Plant resources of Restinga de Carapebus , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

The present paper aimed at identifying the plant resources used in the Restinga de Carapebus, Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We carried out 13 one-week visits to the study area and the informants were  nominated by the local population. For each species we present local name, category of use, local uses, and type of plant formation. We identified only one person in the Restinga de Carapebus who knows, uses, and indicates the plants of the coastal sand plains for several purposes. The informant indicated 119 species used, distributed in 100 genera and 49 families, and the most important families in number of species are Myrtaceae (10 species), Clusiaceae and Rubiaceae (both with 6 species). The plants used were classified into the following categories: food, medicine, ornamental, technology, hygiene, fragrance, construction, and firewood. The medicinal usage predominated, with 45 species, among which anti-diarrheic plants presented the highest number of species (10). Most useful species (67) occur in the open Clusia scrub formation. The results presented here are relevant to preserve the cultural use of plant resources in the Restinga de Carapebus.