Vascular flora of the Guánica dry forest, Puerto Rico

Abstract

The systematic review of the Guánica Forest Reserve flora indicates that it consist of 460 accepted species, plus another 258 species that require confirmation. The number of unconfirmed records is greater than that of other dry forest areas in Puerto Rico, suggesting that further fieldwork and herbaria work is needed. A total of 102 new record are included as part of this work, including Sansevieria concinna as a new record for the island of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The Guánica Forest is a major depository of the Puerto Rican and Caribbean dry forest plant diversity. Three of the endemics are restricted to the Forest and do not occur elsewhere in the world. Reynosia vivesiana and Zephyranthes proctorii are identified as species that should be considered to be listed as endangered species. In general the number of exotics and naturalized species is relatively low. Nevertheless, Haematoxylon campechianum and Sansevieria concinna are examples of the species that deserve further study as potential invasive species within the Forest.