XVI International Botanical Congess

In the post WWII period, species of Gesneriaceae were collected in Mesoamerica noting the collection sites with road markings by kilometers and/or by making reference to features that are changing and being erased. Some of the collectors are now deceased and information is only available in the notes that they have left. If prompt action is not taken to relocate these collection sites, we will increasingly be unable to determine if a particular species is no longer present in a specific locality or if the indicated collection site has not been relocated. This has implications on our understanding of changes in biodiversity.It is my proposal to revisit original collection sites, identify their location using GPS coordinates and to make survey assessments to see if the indicated species are still present.