Taxonomic Studies Of The Genus Echinocoryne H. Rob. (Asteraceae, Vernonieae) In Brazil

The genus Echinocoryne H. Rob. (Asteraceae, Vernonieae, Lepidaploinae) consists of six species, endemic to Brazil, restricted to the Cerrado region in the North, Northeast, Midwest and Southeast. The genus is characterized by pedunculate heads, a large number of pungent involucral bracts and a poorly differentiated style base. This paper presents the taxonomic study of species of this genus, highlighting the morphological variations of the vegetative parts and especially the variation in the number of flowers in heads. Descriptions, comments, illustrations, identification key and geographical distribution of species are presented.