium UPCB.Herbarium collections from the herbaria  MBML, UPCB, and HUPG (acronyms following "Index Herbarium" available at http://sweetgum.nybg.org/ih)were also analyzed.
Half of the species occur exclusively in grasslands (including EGL, CU, CR), with 18 species from all genera (Table 1).All species of Microlicieae (genera Chaetostoma, Lavoisiera and Trembleya) are restricted to these grasslands.The species occurring in forests (FOM), mostly belonging to Leandra and Miconia, are frequent along the borders of forest patches or along the streams.Trembleya parviflora and some species of Leandra, Miconia and Tibouchina occur in different vegetation types, both in forests and grasslands (Table 1).The two cultivated species, both belonging to Tibouchina, are found near an old farm house, near to a stream.
Among the species found in the area there are one undescribed species, Chaetostoma sp. which seem to be endemic to the state of Paraná.Leandra microphylla (see Reginato and Goldenberg 2012), Pleroma guartelaensis (Meyer and Goldenberg 2014) and Tibouchina henricquiana (Meyer et al. 2010)     hatschbachii occurs in the same areas, plus some grasslands on granitic outcrops and is endemic to the same states as the species above (Meyer et al. 2010).

Discussion
All species of Melastomataceae recorded in the same area by Carmo, M.R.B. (unpublished data) were confirmed here.Nevertheless, nine species reported here had not been recorded in the same list, despite the fact that the PEG is one of the most densely sampled areas in the "Campos Gerais do Paraná".Some species names reported by Carmo, M. F., unpublished data) L. variabilis and L. microphylla (Reginato and Goldenberg 2012), L. aurea, L. salicina and L. polystachya (Camargo et al 2009).Melastomataceae is the fourth richest family in the PEG, after Poaceae, Asteraceae and Cyperaceae (Carmo, M.R.B, unpublished data;Carmo et al. 2012).These families are usually the richest ones in brazilian grasslands (Hatschbach and Moreira-Filho 1972;Bastos 1984;Giulietti et al. 1987;Girardi-Deiro et al. 1992;Conceição and Giulietti 2002;Tannus and Assis 2004).
Despite being a small conservation unit in an area that is marginal in terms of the distribution of the family, the PEG hosts a large number of species of Melastomataceae.It is surely important for the conservation of plant species, since the region has suffered a strong decrease in its natural areas due to anthropic activities (Paraná 1995;Moro 2001).