XVI International Botanical Congess

Inventoried in 1995-97, in pluvial forest in the Chocó floristic region, were all stems 10+ cm dbh in two 1-ha tree plots (500x20 m) and all stems 1-9.9 cm dbh in two adjacent 0.1-ha transects (500x2 m). Floristic analyses using selected families with reliable identifications (Arecaceae, Cecropiaceae, Clusiaceae, Moraceae, Myristicaceae, Rubiaceae) show greater similarities (Sørensen Index) at the genus than the species level among all data sets. At the genus level, the plots are more similar to an Amazonian site (Amacayacu) than to the adjacent transects, though at the species level the Amazonian site has little similarity to Escalerete. Thus, identification of component taxa to a published species (i.e., not a morphospecies) is essential to understanding patterns of neotropical plant diversity.