PEFI algal flora: a half-century of investigation

Abstract

The survey of the algal flora of the Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga (PEFI) started in 1962, with the disclosure of occurrence of 17 desmid species, collected from the São Paulo Botanical Gardens hydrophytoterium. However, in an organized way, it took place only 28 years later, in 1990, with the conception of the “Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga Cryptogamic flora”. The flora is essentially based on material gathered from the plankton, periphyton and surface sediments of the PEFI water bodies, and also included samples from
trees barks, rocks, and soil. Forty-two fascicles of the algal flora have already been published, revealing 869 taxa including species, varieties and taxonomic formae. It is estimated that 95% of the local algal flora have already been surveyed and that its conclusion will be reached by the end of the year 2020.