Arboreal species of the Pinar del Rio Botanical Garden and their potential use

Abstract

From immemorial time, botanical gardens have played a preponderant role in the conservation of plant species, especially those of economic interest to man. The Botanical Garden of Pinar del Río has not been left out of it and as an institution managing the sustainable use of its taxa, it harbours 160 arboreal species, which are grouped into 124 genera and 51 families. The best represented families are Fabaceae, Myrtaceae, Meliaceae, Sapindaceae, Boraginaceae, Combretaceae and Malvaceae. Regarding their potentialities it has been verified that they are all wood, 58% medicinal, 29 % edible, 16 % ornamental and 11 % mellifluous. As for endemism, 27 species are endemic, representing 17 % of the total. In turn, 21 species have been categorized as endangered, representing 13 %, 33 % of them are categorized as preliminarily endangered, 52 % as critically endangered, 9 % as endangered and 4 % as vulnerable.