Where is Serra do Cipo, Brazil?

[Nancy Hensold]

>We are currently working with number of plants collected from Serra do Cipo
>in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Can anyone help us locate it?
"Margaret L. Baker" <cmbaker at TELEPORT.COM>

Dear Margaret Baker --
        The Serra do Cipo is part of the Serra do Espinhaco range which runs
vaguely N-S from Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais to North of Diamantina. The Serra
do Cipo itself refers to that part of the range drained by the Rio Cipo.
Most of the collections from the Serra do Cipo made in the last 30 years are
from alongside MG-010, where it crosses from Lagoa Santa in the west to
Morro do Pilar and Conceicao do Mato Dentro in the east. The small town of
Cardeal Mota lies at the foot just before the road begins to climb. Near the
top of the steep western ascent of the range is the Hotel Chapeu do Sol,
where almost all botanists stay. This would be approximately 19 15-20'S and
ca 43 35-40'W. As a geological formation the range stops just south of the
Chapeu do Sol area, and extends northwestward perhaps 80 km to a river
drainage (the name escapes me) just south of the Diamantina plateau. I have
more detailed locality information in my treatment of Paepalanthus subg.
Xeractis in Syst. Bot. Monogr. 23. 1988. The Universidade de Sao Paulo is
also publishing a flora of the area, with detailed maps of the area
surrounding Chapeu do Sol. The first volume, with introduction and maps, is
in the Boletim de Botanica vol. 9, 1987.
        I am still very interested in this area, and would like to hear
about the work you are doing with Serra do Cipo plants, as would the Plant
Systematics group at the USP.

Nancy Hensold
Department of Botany
Field Museum
Chicago, IL 60605
hensold at abis.fmnh.org