Herbaceous and woody species of Leguminosae in the Cerrado region of Mato Grosso State, Brazil

Abstract

Brazilian Cerrado located in Planalto Central is considered the second largest biome of South America. Considering the importance of the flora of Cerrado in the Neotropical region due to its great physiognomic and floristic diversity, a floristic survey of the herbaceous and woody taxa of Leguminosae in the Cerrado region of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (14°59´59.3”S e 56°18´49.1”W), Rosário Oeste municipality, located in the mid southern region of Mato Grosso were carried out. Unsystematic collections were realized from February 2007 to February 2009, totalizing 48 taxa. In the study site, family Leguminosae is represented by subfamilies Caesalpinioideae, Mimosoideae and Papilionoideae. The greatest number of genera and taxa was obtained for Papilionoideae (15; 24), followed by Caesalpinioideae (8; 17) and Mimosoideae (3; 7). Most species of Papilionoideae and Mimosoideae presented the subshrub habit while the subfamily Caesalpinioideae presented the shrub habit. Three new occurrences were recorded for Mato Grosso, Chamaecrista aspleniifolia (H.S. Irwin & Barneby) H.S. Irwin & Barneby, Mimosa camporum Benth. and Crotalaria holosericea Nees & Mart.