Background: The Convolvulaceae a plant family of near-cosmopolitan distribution includes 58 genera and 1,880 species. This family presents a remarkable amount of morphological diversity and even includes parasitic species. Knowledge of Convolvulaceae in Mexico is still scanty, since few geographical areas of Mexico have been investigated with respect to this family or any of its genera.
Questions: How many and which species of Convolvulaceae are found in the municipality of Victoria? How are they distributed within the study area and worldwide?
Species study: Species of the family Convolvulaceae.
Site and years of study: Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico, 2017-2018.
Methods: Botanical material was collected and identified using standard botanical bibliographies. Herbarium specimens and online databases were reviewed. The distribution of the species in the study area was examined by a cluster analysis.
Results: Nine genera were registered, 31 species with two infraspecific taxa. The richest genus is Ipomoea (13 spp.), followed by Cuscuta (4) and Evolvulus (4). Most of the species occur below 500 m asl, and mostly in scrubs and disturbed areas. A high percentage (77.3 %) of native Convolvulaceae species has wide geographical distributions and only two species are endemic to Mexico, one of which is endemic to Tamaulipas. Taxonomic keys of genera and species are included.
Conclusions: Although the Convolvulaceae in Victoria, Tamaulipas, do not present exceedingly high rates of species richness, it is still necessary to continue with explorations at national and local levels to fully elucidate the biological importance of the region from a biogeographical point of view
