by Santiago Madriñán, Natalia Contreras-Ortiz, Teresa Rodríguez-García, Sonia Quintanilla, Jaime Bernal-Villegas, Alberto Gómez-Gutiérrez Oncidium ornithorhynchum, an epiphytic orchid characterized by erect, pyramidal inflorescences and small yellow flowers, is found in the northern Andes. However, according to the protologue, the type was collected in Mexico during Humboldt and Bonpland’s American expedition (1800–1804). To clarify this problem, we extracted DNA from the ancient holotype. Short range PCRs for plastid (ycf1, trnH-psbA and matK-trnK) and nuclear (nrITS) markers were established and used to infer its phylogenetic placement with several related Central American and Andean orchi

by Robbin Moran, Judith Garrison Hanks, Michael Sundue The lady ferns (Athyrium s.l.) are primarily distributed in the Old World, but include some New World representatives including Anisocampium, Pseudathyrium, and Athyrium s.s. Most of the New World species and especially those in the Neotropics, have not been subject to phylogenetic investigation. Therefore, we carried out a molecular phylogenetic analysis of Neotropical lady ferns (based on five plastid markers) to investigate their relationships. We sampled Neotropical species of Athyrium s.s. and Anisocampium and combined them with a comprehensive Athyriaceae dataset. Our analyses recovered a clade comprised of three Neotropical specie

by Nicolas Garcia, Alan W. Meerow, Silvia Arroyo-Leuenberger, Renata S. Oliveira, Julie H. Dutilh, Pamela S. Soltis, Walter S. Judd A robust generic classification for Amaryllidaceae has remained elusive mainly due to the lack of unequivocal diagnostic characters, a consequence of highly canalized variation and a deeply reticulated evolutionary history. A consensus classification is proposed here, based on recent molecular phylogenetic studies, morphological and cytogenetic variation, and accounting for secondary criteria of classification, such as nomenclatural stability. Using the latest sutribal classification of Hippeastreae (Hippeastrineae and Traubiineae) as a foundation, we propose th

by Jibankumar Singh Khuraijam, Jaideep Mazumdar, John Wiersema Status of original material of Abies spectabilis (Pinaceae) is re-evaluated. The previous attempted lectotypification was found to be contradictory and ineffective and a new lectotype for A. spectabilis is designated.

by Christina Schüßler, Christian Bräuchler, Jorge Alfredo Reyes-Betancort, Marcus Koch, Mike Thiv Urticaceae tribe Parietarieae serves as an excellent example to study hypotheses on Macaronesian-Mediterranean island biogeography. Parietarieae is distributed in both of these floristically closely related regions and contains two island endemic genera. Gesnouinia is endemic to Macaronesia and was considered as a tertiary relict from a European paleotropical vegetation. This, however, may contradict the general idea of insular woodiness also proposed for this genus. For the origin of the western Mediterranean island endemic Soleirolia, a vicariance scenario, i.e. the split of Hercynian massif h

by Mathew Sharples, Erin Tripp Whereas the eastern North American–eastern Asian floristic connection represents one of the most widely studied biogeographical relationships in flowering plant evolution, connections between western North America and Asia have been comparatively rarely investigated, especially through genetic approaches. Stellaria irrigua Bunge is one of several plants that has been treated as an exceptionally dramatic example of a disjunction between floristically similar, high alpine biotas of the southern Rocky Mountains and south-central Siberia. We here employ numerous new field collections and ddRADseq data to test the hypothesis that Stellaria irrigua—a species that has

by Shuai Liao, Qin-Wen Lin, Jin-Shuang Ma, John H. Wiersema “Abroma” Jacq. and “Ambroma” L. f. have been alternatively adopted in different publications for the same genus of Malvaceae. The correct spelling and ascription of this generic name remain in dispute. Fosberg reviewed the nomenclature of this genus and concluded that Jacquin did not validly publish Abroma in 1776 because he failed to provide a separate generic description or diagnosis, and because validation with a combined genus/species description or diagnosis was not possible, as another prior name (Theobroma augustum L.) was included based on the same type as his sole species A. fastuosum. However, Jacquin had, in fact, validly

by Emanuele Del Guacchio, Anthony Russell Bean, Giancarlo Sibilio, Adriana De Luca, Olga De Castro, Paolo Caputo In this contribution, we treat all the names in the genus Eucalyptus published by F. Dehnhardt, including the much-discussed E. camaldulensis. Current opinion would suggest that Dehnhardt applied this name to a plant different from that to which the name has commonly been applied. Hence, E. camaldulensis was conserved with a conserved neotype. Despite this, we show that Dehnhardt's original description clearly applies to the modern delimitation of E. camaldulensis subsp. camaldulensis and that conservation of the name was not necessary. Two names are neotypified on the basis of ma

by Brandet-Junior Lissambou, Thomas L.P. Couvreur, Christiane Atteke, Tariq Stévart, Rosalia Piñeiro, Gilles Dauby, Franck K. Monthe, Davy U. Ikabanga, Bonaventure Sonké, Bertrand M’batchi, Olivier J. Hardy Combining genetic and morphological markers is a powerful approach for species delimitation, much needed in tropical species complexes. Greenwayodendron (Annonaceae) is a widespread genus of tree species distributed from West to East African rainforests. Two species and four infra-specific taxa are currently recognized. However, preliminary genetic studies suggested the occurrence of several cryptic species, undescribed to date. We tested species delimitation within Greenwayodendron by co

by Pablo C. Guerrero, Helmut E. Walter, Mary T. K. Arroyo, Carol M. Peña, Italo Tamburrino, Marta De Benidictis, Isabel Larridon Eriosyce is one of most species-rich genera within Notocacteae (Cactaceae) harboring a variety of stem and flower morphologies, and fruits with basal abscission. The lack of a well-sampled molecular phylogeny contributes to the current taxonomic instability of the genus, where its circumscription and infrageneric classification has been questioned. Specimens of Eriosyce (63 taxa of Eriosyce plus 19 outgroups) were analyzed through sequencing three-plastid noncoding introns (rpl32-trnL, trnL-trnF and trnH-psbA), one plastid gene (ycf1), and one nuclear gene (PHYC).

By Jannes Höpke, Ladislav Mucina, Dirk Carl Albach Plantago sect. Coronopus DC. contains our two focal species (P. coronopus L. and P. crassifolia Forssk.), both with an overall conspicuous bi-hemispheric distribution range (Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions in the Northern Hemisphere and South Africa in the Southern Hemisphere). We have evaluated up to 27 morphological characters from 96 herbarium specimens representing five out of seven species of that section recognized by Rahn (1996) using principle coordinate analysis, linear discriminant analyses, agglomerative clustering, and classification tree analyses, in order to test the current taxonomic concepts of our two focal species.

TAXON is happy to announce the addition of two new members of its editorial board. John Huisman, Curator of the Western Australian Hebarium in Perth, and Ojvind Moestrup, Professor for Marine Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, will bring in expertise in algae systematics. Both have extensive experience in editing, John as Editor of Cryptogamie algologie and Australian Systematic Botany, Ojvind as Editor-in-Chief of Phycologia and Editor of other phycological and protistology journals. TAXON is expecting to increase its profile in the phycological community with these additions.