Riparian vegetation
Sapirangy, Tabernaemontana catharinensis © M. Peña Chocarro.
Within this category we have included the main types of woody vegetation that can be found associated with rivers or wetlands.
Some woodlands develop along major rivers (gallery forests), while others appear on the banks of seasonal streams or wetlands. They are temporarily flooded by rain or by overflowing rivers and streams nearby.
Gallery forest
Distributed along the banks of the Paraguay River and its tributaries, the canopy can reach up to 20 metres. These forests are rich in lianas, ferns and epiphytes. They suffer the annual flooding of the rivers, which strongly determines their floristic composition.
Yvahai guasú, Hexachlamis edulis © J. de Egea.
Some common species are:
- timbo blanco (Albizia inundata)
- inga (Inga vera)
- laurel (Ocotea diospyrifolia)
- yvahai guasú (Hexachlamis edulis)
- sapirangy (Tabernaemontana catharinensis)
- manduvi guaikuru (Geoffroea spinosa)
- sangre de drago (Croton urucurana)
- pindó (Syagrus romanzoffiana)
- mbavy (Banara arguta)
- alecrín (Holocalyx balansae)
- guajaybi (Patagonula americana)
- aguai guasu (Pouteria gardneriana)
- yvyra pi’u guasu (Ruprechtia laxiflora)
- yvyra pytâ (Peltophorum dubium)
- timbo (Enterolobium contortisiliquum)
- ombú (Phytolacca dioica)
- katigua (Trichilia catigua)
Paloblancales
Hygrophilous formations with a canopy up to 20 to 25 metres tall, dominated by palo blanco (Calycophyllum multiflorum).
Palobobales
Ancoche, Vallesia glabra © M. Peña Chocarro.
This unit, dominated by palobobo (Tessaria integrifolia), colonizes sandy and flooded margins of large rivers, forming very characteristic patches.
Some common species are:
- sauce criollo (Salix humboldtiana)
- acacia negra (Sesbania virgata)
- aromita (Acacia aroma)
- kurupika’y (Sapium haematospermum)
- ancoche (Vallesia glabra)
- zarzamora (Muehlenbeckia sagittifolia)
Other forests
Forests of Geoffroea decorticans (chañarales) or Aporosella chacoensis (yacaré pito) are both common on river banks and on the margins of wetlands that suffer periodical flooding.
Aporodella chacoensis © M. Peña Chocarro.
The chañarales are dense forests, up to 10 metres high dominated by chañar (Geoffroea decorticans).
Other common species are:
- manduvi guaikuru (Geoffroea spinosa)
- algarrobo blanco (Prosopis alba)
- kurupika’y (Sapium haematospermum)
- sacha membrillo (Capparis tweediana)
- ancoche (Vallesia glabra)
The yacaré pito only appears along rivers where it forms monospeciphic populations in temporarily flooded banks.