Summary
Included here are the Guayana Highlands situated east of the Andes. The area covers much of southern Venezuela and in addition to Guayana it extends marginally into Brazil and Colombia. The area has one of the most distinctive floras on the planet.
Of the endemic and near endemic vascular plants so far recorded there are about 755 species in 255 genera and 77 families. There are about 168 endemic genera (marked red) and one endemic family, Hymenophyllopsidaceae (marked green). There is also an endemic subfamily, the Pakaraimoideae of the Dipterocarpaceae, which includes the tree Pakaraimaea dipterocarpacea. Prior to its discovery dipterocarps were thought to be confined the palaeotropics. In total there are reported to be over 4000 endemic plant species so further information is required.
References
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