Revision of the bulbous Iridaceae of North America

The native bulbous Iridaceae of North America excluding Mexico comprise seven species in four genera. The type species ofAlophia Herb. (1836) is shown to belong toEustylis Engelm. & Gray (1836), hence the latter genus is reduced to synonymy. The well known genusAlophia (sensu auct. non Herb.) (Herbertia Sweet) now takes the nameTrifurcia. As a result of the new interpretation ofAlophia, new combinations are made for the North American and Latin American species ofTrifurcia andAlophia. New chromosome counts are given forNemastylis floridana (2n = 56) andTrifurcia lahue (2n = 56).     

Novelties in Stevia (Compositae: Eupatorieae)

Twenty-four new taxa (16 species, 8 varieties) are described in the genusStevia from North and Central America. Three new combinations are made. Brief discussions concerning the relationships of the new taxa are provided.     

The taxonomic affinities of Haplopappus linearifolius (Asteraceae-Astereae)

Haplopappus linearifolius has been referred by various authors to the monotypic genusStenotopsis, to the genusStenotus, and withH. parrasanus toHaplopappus sect.Stenotopsis. A re-evaluation of the taxonomic affinities ofH. linearifolius based on morphological, chemical, and phenological evidence supports the hypothesis that it andEricameria cooperi are closely related and that these two species stand apart from others inEricameria. Accordingly, a section withinEricameria is established to accommodate them, and two new combinations are made,Ericameria sect.Stenotopsis andE. linearifolia. Also, a new subspecies,E. cooperi subsp.bajacalifornica is proposed.     

Phylogeny and maternal donors of the tetraploid species with St genome (Poaceae: Triticeae) inferred from CoxII and ITS sequences

Mitochondrial CoxII and ITS sequences of 29 tetraploid species with St genome were compared with their related genera and species of Pseudoroegneria (Nevski) Á. Löve (St), Hordeum L. (H), Thinopyrum bessarabicum (Savul. & Rayss) Á. Löve (E^b), Lophopyrum elongatum (Host) Á. Löve (E^e), Agropyron Gaertner (P), Australopyrum (Tzvelev) Löve (W) and Psathyrostachys Nevski (Ns). The results indicate that: (1) the maternal donors of North American and Eurasian StStHH tetraploid species may have acquired their St genome from distinct Pseudoroegneria gene pools, with Pse. spicata (Pursh) Á. Löve potentially the maternal donor of North American species; (2) Lophopyrum is the maternal donor of StStE^eE^e tetraploid species, hence, Pse. geniculata ssp. scythica (Nevski) Á. Löve, Elytrigia caespitosa (K. Koch) Nevski and El. caespitosa ssp. nodosa (Nevski) Tzvelev should be identified as species of Trichopyrum Á. Löve; (3) tetraploid species with the same maternal donors were more closely related to each other than those with different maternal donors.     

Diplachne and leptochloa (Poaceae) in North America

Most North American botanists includeDiplachne inLeptochloa but good evidence for this treatment has never been provided. The diagnostic characters of these two closely related genera of the tribe Eragrosteae are presented and the seven species ofDiplachne and six ofLeptochloa occurring in America north of Mexico are distinguished. Three new combinations are made inDiplachne:D. sect. Ipnum, D. panicoides andD. monticola and the generic disposition of all the Central and North American species noted.     

Genome origins in Leymus (Poaceae: Triticeae): evidence of maternal and paternal progenitors and implications for reticulate evolution

The polyploid Leymus species have the Ns nuclear genomes evolved from Psathyrostachys and the Xm nuclear genomes from unknown origins. Currently, little is known about the cytoplasmic genomes of Leymus, and the species of Psathyrostachys that transferred the Ns genome to Leymus remain elusive. To determine the origins of the plastid and nuclear genome for Leymus species, sequences of two chloroplast genes, rpoA and rbcL, and partial sequences of the nuclear gene DMC1 of 15 Leymus species were phylogenetically analyzed with those of 71 accessions belonging to 19 monogenomic genera in Triticeae. Both rpoA and rbcL sequences revealed that Psathyrostachys juncea, P. lanuginosa, and P. stoloniformis had close phylogenetic relationships with the Eurasian and one North American Leymus accessions, L. cinereus. Three American Leymus species, L. erianthus, L. triticoides, and L. innovatus had different maternal origins from Eurasian Leymus species. DMC1 sequences of Leymus were grouped into several phylogenetically distant clades indicating that either Ns or Xm originated from different lineages. These results suggest multiple contributions to the chloroplast as well as nuclear genomes in Leymus species. The comprehensive data indicate reticulate evolution in polyploid Leymus.     

Interspecific crosses inHordeum (Poaceae)

A crossing programme including 30 species and 40 cytotypes within the genusHordeum was undertaken. Viable hybrids were obtained in 302 combinations, 15 of which were intraspecific. Differences in seed set and in germination were observed in crosses between different groups of species. Obtaining crosses between different taxonomic groups was generally more difficult when diploid material was used. Some species, e.g.,H. lechleri, H. jubatum, andH. brachyantherum showed a higher crossability than others. The chromosome numbers of the hybrids were usually those expected from the parental numbers but aneuploid series around the expected numbers were rather frequent. Three cases of unreduced gametes were found. Selective chromosome elimination was restricted to combinations including eitherH. vulgare orH. bulbosum.—Despite a very diverse morphology, all South American diploid species together with the two North American diploidsH. intercedens andH. pusillum appear to be closely related. The hexaploid American speciesH. procerum, H. lechleri, andH. arizonicum are also related. The two North American tetraploid speciesH. jubatum andH. brachyantherum sometimes form semifertile hybrids. The Asiatic speciesH. roshevitzii appears to be related to both North and South American taxa.     

New species and new combinations in the sematophyllum subpinnatum complex (Sematophyllaceae)

Three new tropical American species ofSematophyllum are described with relatively broad leaves and short upper leaf cells:S. cubense, S. cataractae, andS. oedophysidium. The Central AmericaS. apaloblastum andS. barnesii are new combinations.Sematophyllum galipense, S. amnigenum, andS. cochleatum are briefly discussed.     

Taxonomy of Cordylanthus subgenus Hemistegia (Scrophulariaceae)

A taxonomic revision ofCordylanthus subg.Hemistegia based on evidence from morphology, chromosome numbers, habitat, ecology, and geographic distribution is presented, recognizing four species and five subspecies. Three new combinations on the subspecific level are proposed. The first chromosome counts for subg.Hemistegia are reported with haploid numbers ofn = 14, 15, and 21. Each species is illustrated with line drawings showing habit and floral morphology; distribution maps indicate sites of known populations. The possible extinction ofC. mollis ssp.mollis andC. pamatus is discussed, and the urgent need for preservation of their saline and alkaline habitats is emphasized.     

A synopsis of the Juncus hesperius group (Juncaceae, Juncotypus) and their hybrids in western North America

A synopsis of North American species in the Juncus hesperius group is presented. Juncus exiguus, J. hesperius, and J. laccatus form a trio of closely related species in the section Juncotypus, restricted to western North America. They are illustrated and mapped based on extensive field and herbarium studies. A key to North American members of Juncus section Juncotypus, north of Mexico, is presented. Putative hybrids in the group are morphologically intermediate and rare in mixed populations. The following putative hybrid combinations are documented: J. exiguus × J. effusus subspecies pacificus from California; J. exiguus × J. laccatus from California; J. hesperius × J. effusus subspecies pacificus from British Columbia, California, and Washington; J. hesperius × J. laccatus from Washington, and J. hesperius × J. patens from California. Three putative hybrids are illustrated.     

Genetic structure of Eurasian and North American Leymus (Triticeae) wildryes assessed by chloroplast DNA sequences and AFLP profiles

Leymus is a genomically defined allopolyploid of genus Triticeae with two distinct subgenomes. Chloroplast DNA sequences of Eurasian and North American species are distinct and polyphyletic. However, phylogenies derived from chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences are confounded by polyploidy and lack of polymorphism among many taxa. The AFLP technique can resolve phylogenetic relationships between closely related species, with a curvilinear relationship expected between the proportion of shared bands and nucleotide substitution rate (D), up to about 0.100 D. The objective of this study was to compare D and phylogenetic relationships among 16 Leymus taxa, based on chloroplast DNA sequences and multi-locus AFLP genotypes. Estimates of chloroplast D between taxa were 0.002 and 0.013 within and among continental regions, respectively. Estimates of AFLP D between taxa were 0.076 and 0.093 compared within and between continental regions, respectively, versus 0.024 within taxa. Bayesian and neighbor-joining cluster analyses effectively separated all AFLP genotypes by species, but showed that North American L. ambiguus is a hybrid species with nearly equal contributions from sympatric L. cinereus and L. salinus taxa. Two hierarchical AFLP clades, containing six North American taxa and four Eurasian taxa, had more than 98% bootstrap confidence with 0.071 and 0.055 D among taxa. Three other Eurasian taxa clustered with 79% and 89% confidence, with up to 0.79 D between taxa. These estimates provide benchmarks for phylogenetic comparisons of AFLP profiles, but three taxa could not be reliably grouped, which may reflect concurrent radiation of multiple lineages or lack of homologous AFLP characters caused by a high D.     

Molaetherium heissigi n. gen., n. sp., an unusual mammal from the Early Oligocene of Germany (Mammalia: Palaeanodonta)

A new genus and species of epoicotheriid,Molaetherium heissigi, is described from the Early Oligocene of Grafenmühle 22, near Pappenheim, Bavaria. It is a tiny, highly fossorial form, closely related to the North American genusEpoicotherium. Asia is considered the center of origin of the suborder Palaeanodonta; from there it dispersed to North America and Europe.     

New combinations in South American Myricaceae

New combinations and lectopification are made of the South American species formerly ofMyrica in the genusMorella. A key and a list of synonyms are presented.

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Resumen  Se presentan las nuevas combinaciones y las lectotipificationes necesarias para transferir aMorella las especies suramericanas anteriormente asignadas aMyrica. Además se incluyen una clave y una lista de sinónimos.

     

New taxa and combinations in Protium Burm. f. Studies in neotropical Burseraceae VI

Revision ofProtium in eastern Amazonia and the Guianas yielded one new section, three new species, three new subspecies, and five new combinations in the genus. SectionSarcoprotium Daly is distinguished principally by the cucullate petals with clawed bases and usually with a dorsal thickening produced vertically as an appendage; staminate inflorescences with a few 3-merous flowers; thecae of the anthers completely separated by the connective and the dehiscence latero-introrse; and fruit ellipsoid when only one pyrene develops.     

Analyse numérique des 50 espèces classées dans le genre Pichia (Ascomycetes). Seconde application d'une méthode d'analyse factorielle

A second application of factor analysis among the 50 species of genusPichia corroborates the already identified three groups and underlines the non-appartenance of round-sporedPichia species to genusPichia sensu stricto. These results are compared with Campbell's numerical analysis.     

LICHENICOLOUS SPECIES OFARTHONIAONLOBARIACEAEWITH NOTES ON EXCLUDED TAXA

The species ofArthonias. lat. (Arthoniales,Ascomycotina) lichenicolous on species ofPseudocyphellariaand otherLobariaceaeare revised. Thirteen species are accepted, and eight species are described as new (all from the Southern Hemisphere):Arthonia badiaWedin & Hafellner,A. coriifoliaeWedin & Hafellner,A. flavicantisWedin & Hafellner,A. maculiformisWedin & Hafellner,A. minutaWedin & Hafellner,A. santessonianaWedin & Hafellner,‘A.’ semi-immersaWedin & Hafellner, andA. subaggregataWedin & Hafellner. Comparative notes on additional accepted species previously described fromPseudocyphellariaor otherLobariaceae(A. pelvetii,A. plectocarpoides,A. pseudocyphellariae,A. stictaria, andA. subconveniens) are included, and a key to theArthonia(and similar) species growing onLobariaceaeis presented. The coelomycete genusSubhysteropycnisWedin & Hafellner is described for the speciesS. maculiformansWedin & Hafellner, the macroconidal anamorph ofArthonia badia. The lecanoralean genusCorticiruptorWedin & Hafellner is described as new to accommodate the single lichenicolous speciesC. abeloneae(P. M. Jørg.) Wedin & Hafellner comb. nov., and the additional new combinationPlectocarpon linitae(R. Sant.) Wedin & Hafellner is proposed. The namesCelidium pelvetiiHepp,Sticta auratababortivaSchaer. andArthonia stictariaNyl. are lectotypified, and the typifications are discussed.