The endemic flora of Trinidad and Tobago includes a total of 59 species of vascular plants belonging to 34

plant families Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

. This is less than 3% of the total vascular plant flora of Trinidad and Tobago. Thirty-nine of these species are endemic to Trinidad, 12 are Tobagonian endemics, and six are present on both islands. Island systems tend to be rich centres of endemism as a result of their isolation. The islands of the Greater Antilles have rates of endemism which range from 12-50% of their flora. Trinidad and Tobago has a far lower rate of endemism, probably as a result of its geological history. The islands of Trinidad and Tobago lie on the South American

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

, and were both connected to the mainland during the Pleistocene. Tobago was separated from the mainland about 13,000 years ago; Trinidad was connected until more recently, and may only have become separated about 1,500 years ago. The flora of Trinidad and Tobago has been estimated to include about 2,500 vascular plant species. Although historically as many as 222 species were thought to be endemic, a study by Veerle Van den Eynden and colleagues at the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

found that only 59 of these species could validly be considered endemic, including eight species which they were unable to positively confirm as either endemic or non-endemic.

Conservation status of endemic species

Trinidad and Tobago is a small (5,126 km²), densely populated country. In addition, most endemic species are known from a relatively small number of localities—only eight of the 59 species are known from 5 or more localities. In addition to this, 22 of these species have not been collected since 1958, and one that was last collected between 1786 and 1791. Using the IUCN Red List criteria, 18 species have been classified as critically endangered, 16 as endangered, 15 as

vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...

, three as near threatened and three as

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

. Only four endemic plant species were classified as being of least concern.

Concentrations of endemic species

Three areas in Trinidad and Tobago support relatively large numbers of endemic species—ridge-tops in the Northern Range, and savannas in Trinidad, and the Main Ridge in Tobago.

List of endemic species

References

{{reflist Endemic flora