Hidden Rice Diversity in the Guianas

AbstractTraditional crop varieties are an important source of genetic diversity for crop adaptation and modern breeding. Landraces of Asian (Oryza sativa) and African (Oryza glaberrima) rice have been well studied on the continents where they were domesticated. However, their history of cultivation in northern South America is poorly understood. Here we reveal the rice diversity that is maintained by Maroons, descendants of enslaved Africans who fled to the interior forests of the Guianas ca. 300 years ago. We interviewed subsistence farmers who practice shifting cultivation along the Maroni and Lawa rivers that form the natural border between French Guiana and Suriname, and used ethnobotanical and morphological methods to identify around 50 varieties, of which 15 were previously undocumented. The genetic origin of these varieties was explored using the Angiosperms-353 universal probe set. Despite the large distances between sites and relative inaccessibility of the area, phenotypic and genetic diversity did not display any geographic structure, which is consistent with knowledge of seed exchange among members of the same ethnolinguistic group. Although improved US cultivars were introduced in Maroon villages in the 1940s, these have not displaced the traditional landraces, which are cherished for their taste and nutritious qualities and for their importance in Maroon spiritual life. The unique agricultural and ritual practices of Maroons confirm their role as custodians of rice diversity, a role that is currently under threat from external pressures and encroaching globalization. We expect that the rice diversity uncovered in this study represents only a fraction of the total diversity in the Guianas and may constitute a large untapped resource that holds promise for future rice improvement. Further efforts to inventory and preserve these landraces will help to protect a precious cultural heritage and local food security.

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Novae Gesneriaceae Neotropicarum XI. New genera and species from the Guianas

Brittonia ◽

10.1663/0007-196x(2003)54[344:ngnxng]2.0.co;2 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 54 (4) ◽

pp. 344 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Christian Feuillet ◽

Laurence E. Skog

Keyword(s):

New Genera ◽

The Guianas

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The composition of Amazonian forests: patterns at local and regional scales

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467498000455 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 645-664 ◽

Cited By ~ 121

Author(s):

John Terborgh ◽

Ellen Andresen

Keyword(s):

Detrended Correspondence Analysis ◽

Forest Composition ◽

Level Data ◽

Tree Communities ◽

Floristic Patterns ◽

Edaphic Properties ◽

Number Of Stems ◽

Amazonian Forests ◽

Amazonian Region ◽

The Guianas

An analysis was conducted of floristic patterns contained in 48 1-ha tree plots distributed at 29 sites in seven neotropical countries, with a primary emphasis on the Amazonian region. Analyses were made with family level data, using detrended correspondence analysis and multidimensional scaling to generate two-dimensional ordinations. Dissimilarity values for all pairs of plots were then used to compare forest composition at both local (flooded vs unflooded forests) and regional scales (e.g., western vs central vs eastern Amazonia). The predominate family of trees in a large majority of Amazonian and Guianan forests (by number of stems) is either Palmae or Leguminosae (sensu latu), followed by Moraceae and Euphorbiaceae. The forests of western Amazonia are particularly rich in palms, Moraceae, and Myristicaceae, whereas those of eastern Amazonia and the Guianas are rich in Lecythidaceae and Chrysobalanaceae. Dissimilarity between sites increases with distance for both flooded and unflooded forests. The tree communities of flooded and unflooded forests within a region tended to resemble one another more closely than forests of either type resembled the homologous forests of the adjoining regions. Within Amazonia the edaphic properties of each region and its geological history are tightly interrelated. It is therefore difficult to distinguish between evolutionary and ecological interpretations of the results.

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Ten new species of Cladonia (Cladoniaceae, Lichenized Fungi) from the Guianas and Venezuela, South America

Phytotaxa ◽

10.11646/phytotaxa.93.1.2 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 93 (1) ◽

pp. 25 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

TEUVO AHTI ◽

HARRIE J. M. SIPMAN

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

South America ◽

Lichenized Fungi ◽

The Family ◽

Northern South America ◽

The Guianas

The diversity of the lichen family Cladoniaceae in the Neotropics is apparently underestimated. A revision of the family for the Flora of the Guianas resulted in the description of 10 species new to science from Northern South America: Cladonia cayennensis; Cladonia flavocrispata; Cladonia isidiifera; Cladonia maasii; Cladonia mollis; Cladonia persphacelata; Cladonia recta; Cladonia rupununii; Cladonia subsphacelata; Cladonia termitarum.

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The coasts of North‐East Brazil and the guianas in the Egerton Ms. 2803

Imago Mundi ◽

10.1080/03085696008592174 ◽

1960 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 27-31

Author(s):

E. Roukema

Keyword(s):

North East ◽

The Guianas

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KNOCK! KNOCK! WHO'S THERE? AN ETHNOARCHAEOLOGICAL APPROACH IN FRENCH GUIANA

Latin American Antiquity ◽

10.1017/laq.2016.5 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 6-27

Author(s):

Stéphen Rostain

Keyword(s):

Field Data ◽

French Guiana ◽

South American ◽

Archaeological Preservation ◽

Ethnographic Data ◽

Natural Degradation ◽

Tropical Lowlands ◽

The Village ◽

The Guianas ◽

Cultural Rules

Amazonia and the Guianas possess exceptional potential for ethnoarchaeological studies because of the precolumbian heritage of modern-day Amerindian people. Surprisingly, minimal scholarship of this nature has been conducted in the South American lowlands. On the French Guiana coast, Maillard, a small Palikur village, was abruptly abandoned in 1990. I initiated an ethnoarchaeological study to pinpoint important differences between the interpretation of archaeological and ethnographic data. I recorded the topography of features and remains, compiled an inventory of artifacts and the contents of discard areas, inventoried the cultivated trees present, and described the characteristics of the surroundings. After analyzing the data using classical methods of archaeological inference to obtain a complete reconstruction of the village and the customs of its inhabitants, I invited the chief into his now-abandoned village to describe the settlement as it was while inhabited. In the twenty years since, I have made several visits to track the natural degradation of the site. This ethnoarchaeological approach shows that archaeologists dealing with field data can make many mistakes. Conversely, ethnographic accounts are distorted by the cultural rules and interdictions of interviewees. This experiment suggests the need for prudence in our interpretations and hypotheses, especially in the tropical lowlands, where archaeological preservation is particularly poor.

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Anemopaegma kawense (Bignoniaceae), a new species from the Kaw Mountain (French Guiana), with notes on related species and a key to the genus in the Guianas

Plant Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.5091/plecevo.2021.1775 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 154 (2) ◽

pp. 296-306

Author(s):

Olivier Lachenaud ◽

Fabiana Firetti ◽

Lúcia G. Lohmann

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

French Guiana ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Iucn Red List ◽

Herbarium Specimens ◽

Similar Species ◽

Centre Of Diversity ◽

North Eastern ◽

The Guianas ◽

A New Species

Background and aims – The genus Anemopaegma (Bignoniaceae) includes around 47 species and has its centre of diversity in Brazil. Here, we describe and illustrate a new species from French Guiana, Anemopaegma kawense, and compare it to the two most similar species, A. foetidum and A. granvillei. We further assess the conservation status of all three species.Material and methods – Morphological descriptions are based on herbarium specimens deposited at BM, BR, CAY, INPA, K, MO, P, SPF, and U, and, in the case of the newly described species, also on field observations. The conservation status assessments follow the IUCN Red List criteria.Key results – Anemopaegma kawense differs from both A. foetidum and A. granvillei by its densely villose twigs, longitudinally plicate leaflets with secondary veins not or hardly prominent below, and tertiary veins impressed below. It is further separated from A. foetidum by the leaflets that are villose below and the calyx that is entirely pubescent outside. On the other hand, A. kawense differs from A. granvillei by the densely lepidote outer surface of the corolla, shorter petiolules, leaflets with midrib impressed above, shorter bracts and bracteoles, inflorescence peduncle exceeding the rachis, and pedicels densely puberulous, not lepidote or only sparsely so at the apex. This species is endemic to the Kaw Mountain in north-eastern French Guiana, where it grows in low stunted forest on laterite; it is assessed as Endangered according to the IUCN criteria. New descriptions are provided for A. granvillei, which is newly reported from Suriname, and for A. foetidum, which is newly reported from French Guiana; these two species are assessed as Endangered and Least Concern, respectively. Lectotypes are designated for A. maguirei, which is here synonymised with A. foetidum, and for A. umbellatum, another synonym of that species. A key to the 12 species of Anemopaegma occurring in the Guianas is presented.

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