Verbenaceae in the Parque Nacional do Caparaó, Serra da Mantiqueira, Brazil

ABSTRACT Verbenaceae currently comprises 35 genera and around 800 species distributed in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. In Brazil, there are 16 genera and approximately 280 species, with higher richness in the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest, mainly in campos rupestres and campos de altitude. The Parque Nacional do Caparaó is located in the Serra da Mantiqueira, the border of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo States. This park stands out due to the presence of the highest point in the Southeast of Brazil, the Pico da Bandeira, with 2,890 m of elevation. The vegetation comprises different phytophysiognomies including dense ombrophilous forest (montane and high montane), montane semideciduous seasonal forest and campos de altitude. Verbenaceae in this conservation unit is represented by five genera and nine infrageneric taxa including two possible new species belonging to the genera Lantana and Lippia, in addition to Citharexylum solanaceum, Glandularia lobata, Lantana fucata, L. nivea, L. robusta, Stachytarpheta cayennensis, and Verbena rigida. The occurrence of L. nivea is confirmed for Brazil, with the first record for Espírito Santo State. We present an identification key, descriptions, photograph plates and comments on the ecology, taxonomy and geographic distribution of the taxa.