CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The genus Deprea Raf. was recently re-circumscribed as result of new molecular phylogenetic analyses. Currently, it comprises 50 species mainly distributed in montane rain forests from Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The number of species within this genus has increased considerably because many species have been transferred from Larnax and several new species have been described. As a result, there is no complete assessment of the current geographic distribution and conservation status of the genus. Therefore, our objectives were to update the geographic distribution of each species, determine their conservation status according to the IUCN criteria, and identify the geographic areas with the highest richness of Deprea. More than 700 georeferenced occurrence localities from collections housed at 43 herbaria were included, in addition to new specimens collected in numerous field trips to Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Species distributions and genus richness were plotted using DIVA-GIS and conservation assessments were undertaken using IUCN criteria B ?geographic range? in the form of B1 (extent of occurrence) and/or B2 (area of occupancy), and criteria D ?population size?. Deprea species are distributed across the Northern and Central Andes from South America, with only one species reaching Central America. The highest richness is shown in Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador, over a complex biogeographical region called the Amotape-Huancabamba (A-T) zone. Approximately half of the species are included within a threatened category according to IUCN, mainly due to their endemic nature and the continuing degradation of their habitat. The most common category was Near Threatened (16 species) while Endangered was the second category with the highest number of species (13 species). Conservation priorities should be focused to the A-T zone given that this area contains most of the isolated and endangered species of the genus.