Barbosa et al. 2016 (Article) Guianas

Over the hills and far away: New plant records for the Guayana Shield in Brazil

Author(s):—R.G. Barbosa S., P.H. Labiak, A. dos S. Braganca G., R. Goldenberg, F.A. Michelangeli, G. Martinelli, Nadruz C. M.A., D.C. Zappi & R.C. Forzza

Publication:—Brittonia pp. . (2016) — DOI

Abstract:—The Guayana Shield is one of the oldest geological formations in South America, ranging from southern Colombia, Venezuela, and the Guianas to the extreme north of the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Roraima. Because of its ancient origin and isolation from other mountain ranges in South America, it harbors a rich flora with high levels of endemism. Recent expeditions to remote areas in the Brazilian portion of the Guayana Shield generated many new herbarium collections. Through these efforts, we report the first records for Brazil of 57 species and infraspecific taxa of vascular plants. In most cases, the taxa are narrowly distributed and were previously known from nearby populations in other countries. In other cases, however, the new Brazilian records expand considerably the known geographical distributions of the taxa.

Keywords:—Amazon, geographic distribution, pantepui, tepui, vascular plants