Botany

Botanists working at STRI and the University of Panama are major contributors to the ongoing classification of Panama’s 10,000-plus plant species. Both institutions maintain herbaria and online data bases designed by STRI staff. Our herbarium supports the digitization of type-specimens from smaller herbaria around the region. Plant physiologists ask how tropical plants respond to stressors from high temperatures to low soil water to changing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. We also have expertise in bryology, plant-herbivore interactions and plant chemistry and we convene botanists from around the world who participate in the ForestGEO network.