Conservation of the Palms (Arecaceae) in the Solid Guamuhaya, county Cienfuegos

During the last 10 years a floristic study was carried out on the family Arecaceae, according to the vegetable formations and the altitude in the southeast region of Cienfuegos province in the Guamuaya Mountains, with the objective of knowing the state of conservation of the palms species of present. The work embraced nine towns in those that the presence of species of this gender was determined by means of the observation method, the collections were carried out in an aleatory and intensive way, keeping in mind the micros hábitats where they progress this group of plants. They were five species, two endemic local, one endemic national and two autochthonous. According to their conservation state they are threatened species. Coccothrinax crinita subsp brevicrinis Borhidi & Muñiz, with category of In Danger (IN); Coccothrinax miraguama subsp. roseocarpa (León) Borhidi & Muñiz, Sabal maritima (Kunth) Burret and Roystonea regia (Kunth) O.F. Cook, smaller Concern (LC), intending In Critical Danger (CP) to Coccothinax sp

Inter- and intra-specific diversity of Cuban <i>Pinguicula</i> (Lentibulariaceae) based on morphometric analyses and its relation with geographical distribution

<div><p><b><i>Background:</i></b> Phenotypic variations have been observed in populations of west Cuban <i>Pinguicula</i> species. Such populations occur in patches under different ecological conditions associated with specialised habitats and separated by geographical and ecological barriers, which can lead to morphological differentiation.</p><p><b><i>Aims:</i></b> To analyse morphological diversity among species and populations of Cuban <i>Pinguicula</i>; and to test if morphological variability is associated with geographical distribution and distance between populations.</p><p><b><i>Methods:</i></b> We sampled a total of eight populations of <i>P. albida</i>, <i>P. cubensis</i> and <i>P. filifolia</i> and tested for morphometric differences among them by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) based on 31 quantitative traits. We also assessed the geographical isolation with respect to morphological distance.</p><p><b><i>Results:</i></b> The studied species showed high morphological variability at both species and population level. Reproductive characteristics appeared to be more promissory than vegetative ones in distinguishing geographical groups since they clearly defined populations; nevertheless a strong component of individual variation was observed. According to the distance analysis, such morphological variations were correlated with fragmented populations and isolation and allowed the differentiation of two morphotypes of <i>P. albida</i> and two of <i>P. filifolia</i>.</p><p><b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> We conclude that high phenotypic variation of the analysed species is related to geographical and ecological isolation which have led to the differentiation of morphotypes within species.</p></div