I address questions about the tempo and mode of evolutionary diversification in plants and the origins of plant diversity. I am particularly interested in understanding the historical assembly of floras through the study of the evolutionary history of their constituent lineages. I combine traditional and modern approaches such as alpha-taxonomy, morphology, molecular phylogenetics, vegetation ecology, and historical biogeography, and collaborate with researchers from different disciplines such as population genetics and ecological modelling. I consider field-work and first-hand knowledge of the species as essential to pursue the goals of my research. I am also interested in the potential application of scientific knowledge in biodiversity conservation planning and decision-making, focused in Chile. The word cloud contains the most frequently appearing words in the titles and abstracts of my publications.

Geographically, I begun working in Chile, especially in the Atacama Desert. The scope of the work has naturally and gradually expanded to other Neotropical areas of the Andean region (especially Peru and Ecuador) as well as Argentina and Brazil.

Taxonomically, most of my work centres around the order Boraginales and the family Asteraceae, but I have also worked with other taxonomic groups, such as Bromeliaceae, Cactaceae, Loasaceae, Malvaceae, Quillajaceae, Urticaceae, Velloziaceae and Zygophyllaceae.

My current work concentrates on the following research areas:

• Taxonomy, systematics and evolution of vascular plants

• Neotropical biogeography

• Vegetation ecology

• Biodiversity conservation

See Publications