New! Search the Los Amigos Plant Collections Database (August 2003)!

The Los Amigos Botany Databases have grown rapidly based on all collections that have been made in the Los Amigos area during 2001-2003. Collectors include John Janovec, Fernando Cornejo, Piers Majestyk, Piher Maceda, and Pedro Centeno. Robin Foster and Hamilton Beltrán conducted preliminary studies at Los Amigos early in 2001. Their plant lists are maintained here in searchable format.

The Los Amigos Plant Collections Database is now available for searching, with approximately 2700 collection records, including vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens. We are in the process of adding many new collection records and integrating about 4000 images from the Los Amigos Botany Project with specimen searches. Databases are operated using a combination between Filemaker Pro, MS Access, and MSSQL. Updates are made on a regular basis.

We have entered into Phase II of the Los Amigos Botany Project, which involves continued exploration of the Los Amigos Conservation Area, a 400,00 acre (140,000 hectare) wildland protected by a private conservation concession and management plan. Phase II also involves the development a database of information about taxa of the Los Amigos flora. This includes general information and descriptive characteristics for the >1000 species we have collected mostly from about 500 hectares of forest around the Los Amigos Biological Station. These >1000 species represent about 130 families and 475 genera of plants. A database is being developed to handle character information and other information about families, genera, and species of the Los Amigos flora.

We are also working with Dr. Bryan Heidorn of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Library and Information Science to develop a web-based Los Amigos Botanical Information System that will provide new innovative search engine techniques and a collaborative working environment for continued documentation of plant diversity of Los Amigos, Madre de Dios, Peru, and the Andes-Amazon region of SE Peru in general.

We will appreciate any comments, corrections, preliminary determinations we can get. This website is becoming part of the communication system between taxonomic experts and the Los Amigos Botany Project as we develop plant guides to the Los Amigos Biological Station and Conservation Area.

Please search through your favorite families and view the images we have available. If you can help with preliminary names, name corrections, we will appreciate and acknowledge your input. And if you need herbarium specimens, images, or special collections of particular plants for morphological, anatomical, or molecular research, please contact us about cooperation and collaboration. Please e-mail John Janovec at jjanovec@brit.org.