Gayana Botanica

Chaetanthera callaquiensis (Asteraceae) new species to Chile

2023-07-14T16:30:52-04:00

A new species, Chaetanthera callaquiensis from the Callaqui volcano, at the Biobío administrative Region is described.

Cytotaxonomic study on Chaetanthera albiflora (Phil.) A.M.R. Davies (Asteraceae: Mutisieae), a species endemic to Chile

2023-06-01T10:58:39-04:00

A comparative study of karyotypic attributes in Chaetanthera albiflora and Chaetanthera linearis is conducted in order to corroborate the taxonomic hypothesis that both are two species and not two varieties of Ch. linearis. The results indicate that all the measured attributes confirm the veracity of these two taxa as different species.

Book review: Silvicultura de Bosques Nativos

2023-07-26T15:13:07-04:00

Una revisión de Donoso y Navarro (2023) Silvicultura y Manejo de Bosques Nativos, ecología aplicada para la conservación de ecosistemas forestales. Editorial Universitaria. Santiago, Chile.

The genus Carex (Cyperaceae) in Chile: a general update of its knowledge, with an identification key

2023-08-01T14:21:42-04:00

The knowledge of the genus Carex L. (Cyperaceae) in South America is scattered, without recent comprehensive treatments for any country. Within the continent, Chile is the country that harbors the most diversity, being the second in species richness and the first in endemic taxa. However, Chilean botanists must resort to several Argentinian floras for species identification, although these works leave uncovered many Chilean species. This has led many researchers and amateurs to neglect the amazing diversity of the genus in the country. In this work, we summarize the results of several years of research on the genus Carex in Chile. We here formally report six new national records, including the reinstatement of the Nahuelbuta endemism Carex reicheana Boeckeler. Also, relevant changes (regional additions or significant distributional changes) are reported for another 33 species, and nomenclatural comments on problematic names are given. The catalogue of Carex for Chile is updated with our own findings and previous published reports from 82 to 96 species.

Tigridia riedemanniae, a new native Iridaceae from Chile and Peru

2023-09-01T11:28:29-04:00

In this work Tigridia riedemanniae Aldunate, Muñoz-Schick & V. Morales it is described, a new species for Chile and Peru; pointing its distribution, habitat and identification of accompanying species. Additionally, it is compared with Tigridia philippiana I.M.Johnst. and Tigridia arequipensis Montesinos, Pauca & I. Revilla, species to which it shares morphological and ecological affinities. A key for their differentiation is included.

Leaf traits and fog harvest potential in xerophytic plants

2023-10-18T17:21:12-03:00

Fog is an important water resource for ecosystems in arid zones, where plants play a key role in fog harvest. Studies on adaptive traits for fog interception have been addressed mainly in terms of forest tree species, considering stand distribution, shoot architecture, and leaf inclination angle, with less emphasis on leaf surface traits. Moreover, xerophytic shrubs, whose role in fog capture is only recently being recognized, have been barely studied in this regard. We analyzed leaf traits, and fog throughfall in 11 and 12 xerophytic species of two sites (xeric and mesic) in semi-arid northern-central Chile, with a combination of laboratory and field experiments. According to principal component analyses, in the xeric site, leaf water retention capacity was positively associated with fog drip. In the mesic site, hydrophobic leaves dripped less fog water than the hydrophilic ones. The magnitude of the variability depended on the xeric or mesic nature of sites, suggesting a differential adaptation to fog abundance on these sites. Overall, our results show leaf functional traits of xerophytic plants associated to the capacity of fog water capture and retention. The relation between leaf traits and fog harvest is species- specific, since every species is a mixture of different traits that do not necessarily optimize fog harvest. This research opens prospects for the screening of mechanisms and ecosystem services of xerophytes as natural fog catchers.

Vascular flora of the Putaendo mountain range (32° S, 70° W): scarcely studied and threatened Andes of the Valparaíso Region, Central Chile

2023-01-25T14:52:39-03:00

The Putaendo mountain range is located in the Andes of Valparaíso and there are few studies on its flora and vegetation, which is a limitation for the evaluation of the conservation status of this environment that has a diversity of uses, in some cases in conflict. A species inventory was carried out through 15 field campaigns, between 2016-2022, between the months of October and March, in the three main watersheds: Rocín river, Hidalgo river and Chalaco estuary. As a result, a record of 501 taxa distributed in 77 families and 240 genera was obtained. The flora reported represents 26.5 % of the flora of the Valparaíso Region. The richest families are Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Poaceae and Calceolariaceae. Nine genera are endemic to Chile. According to their phytogeographic status, 318 (64 %) are native, 161 (32 %) are endemic to Chile and 22 (4 %) are allochthonous. Seventy-one percent of the taxa are herbaceous and 29 % are woody. The highest richness and degree of endemism was recorded between 1100-2500 m.a.s.l. Eight threatened species are reported, 45 new taxa are reported for the Valparaíso region and 34 new species distribution limits. Finally, the list of microendemic species and those that are scarce in the study area or poorly represented in reference herbaria is reported.