TERRESTRIAL PLANTS IN SOUTH AMERICA✅

LAST UPDATED IN 29.09.2024
⋵: ENDEMICS

The Embryophyta, or land plants, are the most familiar group of green plants that comprise vegetation on Earth. Embryophytes have a common ancestor with green algae, having emerged within the Phragmoplastophyta clade of green algae as sister of the Zygnematophyceae. Living embryophytes therefore include hornworts, liverworts, mosses, lycophytes, ferns, gymnosperms and flowering plants. The tree below is one of the most consensual about the evolution of the group (Wikipedia). Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses.

The most complete data from bryophytes in Neotropics is Hallingbäck and Nick Hodgetts (Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts, 2000), assignated here as [1]; some data also in Delgadillo (Bol. Soc. Bot. Mexico, 2000).

BRAZIL ✕ COLOMBIA/MEXICO

In summary, Colombia has advantage of 5 spp. against Brazil in Marchantiophyta (no advantage in genera), 65 spp. in Bryophyta (no advantagem in genera), and none advantages in Anthocerophyta. Mexico no has advantages against Brazil in Marchantiophyta and Anthocerophyta, and an advantage of 4 families, 57 genera and 114 spp. in Bryophyta.

PHYLOGENETIC TREE OF VIRIDIPLANTAE

MARCHANTIOPHYTA

Liverworts has (87:386/)7,273 spp. worldwide, by Lars Söderström et al.  (PhytoKeys, 2016). 

Colombia has (37:134/)703 spp. (37 endemics; CTLC, BOOK, 2016); Brazil has (39:132/)698 spp. (Reflora, 2023; 143 endemics). Brazil has 3 families absents in Colombia (Chonecoleaceae, Oxymitraceae, Sphaerocarpaceae); Colombia has one family absent in Brazil: Pseudolepicoleaceae (3/3 in country). Mexico includes (122:)592 spp. [1] and varieties in this class (Delgadillo-Moya, Botanical Sciences, 2022).

By [1], endemic genera occur in northern Andes (7), Amazonia (5), Guianan Highlands (4), SE Brazil (2, Pluvianthus, Vittalianthus), and Chocó (1); Geocalycaceae is placed under Lophocoleaceae in CPLC, and Solenostomataceae under Jungermanniaceae. 

BRYOPHYTA

Mosses has c. 12,000 spp. worldwide (Wikipedia). Colombia has (65:261/)932 spp. (52 endemics; CTLC, BOOK, 2016). Brazil has (71:268/)867 spp. (209 endemics; largest diveristy of genera, 8 endemics, Costa, D.P. et al., The New York Botanical Garden Press, 2023). Mexico has (75:325/)984 spp. (Delgadillo-Moya, Rev. Mex. Biodiv. vol.85, 2014).

By [1], endemic genera occur in central Andes (12), Mexico (7), SE Brazil (5, Cladostomum, Crumuscus, Itatiella, Moseniella, Paranapiacabaea), northern Andes (4), Caribbean (3), Central America (2), Amazonia (2), and Guianas Highlands (2).

ANTHOCEROPHYTA

Hornworts has (5:12/)213 spp. worldwide, by Lars Söderström et al.  (PhytoKeys, 2016). 

Anthocerotaceae (2/78)

Anthoceros L. (60).

Folioceros D.C.Bharadwaj (18)

Dendrocerotaceae (4/70)

Dendroceros Nees (41)

Megaceros Campb. (11)

Nothoceros (R.M.Schust.) J.Haseg (10)

Phaeomegaceros R.J.Duff (8)

Phymatocerotaceae (1/2)

Phymatoceros Stotler (2)

Notothyladoideae (1/22)

Notothylas Sull. ex A.Gray (22) 

Phaeocerotoideae (3/40)

Mesoceros Piippo (2)

Paraphymatoceros Hässel (4) 

Phaeoceros Prosk. (34) 

Leiosporocerotaceae (1/1)

Leiosporoceros Hässel (1) 

Gradstein (Caldasia, 2018) cites (4:7/)15 spp. in Colombia. Brazil has (4:7/)18 spp. (Reflora, 2023, 3 endemics). Notothyladaceae has identical genera in both countries. Dendrocerotaceae has a genus in Colombia absent in Brazil (Phaeomegaceros R.J.Duff); Brazil has one genus in Anthocerotaceae absent in Colombia (Folioceros DC); and both countries has a exclusive family againt the other: Phymatocerotaceae (Phymatoceros Stotler, W.T. Doyle & Crand.-Stotl.) in Brazil, and Leiosporoceroaceae (Leiospoceros Hässel) in Colombia. Mexico has (3:3/)9 spp. in this class, among Anthoceros, Nothoceros and Phaeoceros, plus at least 7 undescribeds (Delgadillo-Moya, Botanical Sciences, 2022), 3 endemics.

LYCOPHYTES

MONILOPHYTES

GYMNOSPERMS

ANGIOSPERMS

NEW WORLD ORCHIDACEAE✅

UPDATE IN 29.09.2024

PLESOM

On October 9, 2022 the VPA (SEE) listed 14,632 orchids (species, notospecies and natural hybrids) in New World, 11,740 of which in South America. Of the more than 350 genera of Orchidaceae in the hemisphere, a group of six genera stands out: the PLESOM group, formed by Pleurothallis, Lepanthes, Epidendrum, Stelis, Oncidium and Masdevallia. These genera together have 5,820 spp., about 40% of all Neotropical diversity; in South America they are 4,773 spp., which is also around 40% of the local amount.

Vanilla, Habenaria, Corymborkis, Bulbophyllum, Polystachia, Calanthe, Tropidia, Liparis, Malaxis and Eulophia are the only South American genera not restricted to New World.

By country, Brazil has the 3ª greatest diversity of orchids in the world, behind its (quasi-)neighbors Colombia and Ecuador. By the way, the national family diversity in these countries is the largest for a single family in a single country ever described. Ecuador at 2,228 of its 4,289 spp. belonging to PLESOM (52% of its national diversity); Colombia has 1,818 of its 4186 in PLESOM (43% of national diversity). Brazil has in PLESOM only 269 spp. of its 2,734 spp., less than 10%.

Excluding the PLESOM group, we have the following national diversities: Ecuador 2,061; Colombia 2,368; Brazil 2,465. The numbers show that the very high diversity of Orchidaceae in the two Andean countries is due to an explosion of diversity in the PLESOM group; outside of it, Brazil has more diversity of Orchidaceae.

OVER GENERIC DIVERSITY

All South American Orchidaceae tribes occur in Brazil except Colllabieae (20/443), which has its only South American species in Colombia (Calanthe calanthoides (A. Rich. & Galeotti) Hamer & Garay). Brazil has 203 genera, Colombia has 230 and Ecuador 217.

SOUTH AMERICAN GENERA BY GROUP; FOR BRAZIL, /BR DENOTES ABSENT GENERA; [BR] DENOTES ENDEMIC GENERA.

In the subfamilies Vanilloideae and Cipripedioideae, Brazil and Colombia have all 6 South American genera; Ecuador and Peru 5 of them (except Duckeella). In species at Brazil against Colombia, Brazil wins in Vanilloideae for 22 spp., and Colombia wins Brazil in Cipripedioideae for only one species.

In the subfamily Orchidoideae (Microchilus inc. Aspidogyne, Kreodanthus, Platythelys, Stephanothelys; Solenocentrum absent in Colombia), South America has 52 genera, Brazil and Peru have 31 each, Colombia has 30, and Ecuador has 32; national endemic genera in this subfamily occur only in Brazil (4, Espinhassoa, Thelyschista, Cotylolabium and Nothostele) and Venezuela (2, Aracamunia and Stalkya). Brazil has more Orchidioideae species than Mexico and Colombia.

Degranvillea dermaptera Datermann from French Guiana and Suriname is the only South American mycoheterotrophic orchid outside Epidendroideae.

Among Epidendroideae, the ten smaller clades (Neottieae, Sobralieae, Tropidieae, Triphoreae, Xerorchideae, Wullschaegelieae, Gastrodieae, Malaxideae, Vandeae, Collabieae) has 22 genera in South America, 21 in Colombia, 19 in Venezuela, 18 in Ecuador and 17 in Brazil.

In Epidendreae, with 70 genera in South America, Colombia has 60 genera, Ecuador 54, Venezuela 53, Peru 52, and Brazil only 51.

In Cymbidieae, South America has 145 genera; Colombia has 108, Ecuador 104, Venezuela 95, Brazil 93, and Peru 90.

SOUTH AMERICAN POACEAE ✅

UPDATE IN 29.09.2024

South America has 234 genera of Poaceae with native species in 11 of 12 subfamilies; in 7 of them Brazil has the primacy in number of genera, with these groups adding up to 136 genera on the continent, 125 in Brazil and only 11 absents: five in Bambusoideae (where Brazil has 12 endemic genera) and six in Panicoideae (Brazil with 7 endemic genera). The status of the 4 other families are detailed below.

Danthonioideae (19/285) has three genera in South America, Cortaderia Stapf. and Danthonia DC occur in Brazil; Rytidosperma Stued. occur from Malesia to Australasia, Hawaiian Islands, Easter Island and S. South America in Argentina and Chile.

Arundinoideae (11-13/35-38) is a subfamily with a single representative in the Americas, P. australis (Nees) Döll, which curiously occurs in all countries of the Hemisphere, except for the Caribbean islands, Brazil and Paraguay, this being genus probably the most distributed of all the New World genera absent in the country. None of the major platforms (POWO, VPA, WCSPF, Reflora) marks this genus in Brazil. Beauty images of this species in French Guiana can be seen at La Chaussete Rouge (SEE).

Phragmites australis is a cosmopolitan species that has strong effects on the ecosystems it inhabits; it therefore can offer valuable insights into plant responses to global change, with three welll defined lineages, possibly more (Eller et al., Frontiers, 2017); It is a robust and highly productive grass in the Poaceae family that occurs in a wide range of freshwater and brackish wetlands. GBIF shows 7 records of this species in Brazil (SEE), in SE & S Rio de Janeiro to E São Paulo states (circled in map below), also a isolated record in western region of latter states, which are marked on the more general map of the species, which strongly agrees with the maps present in POWO, if we consider all 7 records as insufficient to attest to their native status in the country. 

 

In Chloridioideae, South America has 39 genera. Argentina and Brazil lead in generic diversity, with 28 (Blepharidachne, Scleropogon, Tragus and Willkommia are highly disjuncts, Neobouteloua endemic) and 21 (Triraphis highly disjunct; three endemics), respectively.

Pooideae has 55 genera in South America, only 25 in Brazil. The highest diversity are from Argentina, with 39 genera, Chile 37, Peru 35, Bolivia 32, Colombia and Ecuador 31. For species, South America has 847 spp., only 99 in Brazil, 25 endemics.

Five lineages of Pooideae ocur in South America, four in Brazil (numbers at parenthesis): Meliceae (2/13), Stipeae (3/32), Brachypodieae (absent), Triticeae (2/5) and Poeae (18/48). Excepting Brachypodieae, all subtribes absents in Brazil belongs Poeae. 

 

Poeae has 16 subtribes in South America, nine absents in Brazil.