First record of Alophia drummondii (Iridaceae) for the Paraíba state and Caatinga vegetation, Brazilian northeastern

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Introduction
Iridaceae Juss. is included in the order Asparagales1 and consist
of 66 genera and about 2,030 species. Presenting cosmopolitan
distribution within South America and South Africa being their main
centers of diversity.2 In Brazil, the family is represented by 198 species
in 22 genera, of which 111 species and ve genera are endemic to
the country, mainly in the phytogeographical domains of the Atlantic
Forest, Cerrado and Pampa.3
Alophia drummondii a herbaceous, shrub in some of their
genera, with subterranean stem, rhizome or bulb; corms or bulbs
with brous or membranous cataphylls, brown to red or purple. Its
leaves are unifacial, equitant, dystic or spiral, cylindrical or at,
linear to ensiform, plicated or not, parallel-invigorating, invaginating
at the base. The scapes are cylindrical or attened, papillose or
carrying one too many bracts foliaceous in their extension. The
inorescences may be spikes or monochasial cymes, exceptionally
solitary owers, terminal or axillary, pedunculate or sessile. Flowers
showy, ephemeral, trimerous, diclamideous; free or connate tepals,
petalloid; stamens 3, opposed to external tepals, llaments free or
connate, sometimes adnate to the perianth; anthers linear, oblong or
sagittal, rimose or rarely poricidal; ovary inferior, usually trilocular,
rarely unilocular, pluriovulate, axillary or rarely parietal placentation;
styles 3, free or partially united, usually petalloid, apical or lateral
stigmas. The fruits are loculicidal capsules carrying one to many seeds
per locule. Seeds globose or pyramidal.4,5
Alophia belongs to the Trimezieae tribe and occurs predominantly
in temperate regions of the Americas,2,6 being represented by ve
species7 two of them recorded in Brazil: A. drummondii (Graham)
R. Foster and A. medusae (Baker) Goldblatt, both associated to the
phytogeographical domain of the Cerrado.3 This genus differs from
the others of this family by panduriform anthers, with marginal
sporangia and broad connective and stigmatic branches curved,
almost in circles.6
Considering that several species of Iridaceae are used for
commercial purposes, there are still few studies focusing their native
representatives, especially in the Brazilian northeast region. This work
revealed the rst record of the genus Alophia (Iridaceae) for the state
of Paraíba, Northeast Brazil, through A. drummondii that is also being
recorded for the rst time in the phytogeographic domain of Caatinga.
Material and methods
The specimen was obtained from the municipality of Soledade
(Figure 1), a semi-arid region in the state of Paraíba, northeastern
Brazil. Soledade (07º03’26”S, 36º21’46”W) has a maximum of
521meters and is limited to the municipalities of Olivedos (North),
Boa Vista and Gurjão (South), Juazeirinho (West) and Pocinhos (East).
Soledade is located in the geoenvironmental unit of the Borborema
Plateau, under the Alto Pajeú Terrain, in the region locally called
“Cariri Velhos Range”, which originated from geological processes
occurred since the Tertiary period,8,9 being located in the intermediate
region of the Campina Grande municipality.
It has a territorial extension of 560,042km², with a population
estimated in 2017 of 14,987 inhabitants, having a demographic density
of 24.53 inhabitants per km².10 Its predominant climate is BSh – hot
and dry tropical climate11 presenting an average annual temperature of
25ºC and relative humidity of approximately 65% .12
Biodiversity Int J. 2018;2(5):385‒387. 385
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First record of Alophia drummondii (Iridaceae) for
the Paraíba state and Caatinga vegetation, Brazilian
northeastern
Volume 2 Issue 5 - 2018
José Iranildo Miranda de Melo,1 Ana Paula
Araújo,2 Fernanda Kalina da Silva Monteiro,3
Marcio Gleisson Medeiros Gonçalves,4
Débora Coelho Moura2
1Department of Biology, Center of Biological Sciences and
Health, State University of Paraiba-UEPB, Brazil
2Department of Geography, Federal University of Campina
Grande-UFCG, Brazil
3Department of Biology, Federal Rural University of
Pernambuco-UFRPE, Brazil
4Petroleum Engineering Academic Unit, Center of Science and
Technology, Federal University of Campina Grande-UFCG,
Brazil
Correspondence: José Iranildo Miranda de Melo, Department
of Biology, Center of Biological Sciences and Health, State
University of Paraiba, Bairro Universitário, 58429-500, Campina
Grande, Paraíba, Brazil, Email tournefort@gmail.com
Received: May 16, 2018 | Published: September 05, 2018
Abstract
Alophia drummondii (Graham) R. Foster (Iridaceae), species previously reported only
from Pernambuco state in Cerrado vegetation is identied rst time at Paraiba state in
Caatinga vegetation, Brazil. The identication was based on literature reports, including the
protologue of the basyonim. The present study includes description of species, its habitat
and phenology data as well as current geographical distribution.
Keywords: Asparagales, caatinga vegetation, monocots, new record
Biodiversity International Journal
Research Article Open Access

First record of Alophia drummondii (Iridaceae) for the Paraíba state and Caatinga vegetation, Brazilian
northeastern 386
Copyright:
©2018 Melo et al.
Citation: Melo JIMD, Araújo AP, Monteiro FKDS, et al. First record of Alophia drummondii (Iridaceae) for the Paraíba state and Caatinga vegetation, Brazilian
northeastern. Biodiversity Int J. 2018;2(5):385‒387. DOI: 10.15406/bij.2018.02.00090
The geological base of the municipality consists of outcropping
of granitic and gneiss rocks with quartz intrusions, which undergo
mechanical wear from physical weathering and due to the thermal
amplitude, causes the contraction and expansion of the rock.13 The
exploitation of the Granite-gneiss is used as ornamental rock, being
destined to the external commerce of the municipality (Campina
Grande and João Pessoa municipalities), aspect that threatens the
local biodiversity. The predominant soils are: vertisols, and luvisols,
but are also common soil eutrophics, low-developed, shallow or very
shallow littoral neosoils and rock outcrops of the Granitoid Complex
(Gneisses and Granites are the most common), in the form of large
“lajedos” or disaggregated blocks.14‒16
The municipality of Soledade is situated at the area of the Paraíba
River basin, the Taperoá River sub-basin. The water courses show
intermittent ow regime and the dendritic drainage pattern15 and
the Caatinga is the vegetative type of the region, characterized
by intertropical xeromorphic domain and classied as a complex
formation.
Figure 1 Location of the municipality of Soledade, Paraiba state, Brazilian
northeastern.
Results and discussion
Alophia drummondii (Graham) R. Foster, Contr. Gray
Herb. 155:34. 1945. Figure 2A-C.
Cypella drummondii Graham. Type: UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA (?). Drummond s.n., s.d., apparently lost. Herbs, ca. 60cm
high; bulbs ca. 2.4cm long. Leaves 1-3per plant, 25-40×0.2-1cm,
linear to narrow-lanceolate, membranaceous. Scape ca. 40cm long,
simple or branched, presenting 1-3 bracts, linear, the rst bract ca.
35×1.4cm, the others ca. 3.5×0.4cm. 2-4 owers, lax; peduncle ca. 9
cm long; spates ca. 5.4×1.3cm. Flowers purple; obovate outer tepals,
ca. 2.2×1.3cm, apex rounded to truncate, brownish-brown grooves
in the median-basal region; internal tepals ca. 1.5×0.8cm, involutes,
rounded apex, yellowish base with brown grooves, medium white
whitish third with purple grooves; llaments purple, ca. 2mm long,
attached to the base; anthers purple, ca. 8mm long, oblong; ovary ca.
5cm long, ovate; purple styles, ca. 6mm long; bid stigmas, liform
segments ca. 3mm long. Capsule oblong, ca. 1.5×0.8cm; seeds ca.
2.5×2mm.
Examined specimen: Brazil. Paraíba: Soledade, Sítio Malhada
Vermelha, 21-VII-2017, ., A.P.A. Alves & D. C. Moura 03 (ACAM1).
Distribution, habitat and reproductive phenology: A. drummondii
1Herbarium not indexed to Index Herbariorum.
occurs from the United States of America and Mexico to South
America.17 In Brazil, it was previously recorded only for the state
of Pernambuco, northeastern region, associated to the Cerrado
vegetation.3 In Paraíba state, the species was found in an open area at
the Caatinga vegetation owering and fruiting in July.
Figure 2 Alophia drummondii (Graham) R. Foster. (A) Habit. (B) Flower. (C)
Fruit.
Conclusion
This new record reinforces the importance of the accomplishment
of botanical collections especially in areas still scarcely known from
the oristic and taxonomic point of view as is the case of the semi-arid
region of the Brazilian Northeast (Caatinga vegetation), evidencing
that the region called “Cariri” is an important center of oristic
diversity.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank to Erimágna de Morais Rodrigues for preparing
the map of the study area. JIM Melo thanks CNPq (Conselho Nacional
de Desenvolvimento Cientíco e Tecnológico) for the Research
Productivity Grant (PQ-2 Proc. n. 303867/2015-9).
Conict of interest
There is no conict of interest to declare regarding the publication
of this paper.
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First record of Alophia drummondii (Iridaceae) for the Paraíba state and Caatinga vegetation, Brazilian
northeastern 387
Copyright:
©2018 Melo et al.
Citation: Melo JIMD, Araújo AP, Monteiro FKDS, et al. First record of Alophia drummondii (Iridaceae) for the Paraíba state and Caatinga vegetation, Brazilian
northeastern. Biodiversity Int J. 2018;2(5):385‒387. DOI: 10.15406/bij.2018.02.00090
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