Vascular plant species count in a wet forest in the Choco area on the Pacific coast of Colombia

The total number of vascular plant species was counted and growth form dist ribution was studied in the Choco area on the Pacific coast of Colombia, in two transects 400 x 10 m and ten transects 2 x 50 m, for a total sampled a rea of 0.9 ha. The species count of the ten transects (442 species in 0.1 h a) appears to be the highest number of species recorded with this methodolo gy. There were 970 species for the total area (0.9 ha). Ninety to ninety-fi ve percent of the species were under 10 cm dbh and 70-86% under 2.5 cm dbh, epiphytes and small trees and treelets less than or equal to 10 cm dbh bei ng the most diverse growth forms. The most species-rich families and genera were those represented by herbaceous plants and treelets. Individuals were counted only in the ten 2 x 50 m transects (0.1 ha), where 4459 individual s were found. Palms and ferns were the most abundant growth forms. Argument s are presented against the way diversity is usually measured. Recommendati ons are made to include other growth forms besides trees when assessing alp ha diversity for conservation purposes.