DATA ON THE VASCULAR FLORA OF THE COASTAL DESERT OF ARICAAND TARAPACA, CHILE, AND ITS PHYTOGEOGRAPHICAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH SOUTHERN PERU

Abstract

156 new records for the vascular flora of the coastal Desert of northern Chile (18º38’- 21º20’S) are reported, one of which
is new for Chile (Tetragonia crystallina) and 23 are new distribution limits. Floristic checklists of three localities of
northernmost Chile (cerro Camaraca, Punta Madrid, caleta Junín) are informed first time. With these new records, the
vascular flora of the coastal Desert of the Arica - Parinacota and Tarapaca Regions is composed of 116 species, which
means the addition of 33 species with respect to the previous reports. A similarity analysis among the floristic lists of the
localities under study, plus floristic information from other sites of the coastal desert of northern Chile and southern Peru,
suggests that the floristic similarity falls brusquely between the northernmost locality of Chile (cerro Camaraca) and the
southernmost one of Peru (Tacna). This result is discussed in the context of the biogeography of the Pacific Desert of
South-America.