Eschweilera compressa ( Vell . ) Miers ( Lecythidaceae ) : a new record of a threatened plant species in Espírito Santo state , Brazil

This paper provides the first record of Esch­ weilera compressa (Lecythidaceae) in Espírito Santo state, Brazil. According to IUCN criteria and the Brazilian government, this species is assigned as Critically Endangered globally and Endangered nationally, respectively. Herein, E. compressa is regionally assigned as Critically Endangered in Espírito Santo, Brazil, which is justified by urban expansion, a small area of occupancy, as well as its occurrence outside protected areas. A brief description, distribution map, and images of the species are presented.

The Atlantic Forest has the fourth highest biodiversity of the 35 global hotspots (Mittermeier et al. 2011). It shelters 17,224 plant species (except algae and cyanobacteria) and 60% of the Brazilian flora that is threatened with extinction (BFG 2015; Costa and Peralta 2015;Prado et al. 2015;Martinelli et al. 2013). It comprises a mosaic of plant communities occurring along the mountain ranges and lowlands paralleling the Atlantic Ocean from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte to the province of Misiones, Argentina (Leme and Siqueira-Filho 2006). The economic engine of the country is mainly concentrated in the region encompassing the Atlantic Forest, and more than half of the Brazilian population lives in this area (Martinelli et al. 2013). Although national laws provide protection to the Atlantic Forest, threats still persist and only about 11.6% of its original cover remains, which is mostly (83.4%) represented by remnants smaller than 50 ha Scarano and Ceotto 2015).
Lecythidaceae has a pantropical distribution and comprises 24 genera and about 350 species. In the Neotropics this group is represented exclusively by subfamily Lecythidioideae that shows greater diversity and dominance in the Amazonian Basin and Guianas forests (Mori 2004). In Brazil, nine genera and 120 species occur, with most in the Amazon domain (BFG 2015, Ribeiro et al. 2016). In the Atlantic Forest, 65% of species are endemic and some have restricted distribution (Mori 1990(Mori , 1995Ribeiro et al. 2016;Smith et al. 2016).
Eschweilera Mart. ex DC., recorded from Veracruz in Mexico to Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil, is the most speciose genus of Lecythidaceae with approximately 89 species divided into three clades (Mori and Prance 1990;Huang et al. 2015). In Brazil, approximately 51 species are recorded: 45 in the Amazon Forest, one from Cerrado, and seven in the Atlantic Forest (BFG 2015, Ribeiro et al. 2016). Among Eschweilera species from the Atlantic Forest, it is possible that one also occurs in Amazonian forest (belonging to clade E. parvifolia); the other six species are endemic for that domain (belonging to clade E. tetrapetala) (Mori and Prance 1990;Mori 1995;BFG 2015).
So far, two species of Eschweilera -E. ovata (Cambess.) Mart. ex Miers (Cambess. 1829: 378;Miers 1874: 257) and Eschweilera sphaerocarpa M. Ribeiro & S.A. Mori (Ribeiro et al. 2016: 267-271) were recorded from the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. Although several areas in the state are currently considered high priority for biodiversity conservation (Loyola et al. 2014), almost half of the state's area lacks any records of the family due to low effort for sampling, especially in the south (Ribeiro et al. 2014). The identification was performed by consulting specialized bibliography (Mori and Prance 1990).
The species differs from others Eschweilera species found in eastern Brazil by its chartaceous leaves with serrulate margins (versus coriaceous leaves with entire margins), inflorescence in short racemes 1-4 cm (versus inflorescence in long racemes or spikes < 5 cm), and fruits with 6-10 seeds (versus fruits less 6 seeds) (Smith et al. 2016).
Previously described under the basionym of Lecythis compressa Vell. (Vellozo 1829: 222), E. compressa is con-sidered a rare species of the Brazilian flora (Trovó et al. 2009), and its distribution was thought to be restricted to the state of Rio de Janeiro (where it was known from the municipalities of Rio de Janeiro, Niterói, Maricá, Cabo Frio, Armação de Búzios, and Rio das Ostras; Barbosa 1982;Mori and Prance 1990;Mori 1995;BFG 2015;Venda et al. 2013). The distribution of this species was thought to be restricted to the municipality of Rio de Janeiro until 1972. More specimens (18 samples) were collected only after the 1990s near urban areas, predominantly in protected areas: Tijuca National Forest, Serra da Tiririca and Costa do Sol State Parks, and Itapebussus Relevant Ecological Interest Area.
Eschweilera compressa is currently found in both Lowland and Submontane Ombrophilous Forests (vegetation classification according to IBGE 2012). Those forests occur near the coast, often on clay sediments up to 300 m altitude, and sometimes approach the shore through cliffs from southern Espírito Santo to the Rio de Janeiro. Floristic and phytosociological studies performed in this region do not record the occurrence of E. compressa in dune-ridge forests (restinga vegetation) (Menezes and Araujo 2005;Costa and Dias 2001;Araújo et al. 2015;Ribeiro et al. 2014), although the species can be found near the coastal strip.
The new records for the municipality of Guarapari, Espírito Santo, represent an extension of 242 km from the previous records of E. compressa (Figure 1). The individuals were found about 20 m above sea level and 700 m away from the shore, in small forest remnants on the Tertiary tablelands, which is one of the three geomorphological provinces in the state. Tertiary tablelands are characterized by planed surfaces and clay sediments originated from Tertiary period (see details in Martin et al. 1993). In the Espírito Santo, E. compressa is known from only one site and it is represented by few individuals. EOO and AOO are estimated as 0.026 km² and 4 km², respectively.
Currently, E. compressa is assigned as Critically Endangered (O'Brien 1998) and Endangered in the official list of Brazilian endangered flora (MMA 2014). Habitat loss, logging, deforestation, agricultural, livestock activities and, especially urban expansion are historically and currently the threats (Young 2005;Venda et al. 2013). The species is herein categorized as Critically Endangered in Espírito Santo criteria based the IUCN criteria of on small area of occupancy, low number of known records, and individuals occurring outside protected areas (IUCN 2014).