Flora of Ceará state, Brazil: Burseraceae

Abstract We present the floristic study of Burseraceae in the state of Ceará, as part of the “Flora of Ceará: from Knowledge to Conservation” project. The study was based on the morphological analysis of specimens deposited in herbaria (ALCB, CSTR, EAC, HCDAL, HDELTA, HRSN, HST, HUEFS, IAN, IPA, MBM, NY, P and UFP) and obtained from field expeditions, specialized bibliography and typus collections available on on-line platforms. In Ceará state, three Burseraceae species were registered: Commiphora leptophloeos, Protium heptaphyllum and P. sagotianum. Of these, C. leptophloeos is widely distributed throughout Ceará, occurring predominantly in Steppe Savanna, but was also registered in Lowland Semideciduous Forest, Savanna and Vegetation under Fluvial and/or Lacustrine Influence. We present an identification key, morphological description, geographic distribution, taxonomic and ecological comments, flowering and fruiting period, illustration of diagnostic characters and photographs of the species in the field.