Floristic characterization of restinga plant communities at Bertioga, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

The municipality of Bertioga, located on the central coast of Sao Paulo state, still has large areas of preserved 'restingas', where few botanical collections have been made. The rapidly growing devastation of this type of environment due to real-estate development and other human interventions makes urgent the need for data that support conservation strategies. For this reason, we characterize floristically the plant communities of the 'restingas' of Itaguare, Sao Lourenco and Guaratuba (23 degrees 44'-23 degrees 46'S; 45 degrees 55'-46 degrees 02'W). Community classification followed, as closely as possible, the criteria established by Resolution n. 7/96 of the National Environment Council (CONAMA). The plant communities found were Beaches and Dunes (33 species), Scrub (101), Tall Restinga Forest (301), Tall Wet Restinga Forest (434) and Swale Vegetation (45). One-hundred-six families, 351 genera, 611 species were recorded, the most species-rich being: Orchidaceae (47 species), Myrtaceae (39), Bromeliaceae (36), Asteraceae (35), Rubiaceae (34), Fabaceae (32), Cyperaceae (23), Melastomataceae (19), Poaceae (19) and Solanaceae (15).