Endemic Species of the Family Poaceae in Chile: Taxonomy, Distribution, and Conservation

Due to its geographic isolation, Chile is a biogeographic island which harbors a high percentage of endemism. More than 50% of the native vascular flora is endemic and more than 60% lives in Central Chile, included in the Chilean Biodiversity Hotspot. Endemic are species with a geographic distribution restricted to a single area and could be especially vulnerable. For these reasons, updated lists of endemic species are necessary. Based on a databases, the study of specimens from two Chilean herbaria and the available literature, we present an updated list of grasses endemic to Chile indicating for each taxon the scientific accepted name, common names, type, life cycle, flowering period, distribution, conservation status, bibliographic references and representative specimen. Seventy-one species (19.9% of the native grass species) were classified as endemic. Most species occur along the Chilean hotspot of biodiversity, mainly in the Mediterranean region of the hotspot. One species (Podophorus bromoides) is extinct, three species are critically endangered, two species are endangered, one species is vulnerable, and one species is near threatened. The conservation status of most species (89%) needs to be evaluated. Most of the threatened species are endemic to the Juan Fernández Archipelago