Most of the state of Ceará is semi-arid, a climate in which cacti are abundant. Despite its significance, there are few studies on the family in this state, especially taxonomic studies. The aim of this study was to survey the family Cactaceae in Ceará, to increase our knowledge of the local flora. We recorded 12 genera and 24 taxa: Arrojadoa rhodantha, Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis, Cereus albicaulis, C. jamacaru subsp. jamacaru, Discocactus bahiensis, D. zehntneri subsp. zehntneri, Epiphyllum phyllanthus, Harrisia adscendens, Hylocereus setaceus, Melocactus oreas subsp. oreas, M. violaceus subsp. violaceus, M. zehntneri, Pereskia aculeata, P. grandifolia subsp. grandifolia, Pilosocereus catingicola subsp. salvadorensis, P. chrysostele subsp. chrysostele, P. chrysostele subsp. cearensis, P. flavipulvinatus, P. gounellei subsp. gounellei, P. pachycladus subsp. pernambucoensis, Rhipsalis baccifera subsp. baccifera, Tacinga inamoena, T. palmadora and T. subcylindrica. We present identification keys and descriptions of the taxa, as well as photographs and geographic distribution data for each taxon in the state.
biodiversity; semi-arid; taxonomy
