Distribution of Heliamphora

Download coordinates as: The natural range of the carnivorous plant genus Heliamphora is restricted to the southern Venezuelan states of Amazonas and Bolívar, and to adjacent portions of northern Brazil and western Guyana, an area corresponding to the western part of the Guayana Shield.

These plants are largely confined to the summits and foothills of the sandstone table-top mountains of the region, known as tepuis.

Many additional orthographic variants are likely to exist and some localities remain the subject of considerable toponymic confusion; these cases are covered in the Notes section.

The western range of the genus is confined almost entirely to Amazonas state, Venezuela, but extends slightly into northernmost Brazil.

[nb b] A giant valley, Cañón Grande, runs southwest to northeast through the middle of Cerro de la Neblina.

No Heliamphora are found on the small granitic outcrop of Cerro Aratitiyope (1700 m) to the north of the Neblina Massif.

The third major tepui of the Duida group, Cerro Huachamacari, is comparatively low, reaching only 1900 m.[3] Two species are recognised from this complex and found nowhere else: H. macdonaldae and H. tatei.

It is largely encompassed by Bolívar state, Venezuela, but also extends into portions of western Guyana and northern Brazil.

It rises from 1600 m in the northwest to 2450 m in the southeast, where the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall, Angel Falls, is located.

Both varieties are present on Auyán Tepui itself and on the comparatively tiny Cerro La Luna (1650 m), located off its northern flank.

The Chimantá Massif is a huge, highly fragmented complex with a total summit area of 615 square kilometres.

The Ilú (Uru) and Tramen Tepuis are treated here as a single locality since they are joined by a common base and share the same assemblage of Heliamphora taxa.

Of the three, only Ptari Tepui has an open, rocky summit mostly free of vegetation cover,[3] and only this peak is known to host Heliamphora.

[2] Two species are known with certainty from Ptari Tepui (H. purpurascens and H. sarracenioides, both endemic) and a further two (H. collina and H. heterodoxa) may also be present.

[3] The Gran Sabana (literally "Great Savannah") is a vast area of tropical uplands covering nearly 30,000 km2, which surrounds many of the tepuis of the eastern range.

They have an elevational range of around 700 to 1650 m.[3] Cerro Venamo is a sandstone mountain near the border between Venezuela and Guyana, at the northeastern tip of the Gran Sabana.

[3] As with many other localities in the Guayana Highlands, the name Cerro Venamo has been inconsistently applied to a number of adjacent areas.

Heliamphora nutans (centre) growing with sympatric Orectanthe sceptrum on Mount Roraima , where it was discovered in 1838 as the first member of its genus.
Kukenán Tepui (left) and Mount Roraima , the two most visited of the Eastern Tepuis. The Tëk River and the relatively dry grasslands of the Gran Sabana are visible in the foreground.
Panoramic view of the Eastern Tepuis chain. From left to right: Tramen Tepui , Ilú Tepui , Karaurín Tepui , Wadakapiapué Tepui (obscured by clouds), Yuruaní Tepui , Kukenán Tepui , and Mount Roraima (obscured by Kukenán and clouds).
View from Kavanayén in the Gran Sabana , looking northwards. The large forested ridge taking up much of the frame is Sororopán Tepui , with Ptari Tepui visible just behind. Moving left is Moná Tepui and then, off in the distance, the Los Testigos chain, beginning with Kamarkawarai Tepui .
The flat, symmetrical peak on the left is Ptari Tepui , with the long southwestern face of Sororopán Tepui extending to the right.
A typical landscape of the Gran Sabana as seen from Kavanayén . The tepuis in the distance are (moving left): Sororopán Tepui , Ptari Tepui , Moná Tepui , and far off in the distance, Kamarkawarai Tepui and the rest of the Los Testigos chain.