Welcome
This website has been created to provide useful information and pictures of the Eriocaulaceae species present in the high- Andean páramos. The information contained here is the product of years of observation and research, and is a constant work in progress.
The family Eriocaulaceae and its distributionThe family Eriocaulaceae comprises aprox. 1200 species and has a pantropical distribution. Its major center of diversification is located on northern South America, specifically three highlands areas: 1. Andean páramos located above 2600 meters above sea level, in the Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Perú. 2. Tepuis in the Guiana shield areas of Venezuela, Guiana, Brazil, and Suriname. 3. Campos de altitude, in SE Brazil, specifically the states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Bahia.
There are good inventories and lists of the species present in the Guiana shield and in SE Brazil. However, the Andean species have been relatively little studied, and there are limited sources of information regarding images and number of species. This website was created as a product of a project that seeks to understand the evolutionary processes that led to the present disjunct distribution of the family in these three highland areas in South America. |