Lauraceae in Madidi: Interdisciplinary collaboration for the rapid discovery of problematic plant diversity

This interdisciplinary partnership between plant systematists and ecologists combines resources and expertise to rapidly and accurately uncover the true diversity of poorly known plant family Lauraceae in Bolivia's Tropical Andes

A panoramic view of a cloud-covered tropical forest on a mountainous slope, with dense green tree canopy partially obscured by low-hanging mist.

Project Status

Active

Project lead

Tom Wells

Department

Accelerated Taxonomy

Location

Kew; Missouri Botanical Garden; Herbario Nacional de Bolivia and Madidi National Park, Bolivia

Accurately and consistently identifying species is integral to conducting biodiversity research. For many groups of tropical plants however, this task is extremely challenging, hindering attempts to document, understand and protect the world’s most biodiverse and threatened terrestrial ecosystems.

The plant family Lauraceae for example, is among the most diverse and ecologically important families of trees in tropical Andean forests, abundant across elevations and a vital food source for many animals. But accurately identifying Lauraceae trees is notoriously difficult, with a significant proportion of individuals essentially unidentifiable, even by experts. Since most existing identification tools are reliant on either flowers or fruits for them to be useable, this obstacle is particularly acute in forest monitoring plots, where most individuals are likely to be sterile at the time of collection.

Branch of Nectandra cuspidata bearing numerous small cream-coloured flowers in clusters along reddish stems, with elongated green leaves.
Flowers of Nectandra cuspidata, a Lauraceae species recorded as part of the Madidi Project in the tropical Andes. © RBG Kew
Close-up of two immature green fruits of Ocotea comata emerging from brown, cup-like structures, held against a person's fingers for scale.
Immature fruits of Ocotea comata, an important diagnostic feature for identifying Lauraceae species in the field. © RBG Kew

The Madidi Project is a collaborative research effort to document and study plant biodiversity at the interface of Amazonia and the Tropical Andes in northwest Bolivia. The project is led by Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG), in collaboration with the Herbario Nacional de Bolivia (LPB). Its core dataset is a network of ~500 forest monitoring plots in the Madidi National Park in the Yungas Ecoregion, which are used to model the elevational ranges of different species and likely impacts of climate change on their future distributions. But identifying Lauraceae trees to species within this dataset is extremely difficult, with around a quarter of all individuals unidentified to species, and potentially half of the family’s diversity undescribed.

This project aims to tackle the resulting taxonomic impediment to better understanding and protecting Tropical Andean forests by integrating sterile plot vouchers with Kew’s and Missouri’s extensive herbarium collections, and using High-throughput DNA sequencing to test and verify putative species concepts.

The project is funded by the NERC Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund 2025 (OPP874: APP77051)

Tom Wells

Alex Monro

Missouri Botanical Garden; Herbario Nacional de Bolivia (LPB)

Supported by

  • The project is funded by the NERC Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund 2025 (OPP874: APP77051)