EPIZOOCHOROUS DISPERSAL BY BARBS, HOOKS, AND SPINES IN A LOWLAND MOIST FOREST IN CENTRAL FRENCH-GUIANA

An analysis of the flowering plant flora of a lowland moist forest in central French Guiana reveals 25 species with adaptations for epizooch orous dispersal by barbs, hooks, or spines (stick-tights). This repres ents 1.5% of the flowering plant flora. Stick-tights are represented a mong the monocotyledons of the flora of central French Guiana by five species of Poaceae. The Fabaceae and Asteraceae, each with six species with stick-tight dispersal, are the richest families of flowering pla nts in terms of stick-tight dispersal in central French Guiana. This r egion possesses numerous potential mammal and bird dispersal agents, t herefore it is a puzzle why stick-tight dispersal, especially among sp ecies of the canopy, is not more frequent.