A revision of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Heterospathe elegans</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arecaceae</Emphasis>) complex in New Guinea

Summary  Three closely affiliated species of Heterospathe Scheff. (H. elegans (Becc.) Becc., H. humilis Becc. and H. versteegiana Becc.) from New Guinea are revised. They are reduced to a single species which is divided into two subspecies, and the new combination H. elegans subsp. humilis (Becc.) M. S. Trudgen & W. J. Baker is made. The subspecies can be readily distinguished by their growth habit. Epitypes are designated for the three previously published names, as informative material on the habit is not included in the existing type specimens. A new, potentially related species is described as H. pullenii M. S. Trudgen & W. J. Baker.     

A revision of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Podococcus</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arecaceae</Emphasis>)

Summary  A taxonomic revision of the palm genus Podococcus (Arecaceae) is presented. Two species are recognised: P. barteri, a species relatively widespread in a coastal band from Nigeria to the D. R. Congo and P. acaulis, a species previously considered conspecific to P. barteri, almost exclusively confined to Gabon. The taxonomic history, morphology, distribution and conservation status of the genus and each species are discussed     

Phylogeny of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Litsea</Emphasis> and related genera (Laureae-Lauraceae) based on analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">rpb2</Emphasis> gene sequences

The relationship between Litsea and related genera is currently unclear. Previous molecular studies on these taxa using cpDNA and nrITS were unable to produce well-resolved phylogenetic trees. In this study, we explored the potential of the rpb2 gene as a source of molecular information to better resolve the phylogenetic analysis. Although rpb2 was believed to be a single-copy gene, our cloning results showed that most species examined possessed several copies of these sequences. However, the genetic distance among copies from any one species was low, and these copies always formed monophyletic groups in our molecular trees. Our phylogenetic analyses of rpb2 data resulted in better resolved tree topologies compared to those based on cpDNA or nrITS data. Our results show that monophyly of the genus Litsea is supported only for section Litsea. As a genus, Litsea was shown to be polyphyletic. The genera Actinodaphne and Neolitsea were resolved as monophyletic groups in all analyses. They were also shown to be sisters and closer to the genus Lindera than to the genus Litsea. Our results also revealed that the genus Lindera is not a monophyletic group.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lecomtedoxa plumosa</Emphasis> (Sapotaceae), a new tree species from Korup National Park,Cameroon

Summary   Lecomtedoxa plumosa Burgt (Sapotaceae), a new tree species from the southern part of Korup National Park in Cameroon, is described and illustrated. The flowers show the characteristics of the genus Lecomtedoxa: for example the staminodes are free and placed alternately to the stamens and corolla lobes. The leaves of the new species are clearly different from other Lecomtedoxa spp., but they look similar to the leaves of Gluema ivorensis, especially to those of the collections from Cameroon. In total 26 trees ≥ 10 cm dbh were found. The largest trees found were 36 m high and 74 cm dbh. The trees grow in primary rain forest, in clusters of up to 10 trees on 2 ha, mixed with many other tree species. The seed dispersal is ballistic. The conservation status of the species is assessed as Endangered, EN D.     

Experimental investigations into the feasibility ofex situ preservation of palm seeds; an alternative strategy for biological conservation of this economically important plant family

Given the widespread belief that the conservation of palms, especially the large-trunked species, is only accomplished throughin situ preservation or in plantations, this paper explores the feasibility of a third approach, i.e. cryogenic preservation of their seedsex situ. Seeds of the following palm species were subjected to air-drying to assess their tolerance of dessication:Washingtonia filifera (L. Linden) H. Wendl.;Sabal mexicana Mart. (syn. S. texana; Zong, 1990);Schippia concolor Burret;Orbignya cohune (Mart.) Dahlgren ex Standley;Acoelorraphe wrightii (Griseb. & H. Wendl.) H. Wendl. ex Becc.;Desmoncus orthacanthos Mart.;Attalea crassispatha (Mart.) Burret;Zambia antillarum (Desc.) L.H. Bailey;Pinanga malaiana (Mart.) Scheff.;Pinanga aff. polymorpha Becc.;Daemonorops verticillaris (Griff.) Mart. Of these, only two (W. filifera andS. mexicana) survived drying to moisture contents around 5% (fresh weight basis). Seeds of the remaining spp. would be difficult or impossible to conserveex situ in seedbanks or cryostores. Data are presented to show that the response ofO. cohune embryos to drying is similar to other recalcitrant (dessication intolerant) seeds, while seeds ofA. wrightii may belong to an intermediate seed storage category with limited tolerance of drying. The results are discussed in relation to the inadequacy of current knowledge as a basis for decisions on the broad scaleex situ conservation of palm germplasm.     

Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Luetzelburgia</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leguminosae</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Papilionoideae</Emphasis>) from the caatinga of Bahia,Brazil and an identification key to all species of the genus

Three new species of the Brazilian genus Luetzelburgia Harms (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae, Sophoreae sensu lato (Vataireoid clade)) are described and illustrated under the names Luetzelburgia harleyi D. Cardoso, L. P. Queiroz &; H. C. Lima, L. neurocarpa D. Cardoso, L. P. Queiroz &; H. C. Lima and L. purpurea D. Cardoso, L. P. Queiroz &; H. C. Lima. All three occur in the caatinga vegetation of the State of Bahia, Eastern Brazil. A discussion of the morphological characters distinguishing the new species from their close relatives, as well as an identification key to all known species of Luetzelburgia, are presented.     

Calospatha subsumed in Calamus (Arecaceae: Calamoideae)

Summary  Based on previously published phylogenetic research, the genus Calospatha Becc. (Calamoideae) is placed in synonymy within Calamus L. The new combination, Calamus calospathus (Ridl.) W. J. Baker & J. Dransf. is made.     

棕榈藤茎的表皮特征及其分类意义

本文对国产棕榈藤3属21种茎的表皮组织进行了系统的比较观察,首次报道了棕榈藤茎表皮细 胞的排列式样,并结合表皮细胞类型和气孔、“反射体”的有无等特征,将国产棕榈藤茎的表皮组织划分 为3种类型3种亚型。(1)钩叶藤型:表皮细胞为长方形,细胞交错排列呈砖墙状。(2)黄藤型:表皮细 胞为不规则的四边形,细胞排列呈不规则网状,如龟背。(3)省藤型:A亚型,表皮细胞六边形,细胞排列 呈网状,气孔平列型或四轮列型;B亚型,表皮细胞四边形,细胞交错排列呈砖墙状,细胞长轴平行于茎轴,气孔梭状四轮列型;C亚型,表皮细胞四边形,垂周壁呈波浪状,细胞交错排列如砖墙状,细胞的长轴.平行于茎轴。本文还讨论了棕榈藤茎表皮组织的特征及其在分类上的意义。     

Epidermal Characters of Rattan Stems and Their Taxonomic Implications

The stem epidermal characters of 21 species belonging to three genera (Calamus, Daemonorops, Plectocomia) from China were investigated. The results show that the arrangement of epidermal cells, stomatal types and occurrence of reflective body are of taxonomic significance. Based on these features, epidermal cells of rattan stems can be divided into three types and three subtypes. (1) Plectocomia-type: epidermal cells rectangle, wall-like arranged; stomata tetracytic, found in P.himalayana Griff., P.microstachys Burret. (2) Daemonorops-type: epidermal cells irregularly quadrilateral, net-like arranged; stomata tetracytic, found in D. margaritae(Hance) Becc., D. jenkinsiana (Griff.) Mart. (3) Calamus-type: Subtype A: epidermal cells hexagonal, net-like arranged; stomata tetracytic or paracytic, found in C. henryanus Becc., C. tetradactylus Hance, C. viminalis Willd. var. fasciculatus(Roxb.) Becc., C. flagellum Griff., C. gracilis Roxb., C. dioicus Lour., C. melanoloma Mart., C. yunnanensis S. J. Pei et S. Y. Chen, C. nambariensis Becc. var. yingjiangensis S. J. Pei et S. Y. Chen, C. multinervis Becc., C. nambariensis Becc. var. xishuangbannaensis S. J. Pei et S. Y. Chen, C. balansaeanus Becc. Subtype B: epidermal cells rectangle, wall-like arranged, with the long axes parallel to stem axes; stomata shuttle tetracytic, found in C. australis Mart., C. bonianus Becc., C. rhabdocladus Burret, C. compsostachys Burret. Subtype C: epidermal cells rectangle, anticlinal wall curved, wall-like arranged, with the long axes parallel to stem axes, found in C. caryatoides Becc. In addition, the taxonomic implications of epidermal characters are dis-cussed. It is possible to distinguish Calamus and Daemonorops by stem epidermal characters.     

The mycobiome of Australian tree hollows in relation to the Cryptococcus gattii and C. neoformans species complexes

Cryptococcosis is a fungal infection caused by members of the Cryptococcus gattii and C. neoformans species complexes. The C. gattii species complex has a strong environmental association with eucalypt hollows (particularly Eucalyptus camaldulensis), which may present a source of infection. It remains unclear whether a specific mycobiome is required to support its environmental survival and growth. Conventional detection of environmental Cryptococcus spp. involves culture on differential media, such as Guizotia abyssinica seed agar. Next‐generation sequencing (NGS)‐based culture‐independent identification aids in contextualising these species in the environmental mycobiome. Samples from 23 Australian tree hollows were subjected to both culture‐ and amplicon‐based metagenomic analysis to characterize the mycobiome and assess relationships between Cryptococcus spp. and other fungal taxa. The most abundant genera detected were Coniochaeta, Aspergillus, and Penicillium, all being commonly isolated from decaying wood. There was no correlation between the presence of Cryptococcus spp. in a tree hollow and the presence of any other fungal genus. Some differences in the abundance of numerous taxa were noted in a differential heat tree comparing samples with or without Cryptococcus‐NGS reads. The study expanded the known environmental niche of the C. gattii and C. neoformans species complexes in Australia with detections from a further five tree species. Discrepancies between the detection of Cryptococcus spp. using culture or NGS suggest that neither is superior per se and that, rather, these methodologies are complementary. The inherent biases of amplicon‐based metagenomics require cautious interpretation of data through consideration of its biological relevance.     

Phylogenetic analysis of Asian<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Symplocos</Emphasis> (Symplocaceae) based on nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences

Thirty species and one variety of Symplocos (Symplocaceae), including all taxa distributed in Japan, were phylogenetically analyzed with DNA sequence data. The evolution of morphological characters is discussed on the basis of the phylogenetic relationships obtained. All species were Asian, except one, S. austromexicana, from Mexico. The nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and two intergenic spacer regions, between trnL and trnF, and between trnH and psbA of chloroplast DNA were used. The topologies of trees obtained from ITS and the chloroplast intergenic spacers are largely congruent. S. sonoharae, the representative of the subgenus Symplocos in Asia, was sister to all other species. The position of the American species, S. austromexicana, which also belongs to the subgenus Symplocos, was not well resolved. The phylogenetic tree based on combined sequence data largely supports the monophyletic origin of the infrageneric sections proposed earlier. However, the phylogenetic relationship between them is not well resolved, probably due to rapid diversification. The section Palura, a deciduous group, is well defined in the DNA analysis, suggesting its independent status in the genus Symplocos. In spite of their morphological divergence, the three endemic species of the Bonin Islands are monophyletic. The occurrence of curved seeds seems to be homoplastic, scattered over the phylogenetic tree without showing a particular infrageneric relationship.     

Molecular phylogeny of the marine littoral genus Cafius (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae) and implications for classification

Jeon, M.‐J., Song, J.‐H. & Ahn, K.‐J. (2012). Molecular phylogeny of the marine littoral genus Cafius (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae) and implications for classification. —Zoologica Scripta, 41, 150–159. A phylogenetic analysis of the marine littoral genus Cafius Stephens is presented based on molecular characters. The data set comprised partial mitochondrial COI (910 bp), COII (369 bp), 12S rDNA (351–354 bp), 16S rDNA (505–509 bp) and nearly complete sequences of 18S rDNA (1814–1830 bp) for 37 species. Twenty‐seven Cafius species, representing five of six subgenera, two Remus Holme species, three Phucobius Sharp species, monotypic Thinocafius Steel and four outgroups were included. The sequences were analysed simultaneously by parsimony analysis in Tree Analysis Using New Technology (TNT) with traditional manual alignment, direct optimization (DO) in the program POY4 under a variety of gap costs and partitioned Bayesian analysis for the combined data. The genus Cafius and nearly all of its subgenera were not supported as being monophyletic. Instead, all analyses (parsimony trees, DO tree under equal weighting and Bayesian tree) showed monophyly of Cafius + Phucobius + Remus + Thinocafius (clade Z) and all seven nested clades (A–G). However, the phylogenetic relationships among clades A–G differed among the analyses. The genus Phucobius was recovered as a monophyletic group within Cafius. The genus Remus was not monophyletic but formed a clade with C. rufescens Sharp and C. rufifrons Bierig within Cafius. The genus Thinocafius formed a clade with C. caviceps Broun, C. litoreus (Broun) and C. quadriimpressus (White) within Cafius. We propose new concepts for the genus Cafius and its related genera, and the seven nested clades.     

A combined molecular and morphological approach to species delimitation in black-fruited, endolithic Caloplaca: high genetic and low morphological diversity

A revision based on the morphological and genetic analyses of 133 specimens of black-fruited, endolithic Caloplaca belonging to subgenus Pyrenodesmia is presented. The material was collected in 16 sites distributed along a transept from Gargano (Central Italy) to the southeastern Alps, from sea level to ca 1500 m. The nuclear ITS was sequenced for all the mycobionts and selected representatives of photobionts. Except for the sorediate C. erodens, all species share the same algal lineage of Trebouxia as photobiont. The haplotype analysis of the mycobionts revealed an unexpected, high genetic heterogeneity. Three main morphotypic clusters were recognized among five species: C. albopruinosa (syn. C. agardhiana auct.), C. alociza, C. badioreagens, C. erodens, and C. variabilis. A phylogenetic analysis, including already available Caloplaca sequence data, revealed that these lichens form a monophyletic group within the genus. For each species, notes on ecology, distribution in Italy, and nomenclature are given.     

Independent origins of tetraploid cryptic species in the fern <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ceratopteris thalictroides</Emphasis>

Ceratopteris thalictroides (L.) Brongn is a tetraploid fern species that contains at least three cryptic species, the south, the north and the third type. In this study we combined data from both chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) and nuclear DNA sequences of three diploid species and three cryptic species of C. thalictroides to unravel the origin of the cryptic species, particularly of the reticulate relationships among the diploid and tetraploid taxa in the genus Ceratopteris. Of the three diploid species examined, C. cornuta had cpDNA identical to that of the tetraploid third type plants, and this diploid species is a possible maternal ancestor of the tetraploid third type. Analysis of the homologue of the Arabidopsis thaliana LEAFY gene (CLFY1) identified ten alleles in the genus Ceratopteris, with six alleles found in C. thalictroides. The unrooted tree of the CLFY1 gene revealed four clusters. Each cryptic species showed fixed heterozygosity at the CLFY1 locus and had two alleles from different clusters of the CLFY1 tree. Consideration of the cpDNA sequences, CLFY1 genotypes of the cryptic species and CLFY1 gene tree in concert suggested that the cryptic species of C. thalictroides had originated through independent allopolyploidization events involving C. cornuta and two unknown hypothetical diploid species.     

Conservation phylogenetics of the Asian box turtles (Geoemydidae, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cuora</Emphasis>): mitochondrial introgression,numts, and inferences from multiple nuclear loci

Asian box turtles (genus Cuora, family Geoemydidae) comprise a clade of 12 aquatic and semiaquatic nominate species distributed across southern China and Southeast Asia. Over the last two decades, turtles throughout Asia have been harvested at an unsustainable rate to satisfy demands for food, traditional Chinese medicine, and the pet trade. Consequently, all species of Cuora were recently placed on the IUCN Red List, nine are currently listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, and all species are listed in Appendix II of CITES. We compiled a 67-specimen mitochondrial (∼1,650 base pairs (bp) from two mitochondrial genes) and a 40-specimen nuclear-plus-mitochondrial (∼3,900 bp total, three nuclear introns plus an additional ∼860 bp mitochondrial gene fragment) DNA data set to reconstruct the phylogeny of Cuora species and to assess genetic diversity and species boundaries for several of the most problematic taxa. Our sampling included 23 C. trifasciata, 17 C. zhoui and 1–4 individuals of the remaining 10 species of Cuora. Maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and Bayesian analyses all recovered similar, well resolved trees. Within the Cuora clade, mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data indicated that both C. zhoui and C. mccordi represent old lineages with little or no history of interspecific gene flow, suggesting that they are good genealogical species. Based on mtDNA, Cuora pani was paraphyletic and C. trifasciata was composed of two highly divergent lineages that were not each other’s closest relatives; both cases of non-monophyly were due to a mtDNA sequence that was widespread and identical in C. aurocapitata, C. pani and C. trifasciata. However, when combined with nuclear DNA results, our data indicate that C. trifasciata is a single, monophyletic taxon, and that mitochondrial introgression and nuclear-mitochondrial pseudogenes have led to a complex pattern of mitochondrial gene relationships that does not reflect species-level histories. Our results imply that captive “assurance colonies” of both C. trifasciata and C. pani should be genotyped to identify pure, non-hybrid members of both taxa, and we recommend that introgressed and pure taxa be managed as independent entities until the full evolutionary histories of these critically endangered turtles are resolved.     

An integrative approach to species delimitation in Echinodorus (Alismataceae) and the description of two new species

Summary  Taxonomy of the genus Echinodorus is partially revisited in the light of current understanding of the phylogenetic relationships of the genus. As a result of new taxonomy, the species status of some previously synonymised taxa are restored, other names are synonymised, and some nomenclatural problems unnoticed by previous authors are resolved. Two new species, Echinodorus reptilis and E. emersus are described. The subgeneric divisions of the genus are not accepted, and all subspecific taxa are either rejected or established as species. As a result, 28 species based on a phylogenetic species concept are now recognised in Echinodorus and an identification key to these species is provided.