Serra das Confusões National Park has Its Flora list published

In June, the Catalogue of Plants of Brazil’s Protected Areas added the List of Plant Species of Serra das Confusões National Park (PNSC), in the state of Piauí. The survey includes 553 species, comprising 541 angiosperms, 11 ferns and lycophytes, and one bryophyte. Eight of these species are classified as threatened with extinction: five categorized as Vulnerable (VU), two as Endangered (EN), and one as Critically Endangered (MMA Ordinance No. 148/2022). The preparation of floristic lists is essential for publicizing the plant diversity of protected areas, supporting management and conservation decisions, and highlighting the potential for discovering new occurrences and species, especially in regions that remain understudied.

Created in 1998, PNSC is considered one of the largest protected areas in the Caatinga biome, covering approximately 916,000 hectares. Around 92,000 hectares were recently added to the park through Federal Decree No. 13,017 of June 10, 2026. The region’s vegetation is highly diverse because it lies in a transition zone between the Caatinga and Cerrado biomes and also contains forest enclaves with species from the Atlantic Forest and the Amazon. The predominant vegetation types include arboreal and shrubby caatinga formations, savanna formations, carrasco vegetation, seasonal forests, and rocky outcrop vegetation.

The preparation of the list was made possible thanks to decades of collection and research efforts in the region. The first botanical record for the area now encompassed by Serra das Confusões National Park dates back to 1979, when botanist Afrânio Fernandes, a specialist in the Fabaceae family, collected specimens there. The material was deposited in the Prisco Bezerra Herbarium (EAC) as part of the CNPq Flora Program. Initiated in the 1970s, the program aimed to promote a broad inventory of Brazil’s wild plant resources, significantly contributing to the expansion of botanical collections and to advancing knowledge of Brazilian flora.

The largest number of records, however, is attributed to botanist Gustavo Martinelli, director of the National Center for Flora Conservation at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden (CNCFlora/JBRJ). Most of his collections were carried out during CNCFlora expeditions as part of the project Inventories in Priority Areas for Flora Conservation, created in 2009. The project’s main objective was to conduct expeditions and flora inventories in priority conservation areas across different biomes, following the Map of Priority Areas for Conservation, Sustainable Use and Benefit Sharing of Brazilian Biodiversity (MMA Ordinance No. 9/2007).

The publication is one of the outcomes of CNCFlora’s initiatives, which include expeditions to neglected biomes under the project Conservation, Restoration and Management Strategies for Biodiversity in the Caatinga, Pampa and Pantanal (GEF Terrestrial). The initiative seeks to strengthen conservation in biomes historically underrepresented in Brazil’s National System of Conservation Units (SNUC). In this context, PNSC was identified as a priority area within the Caatinga due to its major importance for flora conservation and the historically low level of botanical collection effort in the region.

The expeditions carried out by CNCFlora significantly increased the number of species records for the area, generating essential information about species distribution and occurrence. These data strengthen extinction risk assessments and support more effective strategies for conserving Brazilian flora.

Eriocaulaceae - Paepalanthus magistrae (VU) | Foto: Pedro POntes

Among the findings, special mention should be made of the discovery of Paepalanthus magistrae Sano, F.N. Costa, Trovó & Echtern, a species found in the region and featured in the documentary CNCFlora Scientific Expeditions: Neglected Biomes – Caatinga, Pampa and Pantanal, released during the Biodiversity Forum at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden last May. The success of the expeditions also relied on the fundamental support of José Wilmington Paes Landim, manager of Serra das Confusões National Park, and Neri Trindade, a tour guide and wildfire brigade member active in PNSC, as well as other local project partners.

Information and the List of Plant Species of Serra das Confusões National Park (PNSC) are available in the Catalogue of Plants of Brazil’s Protected Areas. The catalogue also provides an image database containing photographs of 45 species included in the PNSC list.