Plantas ruderales del área urbana de Malinalco, Estado de México, México

Abstract

Ruderal plants are synanthropic species that grow in disturbed places associated with human settlements. Very little information is available on this group of plants in Mexico. This work presents a floristic list of the ruderal plants of the Malinalco, Mexico State, urban area. This is a region located in the ecotone between temperate and tropical climates and has a long history of human habitation. In addition, we analyzed the biogeographical composition and life forms. Between May 2008 and April 2009, the town was surveyed systematically and monthly, collecting vascular plants in vacant lots, walls, and sidewalks of Malinalco. Data on the origin and distribution of the species were obtained from the literature. We calculated the estimated richness in order to verify the sufficiency of the collection effort, the floristic richness per area unit (species) and the floristic similarity (genera) between Malinalco and Mexico City. Malinalco was richer in ruderal species than Mexico City, considering the differences in size; the two cities shared over 60 % of the genera. The dominant life form was perennial herbs. Natives represented 73.6 % of the species, but very few (less than 9 %) were endemics to Mexico; 59.3 % had a wide distribution in the American continent. The introduced species originated mainly from the Old World, particularly Europe. The low proportion of grasses was notable. Adiantum concinnum, Asparagus officinalis and Cuphea micropetala are new records for synanthropic species in Mexico State.