Flora of Guaramacal (Venezuela) II: Gymnosperms, Angiosperms (Chloranthales, Magnoliids)

Abstract

The present volume is a taxonomic study of the Gymnosperms and Angiosperms (Chloranthales and Magnoliids) that occur in Guaramacal National Park (officially Parque Nacional “General Cruz Carrillo en Guaramacal”), which protects the Ramal de Guaramacal, an outlier of the more extensive Cordillera de Mérida in the Venezuelan Andes. The park covers 215 km2 in Trujillo and Portuguesa states and includes cloud forest and páramo found between 1,600 and 3,150 m elevation. In all, nine families, 23 genera, and 97 species are treated; the greatest species diversity occurs in Piperaceae (50 species), Lauraceae (31 species), and Chloranthaceae (7 species). The most species-rich genera treated in this volume are Peperomia (31 species), Piper (18 species), and Ocotea (12 species). Five species treated here were described from collections made in the park and are currently known only from Guaramacal. One new combination, Piper morii (Steyerm.) Dorr & S. M. Niño, is made.