[en] The main goal of the study was to shed light on the enigmatic world distribution of the Cneoraceae family, frequently, and until very recently, used as an example of the connection between the Mediterranean and the Caribbean floras. Specifically, we wanted to document the presence/absence of an endemic taxon, first collected in 1861 by Charles Wright from Cuba (Cneorum trimerum). During the last five years, we have visited all the localities where this taxon was originally collected, at Sierra Maestra in eastern Cuba, and revised all available herbarium material. Moreover, we checked all botanical and historical references, and also interviewed local people, to whom we showed pictures of the Mediterranean Cneorum. The conclusions of our survey are the following: i) nowadays, there are no Cneorum plants growing in their type localities in Cuba; ii) all the collected material from Cuba and deposited in herbaria by Wright, and also others studied by Carlquist, correspond unequivocally to C. tricoccon. The material collected by Ekman in 1922, and identified as C. trimerum, is sterile, and cannot be identified with certainty, however we think it is unlikely to be C. tricoccon; iii) this plant was probably introduced during the mid 19th century from Southern France, although it never become naturalized. The presence of French colonist settlements in coffee plantations in those areas where Cneorum was collected, together with the fact that the plant has medicinal properties, lead us to suggest that the colonist themselves were those introducing the plant in Cuba. Lastly, iv) Schoepfia stenophylla (Olacaceae) has also been recently misidentified as Cneorum tricoccon due to the resemblance of their leaves. Schoepfia stenophylla is an endemic species currently threatened and for which there is an in situ conservation plan. Such confusion between these species has contributed to the maintenance and spreading of the mistakes through the long taxonomic history of the presence of Cneorum in Cuba. Hence, we conclude that Cneorum can no longer be used as an example of biogeographical disjunction between the floras of the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.

[es] El objetivo del presente estudio es esclarecer la, hasta ahora, enigmática distribución mundial de la familia Cneoraceae y confirmar la existencia de un posible taxon de esta familia en Cuba, el cual es frecuentemente usado como ejemplo de conexión entre la floras del Mediterráneo y el Caribe. Para ello, durante los últimos cinco años, se han realizado intensas prospecciones de campo en aquellas áreas donde previamente se había documentado la presencia de una especie de Cneorum (identificada inicialmente como C. trimerum y como C. tricoccon posteriormente) en Sierra Maestra, Cuba. Además, se ha revisado material de herbario y bibliografía diversa. La presencia de antiguos asentamientos de cafeteros franceses en las localidades donde se colectó esta especie, junto con el hecho de presentar propiedades medicinales (en hojas y frutos), hace posible que fuera introducida intencionadamente en Cuba desde el sur de Francia por los propios colonos a mediados del siglo XIX. Concluimos que esta especie no se encuentra ya en Cuba, y creemos que nunca llegó a establecerse y naturalizarse en la isla. Además, debido a un sutil parecido en las hojas, y a identificaciones realizadas a partir de materiales de herbarios, se ha estado confundiendo, hasta muy recientemente, C. tricoccon con Schoepfia stenophylla Urb. (Olacaceae), un endemismo amenazado y sobre el que ya hay actualmente un plan de conservación in situ. Dicha confusión de especies ha contribuido a mantener y transmitir diferentes errores a lo largo de la historia taxonómica sobre la supuesta presencia de Cneorum en Cuba, y por tanto, de una aparente conexión de las floras mediterráneas y caribeñas en relación a Cneoraceae.