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This is the result of a MSc thesis work carried out by the biologist Fernando B. Matos, from the Federal University of Paraná, Brazil. The impressive number of species, 178, includes two new to science, one new record to Brazil and 43 new records for the State of Bahia. In an informal conversation, the author stated that, after a more intensive and detailed study, the number can easily be over 200!
ABSTRACT: This study deals with the inventory of the ferns and lycophytes of this region, seeking to provide readers with the means for the identification and characterization of the taxa. For that purpose, intensive fieldwork was conducted in the area between 2005 and 2008, and all the specimens found above 600 m of altitude were included. In addition to this, several herbaria material were also consulted. A number of 178 species of ferns and lycophytes is recorded. Of the total, ferns comprise exactly 170 species, distributed in 63 genera and 21 families. The genus with higher species richness was Asplenium (12 species), followed by Elaphoglossum (11), Thelypteris (10) and Diplazium (9). Special mention to Asplenium truncorum sp. nov. ined. (Aspleniaceae) and Megalastrum indusiatum sp. nov. ined. (Dryopteridaceae), which are being described based on recent collections from the Serra Bonita Reserve. The RPPN
Serra Bonita also harbors the only known population of Terpsichore asplenifolia (L) A. R. Sm. (Polypodiaceae) in Brazil and other 43 species are cited for the first time for the State of Bahia. Identification keys to genera and species, geographic distribution, comments, illustrations with diagnostic features of most species and floristic analyses, including other 29 sites from different parts of South America, are also presented.
Key words: Atlantic Rain Forest, Lycophyta, Monilophyta, pteridophytes, taxonomy