Range extension of Prestoea pubens var. pubens H.E.Moore (Arecales: Arecaceae) in Colombia

Abstract

This study reports an extension of 275 km to the known distribution of the understory palm Prestoea pubens var. pubens. Originally recorded from the Gorgona and Gorgonilla islands and along the Pacific coast of Colombia, the new record is from a Tropical Montane Cloud Forest in Caquetá, which is located on the eastern slopes of the East Colombian Andes. This new record makes the species trans-Andean, showing a disjunctive distribution that also occurs with other understory palms such as Aiphanes simplex, Chamaedorea pygmaea and P. ensiformis.