The patterns of geographic distribution and taxonomic relations of the species in the genera Sandwithia, Anomalocalyx, Sagotia, Dodecastigma, Pausandra and Pogonophora are presented and discussed. This Euphorbiaceae group contains one genus that was formerly unreported in Brazil; another that is disjunct between Brazil and West Africa; one species widely distributed in Amazonia, northeast and eastern Brazil; another with a limited distribution; and another that is polymorphic. Some of the distribution patterns presented here indicate strong ties between the floras of Amazonia and northeastern Brazil, relations between the floras of South America and Africa and, possibly, evidence of species isolation in Amazonia during the Pleistocene. This article provides a summary of the author's recent research in phytogeography and taxonomy, which serves as a foundation for studies of speciation, taxonomic limits of species, diversity of species in the Amazon and Northeast Brazil and the modera classification of the Euphorbiaceae.
Euphorbiaceae; distribution patteras; taxonomy