A PRELIMINARY CHECKLIST OF THE VASCULAR PLANTS OF THE CHIQUIBUL FOREST, BELIZE

Covering an area of 177,000 hectares, the region known within Belize as the Chiquibul Forest comprises the country's largest forest reserve and includes the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, the Chiquibul National Park and the Caracol Archaeological Reserve. Based on 7047 herbarium and live collections, a checklist of 1355 species of vascular plant is presented for this area, of which 87 species are believed to be new records for the country. Of the 41 species of plant known to be endemic to Belize, four have been recorded within the Chiquibul, and 12 species are listed in The World Conservation Union (IUCN) 2006 Red List of Threatened Species. Although the Chiquibul Forest has been relatively well collected, there are geographical biases in botanical sampling which have focused historically primarily on the limestone forests of the Chiquibul Forest Reserve. A brief review of the collecting history of the Chiquibul is provided, and recommendations are given on where future collecting efforts may best be focused. The Chiquibul Forest is shown to be a significant regional centre of plant diversity and an important component of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.