We studied the epiphytic communities growing on 56 phorophytes belonging to ten species in five campo rupestre mountain ranges in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and registered a total of 53 species of vascular epiphytes. Though the absolute number of epiphytic species from campo rupestre is relatively low when compared with that of rainforests, the number of species per surveyed phorophyte proved similar in both ecosystems. The richest families were Orchidaceae (with 28 spp.) and Bromeliaceae (14 spp.). Facultative holoepiphytes were by far the most numerous with 29 species and characteristic holoepiphytes were represented by 14 species. EpiphyteÁphorophyte specificity is briefly discussed: when growing epiphytically, Vriesea oligantha (Bromeliaceae) and Epidendrum saxatile (Orchidaceae) are restricted to Vellozia sp. div. phorophytes in the Cipó and Ouro Branco ranges, two campo rupestre sites which are separated by 120 km. The association Polypodio squamulosiÁTillandsietum strictae, first described from Paraná State, was also registered in Minas Gerais: this is the first time that the same plant association is recognized from two very distant sites (over 800 km apart) in Brazil. Within this unit, two new subassociations are described: Polypodio squamulosiÁTillandsietum strictae tillandsietosum streptocarpae and typicum. The associations Tillandsio recurvataeÁPolypodietum hirsutissimae and Epidendro campestrisÁVrieseetum oliganthae are described as new. Our results are compared with those in another 19 surveys of epiphytic assemblages from Brazil and one from Argentina.
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