Pilea, Lindley, 1821

Soares, Júlia Fialho & Miotto, Silvia Teresinha Sfoggia, 2023, Pilea bradei (Urticaceae), a new species from the Atlantic Forest Biome in Southeastern Brazil, Phytotaxa 584 (3), pp. 161-172 : 168

Checklist of Pilea in the Atlantic Forest Biome circumscribed in Southeastern Brazil

Among the 14 native species of Pilea currently recognized for the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Biome (Soares & Miotto in prep.), eight occur in the Southeastern Region ( Table 2 ). They are rupicolous or terrestrial, inhabiting moist places, shaded or with the predominance of indirect light, usually inside the forest, such as near waterfalls and streams. P. microphylla ( Linnaeus 1759: 1308) Liebmann (1851: 296) , P. pubescens , and Pilea hyalina Fenzl (1849: 256) are widely distributed in the Neotropical Region, occurring up to approximately 2,000 m of elevation. In the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Biome, P. hyalina is more common in coastal forests, and P. microphylla even occurs in environments with anthropogenic interferences, such as in sidewalks and walls. P. rhizobola is currently known for the Atlantic Forest Biome, occurring from the State of Bahia (BA) to the State of Santa Catarina (SC), but the collection by P. Acevedo- Rdgz 14954, from the State of Acre (AC), in the Amazonian Biome (RB!), which has few pistillate flowers and fruits, seems to belong to this species. In the Southeastern Region, this species has been recorded up to approximately 1,300 m above sea level. P. astrogramma Miquel (1853: 201) and P. bradei occur only in the Southeastern region. The first one has been recorded from 700 m to 1,600 m above sea level, and the second, from 1,100 to 1,600 m, both in Serra da Mantiqueira and its surroundings and in localities of the Serra da Bocaina closer to the Serra da Mantiqueira than to the ocean. P. carautae M.D.M.Vianna & R.J.V.Alves (2010: 469) is also restricted to the Southeastern Region, occurring in places with open vegetation and soils with high salinity, close to sea level, in municipalities from the Cabo Frio Region. P. hilariana , otherwise, is more common in the States of Southern Brazil, with the few records in the Southeastern Region all in the Serra do Mar and its surroundings, 900 m above sea level or more.