3 Posts
Checklist of vascular plants of the Department of Ñeembucú, Paraguay
Juana De Egea, Maria Peña-Chocarro, Cristina Espada, Sandra Knapp
Abstract:
The Department of Ñeembucú is one of the least well-documented areas of eastern Paraguay, and the flora is composed of a mixture of forest and Chaco elements. Regions like Ñeembucú are often considered of lower diversity and interest that more forested regions; this results from both actual species richness figures and from under-collecting due to perception as uninteresting. We present here a checklist of the vascular plants of Ñeembucú, which includes 676 taxa (including subspecies and varieties) in 100 families and 374 genera. Four hundred and fifty seven (457) of these are new records for Ñeembucú and of these, 4 are new published records for Paraguay. Synonyms, distribution details within Paraguay and a voucher specimen or literature record are provided for each taxon, and a brief analysis of the diversity and importance of the flora is presented.
PhytoKeys 9: 15–179, doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.9.2279
Earlier this year I wrote that Dr William Purvis, one of our lichen experts, was planning a visit to Signy Island to evaluate lichen biodiversity in the Antarctic.
We then followed William's adventures through his fascinating account of his travels on his blog, discovering Antarctic lichens
While returning to the UK, on board the RRS James Clark Ross ship, William created a stunning picture diary, about the planning and logistics of his trip as well as his encounters with penguins, people and seals while looking for Antarctic lichens. Take a look at his amazing photos in the diary.
Museum botanists Drs Maria Vorontsova and Maarten Christenhusz working in Kenya have discovered three new species of Solanum.
Maria and helpers collecting Solanum in the Kenyan bush.
