Abstract

MORILLO, Gilberto, BRICENO, Benito and OLICA-ESTEVA, Francisco. Bromeliaceae from the paramos and subparamos of the Venezuelan Andes. Acta Bot. Venez., June 2009, vol.32, no.1, p.179-224. ISSN 0084-5906.

A preliminary floristic study of the Bromeliaceae from the Andean Venezuelan paramos and subparamos is presented. The research follows traditional herbarium technics, and includes generic and specific descriptions, and keys to subfamilies, genera and species. Illustrations of 19 species are provided. As a conclusion of this work, eight genera and 33 species were found. Species are grouped under five main distribution patterns: seven species are endemic, 15 are Andean, three are Neotropical, three range from Central to South America, and two are disjuncts. Venezuelan paramo species of Bromeliaceae comprize about 10% of total number of species in the country, and 33% of the species present in Colombian paramos.

Keywords: Andes; Bromeliaceae; floristics; paramo; subparamo; synopsis; Venezuela.