Ferns of Colombia 

National Science Foundation (DEB-2045319)

The Ferns of Colombia project is a long-held dream of one of its principal investigators and BRIT Research Botanist, Dr. Alejandra Vasco.  Funded by the National Science Foundation to document plant diversity in one of the most species-rich countries on Earth, Alejandra and colleagues are racing against time to find new fern species threatened by climate change and other human activities.  When it comes to ferns, Alejandra’s specialty, Colombia holds the greatest species diversity in the Americas with more than 1500 species.  This project embraces a multi-pronged approach: revising historical collections deposited in herbaria; performing field expeditions to understudied regions of Colombia; and producing new digital research tools and genomic resources.  The project also helps improve scientific collaboration by providing training for US and Colombian students in biodiversity research.

For the most updated content of this research, visit the project website: www.fernsofcolombia.com

For videos visit our Youtube channel

Part of the Ferns and Lycophytes Taxonomy and Evolution Program