THE PLANT PRESS
Department of Botany & the U.S. National Herbarium
New Series - Vol. 23 - No. 2 April-June 2020
Prunus is a model clade for investigating tropical-to-temperate transitions By Richie Hodel
or over a century, biologists have observed a latitudinal the northern hemisphere and in the tropics and subtropics. gradient in species diversity in many clades across the Phylogenetic studies of Prunus have used several chloroplast FTree of Life, with greater species richness near the and nuclear loci and produced key insights, but many ques- equator. However, we lack consensus about the cause of this tions remain. The phylogenetic position of Prunus within Ro- biogeographic pattern and several hypotheses have been pro- saceae is uncertain, and phylogenetic relationships within posed. The tropical conservatism hypothesis (TCH) is one ex- Prunus are not yet fully resolved. Discord among chloroplast, planation for the observed latitudinal gradient; the TCH states nuclear, and morphological phylogenies suggests ancient that the relatively high biodiversity of the tropics is explained polyploidy and/or hybridization may have impacted the evo- primarily by the geographic extent of tropical taxa during the lutionary history of Prunus, and more data are needed to re- past ~55 million years and the subsequent evolutionary conser- solve the phylogeny (see figure on page 2). vation of environmental niches. Continued on page 2 Recent large-scale phylogenetic studies using over 10,000 angiosperm species identified general trends describing how Because of its size, distribution, the latitudinal species gradient affects plant diversity. Notably, few lineages transitioned from tropical environments to tem- and an existing base of knowledge, perate ones, which may be explained by the difficulty of acquir- Prunus will be an ideal clade for ing the substantial adaptations necessary to tolerate the cooler testing the tropical conservatism conditions in temperate zones. One of the goals of my postdoc- toral work at the National Museum of Natural History hypothesis and investigating the (NMNH) is to use the genus Prunus (Rosaceae) to test the processes that shape the latitudinal TCH. species gradient once phylogenetic Prunus contains approximately 250-400 evergreen and de- ciduous species occurring throughout the temperate regions of relationships are resolved.
Department of Botany & the U.S. National Herbarium Prunus Continued from page 1
A phylogenomic analysis of Prunus using hundreds of nuclear loci is needed to resolve uncertain relationships, address the role of ancient hybridization and/or allo- polyploidy in the evolution of Prunus, and serve as a framework for downstream analyses. One consequence of phylogenetic uncertainty is that the biogeographic his- tory of Prunus remains uncertain, and sub- sequent analyses, such as tests of the TCH, are challenging. Because of its size, distri- bution, and an existing base of knowledge, Prunus will be an ideal clade for testing the TCH and investigating the processes that shape the latitudinal species gradient once phylogenetic relationships are resolved. Moreover, because of three documented Figure 1. Cytonuclear discord in Prunus: the plastid phylogeny (left) infers a tropical-to-temperate transitions in Prunus monophyletic racemose group, but the nuclear phylogeny (right) yields a paraphyletic (solitary, corymbose, and racemose groups racemose group. ‘A’ represents taxa in the Prunus-Amygdalus group, ‘B’ shows taxa in – see specimen images below), this genus the Cerasus group, and ‘C’ depicts the polypoid racemose Prunus, which includes represents a model system for investigating Laurocerasus, Padus, Pygeum, and Maddenia. The question mark shows the location the dynamics and evolutionary implica- on the phylogeny where ancient allopolyploidy may have occurred, leading to uncertain tions of such transitions. phylogenetic relationships in the racemose Prunus. Figure modified from Chin et al. We are currently using targeted enrich- 2014 and Zhao et al. 2016. ment (Hyb-Seq) to generate hundreds of southeast Asia, tentatively planned for diversification rates within Prunus. Geo- nuclear loci and entire chloroplast ge- early Fall 2020. Obtaining a complete-as- referenced distributional data will be com- nomes for virtually all species in the genus. possible phylogeny of the genus is a critical bined with inferred diversification rates to Jun Wen and collaborators have an exten- first step. We will use the genomic data and investigate why tropical lineages diversify sive collection of tissue samples, which will the rich fossil record for this group to gen- more rapidly than temperate clades. be supplemented by field collections in erate a time-calibrated phylogeny and infer We will also reconstruct the biogeo-
Herbarium sheets from the U.S. National Herbarium representing examples from (left to right) the solitary flower group ofPrunus (P. persica; peach), the corymbose group of Prunus (P. avium; sweet cherry), and the racemose group of Prunus (P. serotina; black cherry).
Page 2 graphic history of Prunus, which will be Botanical research in the age of COVID-19 possible with a fully resolved phylogeny with complete taxon sampling. Next, we By Julia Beros can use the biogeographic results to define Life does not exist alone. It’s 12:30PM homes, the team continues working on a the patterns and processes of the tropical- and the only indication of my coworkers is backlog of specimen data (as we are still temperate transitions. Ecological niche how slow shared documents begin loading inundated with the roses and mustards), modeling analyses using geographic distri- in my remote desktop. During this time of checking for completeness and accuracy, bution data, phylogenomic data, and niche great uncertainty, misinformation, and uploading to the database, and making the models derived from bioclimatic variables vulnerability, it can be a challenge to nor- data searchable to expedite access to the will be used to trace niche evolution in malize and re-create the habitual, it can collections. Prunus to test if differences in niche con- even be an insult to the desire to be more Slightly inconvenienced by my new at- servatism among lineages determine their “useful.” But developing faith in our shared home workstation, I find myself still in current geographic distributions. and now virtual community necessitates awe, still inspired, and still feeling giddy as In some plants, key morphological that we keep on keepin’ on. The speed at I scan through the U.S. National Her- characters are typically associated with which the Smithsonian Institution reacted barium’s historic collections. Seeing an Al- tropical environments, such as entire leaf to the velocity of COVID-19’s approach in lium or Apiale specimen come up that margins; in contrast, temperate species preparing ourselves to transition from a happens to be the same kind that I tended often have toothed or lobed leaf margins. day-to-day routine working physically to in the garden this morning, or looking Tropical and temperate members of Pru- with specimens and collections to exclu- at a Rosaceae collected in 1800 and seeing nus have different leaf margin morphol- sively accessing them remotely and contin- a related species beginning to leaf and bud ogies and may represent an opportunity to uing research in the face of unknown along the fence in my yard in 2020, is like investigate how certain morphological challenges is not only impressive but admi- time-travel giving me a link to the past. characters facilitate tropical-to-temperate rable to see our passions overcome the im- Reading the names of women botanists transitions. We will leverage digitized her- mediate fight or flight reactionary instinct. like Emma Lucy Braun and Agnes Chase barium specimens from the U.S. National It is clear as well, that as we log in from our paving the way for plant research and dis- Herbarium for traditional morphological various homes to access the collections, Continued on page 4 analyses and a machine learning approach that the continued efforts of digitization at developed by other researchers in the the Smithsonian are a true asset to re- The Plant Press NMNH Botany Department to identify search and maintaining continuity with morphological characters important in key the ever-changing infrastructure of our New Series - Vol. 23 - No. 2 transitions in Prunus, including tropical- world. Chair of Botany to-temperate transitions, diversification Like much of the world right now, the Eric Schuettpelz rate shifts, and niche evolution. conveyor belt, photographing specimens ([email protected]) The COVID-19 pandemic has put and creating up to 4,000 images a day, has EDITORIAL STAFF some portions of this project into a hold- paused, and so have the dedicated contrac- ing pattern, such as lab work and collect- tors who facilitate the process. In this mo- Editor ing specimens in southeast Asia. I am ment of reflection we can see everything Gary Krupnick currently working on a phylogeny to re- ([email protected]) that the team accomplished thus far: of a solve the evolutionary history of cherries projected 5 million botanical specimens, Copy Editors (subgenus Cerasus) using publicly available 2.83 million have been imaged and or Robin Everly, Bernadette Gibbons, and genomic resources. I am also working to recorded in the database (not including Rose Gulledge assemble datasets of images from the U.S. those digitized by the Botany IT team pre- The Plant Press is a quarterly publication provided National Herbarium to be used in machine vious to the installation of the conveyor free of charge. To receive notification of when new learning analyses for identifying key char- belt, or historic photographs and other pdf issues are posted to the web, please subscribe acters associated with tropical-to-tem- media), making them available through to the listserve by sending a message to perate transitions. [email protected] containing only the the online catalog. With the effort of Open following in the body of the text: SUBSCRIBE Access the information of our specimen PLANTPRESS-NEWS Firstname Lastname. image collections is not only digitally safe- Replace “Firstname Lastname” with your name. guarded, but it is accessible by the public If you would like to be added to the hard-copy for free to look at, use, and download. mailing list, please contact Dr. Gary Krupnick at: Nearing our last phase of imaging, the Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institution, team had just begun digitizing the Poaceae PO Box 37012, NMNH MRC-166, Washington, (grasses). Previously about 24,000 bamboo DC 20013-7012, or by E-mail: [email protected].
specimens along with the type collections, Web site: were digitized, leaving an estimated https://naturalhistory.si.edu/research/botany 500,000 unimaged grasses of which we have already made headway with over Cover image: Sweet cherry (Prunus avium). (photo by R.A. Howard) 100,000 specimens. At our respective
Page 3 The age of COVID-19 Continued from page 3 covery with their observant and patient collecting while circumnavigating sexism, fills me with hope. Seeing the names of Roosevelt and Cook’s collectors, along with those of Henry Hurd Rusby, N.L. Britton, J.N. Rose, and Rupert Barnaby pop up and imagining the worlds they were collecting in, the trajectory of their work and its lasting impact on today’s re- search—feeling the weight of history in this single moment where we as a global community are now asked to observe the world we share and become more keen to each other’s needs, it’s hard not to feel humbled by the magnitude of life. Members of the Department of Botany meet over Zoom on March 30, 2020, for a With practically every major art and departmental afternoon tea. All were welcome to participate, including researchers, science institution across the world closed collection staff, administrators, fellows, and associates. The National Museum of to the public right now, digital collections Natural History in Washington, DC, remains temporarily closed to support the effort have become instrumental in serving the to contain the spread of COVID-19. public and researchers. This is perhaps one of the first instances where museums have reconfigured to continue sharing their data global crisis is actively impacting the day- botanical and horticultural knowledge and collections with the public while a to-day operations of every society. During continues to support the needs and curios- WWII, art collections were highly vulner- ities of humans, helping them engage in able to destruction and theft, and were their physical world and actively partici- locked deep into storage to keep them safe. pate in their food cycle. Perhaps this is a Though with tumultuous circumstances chance to regain perspective of our role in outlasting the war, many collections re- life: including ourselves in nature not just mained in storage and were not visible for as those (negatively) affecting it, but our- many years, rendering them unusable and selves being affected by nature. The speed potentially putting them at risk of damage at which information is disseminated is or decay (or to be lost with only the hope astonishing in both the biological and of rediscovery). At this very moment, the technological landscapes: bacteria can Smithsonian, encompassing 19 museums, transcribe DNA and replicate their own the National Zoo, all its libraries, archives population size exponentially; with the and research centers, have openly viewable click of a button an entire website can go exhibits online, as well as distance learning live on the internet and be read by anyone tools and educational activities (available with WiFi; and a virus can spread globally through their webpages). Around the via the air we share. As we cultivate more world, museums continue to share their tools and broaden our capacity to engage rich collections via Instagram, Twitter, and in our world virtually, we also amplify the other social media, and encourage the speed at which information (and misinfor- public to keep engaging with the arts, mation) travels, making work in data- sciences, and history whilst practicing so- checking and database management all the cial distancing. more essential. This also poses a challenge: Feeling at times like it is not of primary as these become necessary tools to navi- importance to be able to know the differ- gate our world, making access to digital in- ence between vascular and non-vascular frastructure truly egalitarian becomes a plants, or what type of leaf shape is a dead requisite. giveaway for Sassafras, I remind myself Digitization of collections has long that Botany not only has played a critical been of interest for museums, libraries, A collective effort! Through crowd- role in humanity, it will continue to serve and archives, but it often takes a moment sourcing on the “Herbarium Junkies” us. With a rapid resurgence in “victory when collections access is limited to truly Facebook page, a messy label written in gardening” and more people taking daily comprehend the benefits of this work. We German becomes clear and can be hikes in abundantly forested seclusion, already rely heavily on many digital tools: accurately transcribed.
Page 4 in botany we use collaborative sites like going up, a big question has been circulat- cimens out for loans and exchange is not Tropicos, IPNI, and World Flora Online to ing as to how to properly cite digital spe- the safest or most efficient way to share stay up to date with nomenclature and cimens in new publications. With more data during this time. family changes, synonyms, and author and more people being forced to use digi- Feeling the solidarity of my fellow names; we utilize the Index Herbariorum tal specimens for their research, there Smithsonian workers as they continue to find and connect with institutions hopefully begins a shift in opinions about their research, continue to fact check and throughout the world; and we even use using these in lieu of physical ones. What clean data, continue to make research tools herbaria list-serves and social media to previously took effort to defend the bene- and specimens openly and easily acces- query obscure encounters (often related to fits, efficiency, and accuracy of sharing and sible, continue to collect local flora, press poor hand-writing on labels). As reader- using information through digital records plants, and mount backlogged specimens, ship and visitation of digital collections is is now proven, as shipping physical spe- feeling infinitely grateful for our facilities, Continued on page 6
Physical Distancing Telework Testimonial
By Erika Gardner first spring in this new house! In be- As someone who cares for the well- tween work breaks I have been out ex- being and maintenance of the collec- ploring our modest plot. I have decided tion, as a part of the Core Collection that since I am the “land manager” I Management team, I have been preoc- have the liberty to collect and press the cupied with the following task while flora from my backyard. So far I have telecommuting. It pains me to not be collected a native violet, Viola sororia physically in the collection but I am dil- and a non-native Vinca minor (escaped igently working from home, updating from my neighbor’s yard into mine). I transcriptions in the database, mod- have a Trillium sp. on the verge of flow- ifying and updating protocols which ering! I can’t wait to see it in flower to were last updated in 2016, and mount- figure out what species it could be. I am ing unforsaken Poaceae specimens using a children’s mini plant press that I from home. purchased from the National Gallery of About 9 months ago I moved out of Art as a stocking stuffer. Glad I bought the heart of DC to the Maryland sub- this in December because I am getting a urbs. We have a yard now and it is our lot of use out of it while in quarantine.
While writing and editing papers on grasses, researcher Robert Soreng uses JSTOR Global Plants, and Biodiversity Heritage Library daily to aid in his work. Updating literature and nomenclature in Tropicos, he confers with other researchers through email exchange. Hoping to find the original type specimen related to some fragments brought to the USNH by A.S. Hitchcock in 1907, Soreng reached out to curator Otakar Sida in Prague who was able to find a not yet uploaded image of the original type. Collected by Thaddaeus Haenke in the 1790s it was originally described as Brizopyrum subspicatum, which was Having moved from California five years ago, core collections manager Erika transferred to Poa subspicata where it Gardner is collecting local flora nda familiarizing herself with the names and remains today. As Soreng notes, “Through distinctive characteristics of east coast native plants, resourcefully using a digitization of specimens, such histories miniature plant press to press specimens in her neighborhood and utilizing are documented in a useful way.” the digital records to verify correct identification. Here she is pressing a native Viola sororia and a non-native Vinca minor. (photos by E. Gardner)
Page 5 The age of COVID-19 Analyzing tree data to Continued from page 5 prevent extinctions operations, and security staff continuing to much,” from curator emeritus Harold show up to our museums and safeguard Robinson. I asked him for a story: Sara Oldfield, Co-Chair IUCN SSC Global our collections and buildings, I am re- Stories? Did I tell about the time I was Tree Specialist Group minded of the importance of individual walking past the Academy of Sciences This year biodiversity and climate and solitary contributions to a shared goal. building and outside the ivy-covered lawn change will be in the headlines as pol- It is with the tools of art, history, and was sticking up a squirrel’s tail. I pulled it. iticians take stock of progress towards science that we are able to create solutions Mistake. Small animals have a much more global targets and make plans for increas- and innovate, solving problems that are rapid reaction time than us big animals. It ing concerted action. Tree species are of unexpected and often self-provoked. ran up my arm, sat on my shoulder and fundamental importance both as elements Through the process of digitization and gave me a good scolding before it ran back of biodiversity and in adaptation and miti- collections inventorying we can better as- down my arm and ran off. I don’t rec- gation measures addressing climate sess our collections numbers and more ac- ommend pulling a squirrel’s tail. I was change. One way botanists around the curately represent what is housed. lucky it only chattered in my ear rather world are contributing their expertise to Spending time editing and cleaning than biting it. It was just a brushy-tailed support scaled-up environmental action is records, full days face deep in Microsoft rat that chewed me out instead of chewing through the Global Tree Assessment Access sheets culling records for errors, we on me. I certainly felt like a nut. can more accurately represent the data that (GTA). This is a global effort to assess the has been collected for hundreds of years. Watching the squirrels outside is a risk of extinction faced by each and every Plants collected decades ago, not with a practical distraction these days, but I also tree species by the end of 2020. The goal is clear intention of what discoveries they see the sweeping ephemeral blooms of to pull together all existing data on the may incite or how they can inspire solu- magnolias, cherries, and lilacs, their warm conservation status of tree species and add tions to unforeseen challenges, just with scent a gesture of welcome, asking us to be conservation assessments to the IUCN the intention of preserving and sharing observant and reminding us that our vir- Red List of Threatened Species for all pre- our natural history, take on new impor- tual realms still depend on the physical re- viously unassessed tree species. This is a tance. With the continuing work of collec- ality. huge collaborative effort, managed and co- tions digitization, we make possible the ordinated by Botanic Gardens Conserva- enduring study of our world and inspire tion International (BGCI) and the IUCN compassion through our shared curios- Global Tree Specialist Group (GTSG) ities. working together with many national and It’s 1:32PM and I’ve received an email local institutions and individuals. The reply that begins, “I’m eating too much, Smithsonian Institution is contributing sleeping too much, watching TV too significantly to this global initiative which will be used to prioritize and significantly increase conservation efforts to ensure that no tree species goes extinct. An initial task in the GTA was to pro- duce the firstglobal checklist of the world’s tree species. This in itself was no easy feat given that plant habit is not routinely recorded in taxonomic checklists. The list of around 60,000 tree species with ac- cepted names and country level distribu- tion took two years to produce by consulting a range of plant databases, over 500 scientific references, and working with around 80 tree experts. The list is main- tained online by BGCI as the GlobalTree- Search database
Page 6 pendium of all the world’s plant species. undertaken in more depth than those that a result of predation by this beetle which Evaluating the conservation status of fall into the Least Concern category. A was accidentally introduced through in- tree species for the GTA follows the guide- major priority has been to assess national fested shipping pallets. lines for applying the IUCN Red List Cate- endemics for countries which have par- The results of the GTA will allow us to gories and Criteria. Each species is ticularly rich tree floras. Partnerships have gain a clearer understanding of the threats assessed by considering information on its been established with national organiza- faced by tree species on a global scale. It area of distribution, population size and tions to undertake the tree assessments. will be possible to analyze which species trend, habitat, uses, and threatening fac- Brazil has the most tree species of any sin- are in trouble through overexploitation for tors. Herbarium specimens and collection gle country, with over 9,000 species, and resources, general deforestation and the data continue to be of primary value in the most endemic trees. Currently over growing risk from climate change and ex- carrying out conservation assessments. 3,000 endemic species are being assessed otic pests or diseases. Then it should be Wherever possible these are combined by Centro Nacional de Conservação da possible to plan for action. Conservation with field knowledge of botanical experts. Flora (CNC Flora), a unit of the Rio de Ja- assessments for specific groups of trees are Often there is limited information on indi- neiro Botanic Garden, and will be pub- already guiding coordinated efforts to safe- vidual tree species and further fieldwork lished on the IUCN Red List later this year. guard trees in well-managed ex situ collec- would greatly enhance our knowledge. Over 20 other national partnerships are in tions providing materials for ecological Nevertheless, we need to use what infor- place to help deliver the GTA. In Madagas- restoration and helping to meet UN bio- mation is currently available rather than car, the country with the highest percent- diversity targets. Ideally in situ protection waiting and, at the same time, identify age of endemic tree species, a collaborative for tree species can also be scaled up as those species which are poorly known and effort over the past three years is yielding part of conservation of healthy forests and in need of further research. Concerns great results. The Red List of Dry Forest other habitats, contributing for example to about loss of particular areas of forest and Trees of Madagascar is due for publication the planning of protected areas and sus- similar indirect information can form part in April 2020 and all Madagascan tree tainable forest management. of the species assessment process. species will be included on the IUCN Red The GTA is the biggest species conser- A species distribution map is required List by the end of 2020. vation assessment ever undertaken. It will for each assessment and is very important In January this year a meeting was held summarize the best available information in determining whether a species falls at NMNH to plan an assessment for the on tree species, highlight the gaps that within the thresholds for IUCN threat cat- trees of the Guianas. A rapid review of need to be filled, and place tree diversity egories. The Smithsonian’s National Mu- around 200 Least Concern tree species was center stage in global discussions on bio- seum of Natural History (NMNH) has initiated and a plan developed to assess diversity and climate change. For more in- pioneered using plant specimen data to 377 endemic trees of the Guiana Shield formation please visit www.globaltree calculate distribution range for rapid con- with no previous assessment using maps assessment.org. servation assessments, for example in pub- produced by NMNH’s Department of Bot- lished research on Caribbean species, and any. this work is taken fully into account by the Some countries already have well-de- GTA. veloped lists of threatened tree species. One particular approach taken by the These are being incorporated into the GTA has been a rapid assessment of tree GTA. The Smithsonian has been involved species considered to be Least Concern at in assessing the conservation status of U.S. a global level. These are species with a species since the 1970s contributing data widespread distribution, not known to be from the US National Herbarium to both exploited on a large scale as timbers or for federal and non-governmental organiza- other products such as medicines, and not tion (NGO) efforts. Now this data for all known to be declining because of other tree species of the continental US is being significant threats. Lists of candidate converted for inclusion on the IUCN Red species thought to meet these criteria have List for the first time. This initiative is been sent to experts for review and/or re- being undertaken through a partnership, viewed through regional workshops. It is coordinated by the Morton Arboretum expected that around 20,000 tree species who are working with NatureServe and will be evaluated as Least Concern by the BGCI US. Linking back to GlobalTree- end of this year. Each species published as Search, this work builds on the first defini- Least Concern on the IUCN Red List will tive list of the native tree species of the meet the minimum required documenta- continental US. Some of the US species as- tion standards for IUCN assessments. sessed as part of the GTA are the Fraxinus Talisia furfuracea (Sapindaceae) is endemic Assessments of tree species more likely (ash) species devastated by the Emerald to the Guiana Shield. This species is being to be at risk because of their restricted dis- Ash Borer. Six widespread and previously evaluated for its conservation status as part tribution, inclusion in national or regional abundant North American Fraxinus spp. of the Global Tree Assessment. (photo by red lists, or known targeted use have been are now listed as Critically Endangered as Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez)
Page 7 Growing pains in the Type Herbarium By John Boggan
If you have looked for a type specimen tant collections of type specimens in the recently in the United States National Her- world. Our type collection is well-doc- barium (US), you may have noticed that umented, with each specimen verified as a things have changed...a lot. An ongoing re- type by comparison with the original lit- arrangement of the Type Herbarium has erature. Our types were among the first addressed two issues: overcrowding of the specimens in our herbarium to be bar- collection due to growth, and a phyloge- coded, inventoried, and photographed, a netic arrangement that has become in- task made easier because, unlike some her- creasingly outdated. baria, our type specimens are segregated A botanical type specimen is a physical from the rest of the collection. All of our specimen, usually a pressed herbarium types were photographed in the 1980s and sheet, designated by the author of a new while these photos have since been super- taxon to serve as a permanent reference seded by digital photographs, I still occa- point for the published name. Type spe- sionally refer to them on microfiche to cimens are critical to research as they pro- document changes in the specimens (e.g., vide an unambiguous representative of the insect or mechanical damage) or to gather taxon, provide physical details that a data from specimens that have since been written description may not, and allow lost (a rare occurrence, thank goodness). subsequent researchers to study and un- Under the direction of retired staff derstand how the name should be applied. member Ellen Farr, our type collection In my position as the Type Registrar, I was one of the first in the world to present assist the management and curation of the both our digital records and images of our digital records in our Type Register and specimens online. The type specimen of Guatteria alticola the physical specimens in our Type Her- When I first started working with our Scharf & Maas (Annonaceae). This spe- barium, one of the largest and most impor- types in 2003, we had about 95,000 type cimen was collected by H. David Clarke in specimens catalogued. Since then, we have 2001 from Mt. Ayanganna, Guyana. It is added about 20,000 new types for a cur- one of about 115,000 type specimens in rent total of about 115,000 types, rep- the U.S. National Herbarium. resenting a 21 percent increase. Beginning other institutions, specimens come back in 2007, with a substantial grant from the from loans newly identified as types, and Mellon Foundation, the Botany Depart- visitors and staff members continue to find ment hired several contractors to work on overlooked types in the herbarium. All the Latin American Plant Initiative (LAPI) new types are packaged in special type (see The Plant Press 10(3): 1, 6-7; 2007). folders that provide better protection than Originally devoted to finding, recording, the old type folders (which were notorious and imaging type specimens from Latin for allowing fragments to fall out) but take America, this project eventually grew to up slightly more space. All types returning encompass all types throughout our her- from loans, and all types that come to me barium. A series of contractors over the with new annotations to be recorded, cor- years, notably Shruti Dube, combed rections, or any other kind of work, are through each and every specimen being placed in these new folders before throughout the entire herbarium to find being returned to the Type Herbarium. and record all potential types. This was a Placing type records and images online has monumental job as it required not only the greatly reduced the number of type spe- verification, inventory, and imaging of cimens being loaned, and the number of each new type specimen, but also the eval- types present at any particular time has in- uation and re-filing of thousands of spe- creased. The type specimen of dawn redwood, cimens that proved not to be types. Since We have several different type herbaria Metasequoia glyptostroboides, collected by this project began in 2007, we have added within the department. The largest are the C.T. Hwa in 1947 from Szechuan, China. about 17,000 new types to the Type Reg- “pteridophytes” (ferns and lycophytes) and An endangered conifer, the dawn redwood ister and the Type Herbarium. the spermatophytes (seed plants). The is the sole living species of the genus, Although the flood of new types has smaller type collections of diatoms, which was first described from Mesozoic abated somewhat, they continue to come lichens, and “bryophytes” (liverworts, fossils. to me. Types are received as gifts from hornworts, and mosses) are scattered
Page 8 among a handful of cabinets. Many bulky but before moving any specimens, I de- type specimens (particularly bamboos) are cided to use the opportunity to address the Type specimens at also scattered within the herbarium, second issue: the new phylogenetic ar- simply because the Type Herbarium can- rangement of the herbarium. the United States not accommodate them. Since the early 20th century, the U.S. Pteridophyte types, now occupying National Herbarium has followed a phy- National Herbarium* nine herbarium cases, have historically logenetic arrangement that is now well • Diatoms: 400 types been curated separately from the rest of over a century old and increasingly ar- • Algae: 5,800 types the vascular plants. This type collection chaic. Genera are arranged by numbers • Lichens & Bryophytes: 5,400 types underwent its own radical rearrangement originally assigned in 1900 by Dalla Torre • Pteridophytes: 5,600 types in 2014, shortly after Eric Schuettpelz ar- & Harms in their Genera Siphonogarum. • Spermatophytes: 97,600 types rived as the new fern curator. Most of my This reference listed and numbered all (including 16,000 grass types) own work involves the spermatophyte col- known genera and placed them in numeric lection. In recent years it became increas- order following the phylogenetic system of *all numbers are approximate ingly clear that the collection needed more famous German botanist Adolf Engler. US space. The last time the Type Herbarium has largely followed this system ever since, was given new cabinet space, in the early with occasional tweaks and new genera lowed the broad outline of the main her- 2000s, the collection was decompressed, squeezed in along the way. barium, with one major difference: each with room for future expansion allocated Changes in classification have accel- type is filed under the name it typifies, not within each herbarium case. That space erated since cladistic methodology met the currently accepted name of that taxon. has long since been filled. molecular phylogenetics and begat an en- The arrangement is otherwise similar, with In late 2019, 24 additional herbarium tirely new understanding of plant relation- genera arranged numerically and species cases were added to the Type Herbarium, ships. The last two decades have seen an arranged alphabetically within each genus. in addition to the 147 it already occupied. upheaval in plant classification at all tax- If you knew the typified name and its This may seem like a generous 16 percent onomic levels. With some of the dust fi- genus number, finding the specimen was increase, but it does not quite match the 21 nally settling, particularly at the rank of easy. percent increase since 2003. Shifting the family, a major overhaul of the entire her- Expanding and shifting the Type Her- specimens to decompress them could have barium is now underway to arrange the barium into new space provided an oppor- been a simple (if time-consuming) task, flowering plants into an entirely new phy- tunity to update and reorganize it into the logenetic system. This new family arrange- same new phylogenetic arrangement as the ment, spearheaded by Mark Strong, main herbarium. From late 2019 to early follows the most recent phylogenetic 2020, I began to shift the type specimens sequence proposed by the Angiosperm into their new families, and the families Phylogeny Group (APG IV). into their new herbarium cases. Between The new system does not simply put assigning genera to their proper updated the existing families in a different order. families, and then physically moving the While some families have proven mono- specimens, this process took about four phyletic and their circumscriptions remain months. The result is that, while types re- unchanged (e.g., Poaceae, Melastomata- main in numeric order within a family, ceae, Asteraceae), most families have lost their family assignment will also be re- or gained a few genera and some family quired to find them. circumscriptions have changed dramati- In the short term, type specimens are cally. Amaryllidaceae and Liliaceae, long a going to be a little more difficult to find. To problematic pair of families, have had their complicate things further, our understand- genera reshuffled into each other and into ing of the relationships of genera within numerous other families. Scrophulariaceae the families has also changed. In parallel has become a much smaller family, with with the family rearrangements, genera in many of its former members now placed in every family are being re-numbered to re- Plantaginaceae. Some families do not exist flect these new understandings. The new anymore. Turneraceae is now included in genus numbers will have two parts, with Passifloraceae and the genera of the former the first indicating the family number and Among the oldest type specimens in the Flacourtiaceae are now distributed among the second the genus number within that US collection is Banksia integrifolia. It was Salicaceae, Achariaceae, and several other family (e.g., 018-074 for the Annonaceae collected along the eastern coast of families. The result is a modern, up-to-date genus Guatteria). This is an ongoing task Australia (then called New Holland) by system that reflects our current under- in the main herbarium, and most families Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander during standing of flowering plant relationships in the Type Herbarium have not yet been Captain James Cook’s first voyage of the and makes phylogenetic sense. updated with the new genus numbers. ship Endeavour (1768 - 1771). The Type Herbarium has always fol- Continued on page 10
Page 9 Type Herbarium in EMu with new family assignments and family. Finally, several of our smaller type Continued from page 9 new genus numbers. All type folders in the collections have been neglected for dec- Type Herbarium need to be updated with ades, notably the lichen and bryophyte How does one find a type? The first the new family assignment and genus types. Both groups need extensive cura- piece of information is the typified name. number. At some time in the future, types tion, but we currently lack curators actively Knowing that, you will need two ad- will be arranged alphabetically within each working with these groups. ditional pieces of information: the current family assignment of the genus and the corresponding genus number. Taxonomic records in EMu (the department’s collec- ForestGEO network welcomes three new tions management software) are being up- dated, but the new family circumscriptions plots can be found online at the Angiosperm ForestGEO, a Smithsonian-led global Sabrina Russo has long been an active Phylogeny Website, http://www.mobot. network of large-scale, long-term forest re- member of the ForestGEO network, no- org/MOBOT/research/APweb. Several of search sites, is pleased to welcome three tably through her mentorship at Forest- the major online resources like Tropicos, new plots to its ranks. TheAilaoshan plot GEO’s annual analytical workshops, and IPNI, and Plants of the World Online have is in a montane forest in subtropical now as the principal investigator for Nio- already updated their records to reflect China; the Niobrara plot and the Indian brara and Indian Cave. Niobrara is a new family assignments. Wikipedia is Cave plot encompass the forest-prairie 20.16-ha plot located at the northern bor- another surprisingly good source for infor- transition zone in Nebraska, USA. There der of the Nebraska-South Dakota border. mation on the new classifications. Genus are now 70 ForestGEO research sites. The field crew finished its first census in numbers can be found by looking up the Min Cao, Principal Investigator for the July 2019 and noted the presence of both name in the taxonomy module of EMu, or new Ailaoshan plot (and also for Xish- paper birch (Betula paperifera) and Pon- by checking the genus number database on uangbanna, an extant ForestGEO plot), es- derosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), a rarity for the Botany Department’s Intranet (acces- tablished the site with his research and Nebraska. The crew was poised to com- sible on Smithsonian computers only). field crew teams in 2014. They have un- plete Indian Cave’s first census in the Genera are still arranged numerically dertaken two censuses of the 20-hectare spring of 2020. The 18.40-ha plot contains within each family, and species are ar- plot and report over 44,000 free-standing eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), two ranged alphabetically within each genus. stems (of plants with a diameter at breast cherry species (Prunus virginiana, P. s e ro - (One exception is Poaceae, in which types height (dbh) ≥ 1cm) that span 104 species tina), catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), and pale have always been filed alphabetically by – the most dominant species being within dogwood (Cornus amomum). It is located both genus and species.) To help find the the Fagaceae, Theaceae, and Lauraceae in the south-east corner of the state. new location of a family, a list has been families. printed and posted in various locations around the herbarium. I am also available in person to provide assistance in finding type specimens. The pteridophyte types have always been curated separately from the rest of the vascular plant types. They were formerly arranged phylogenetically, ac- cording to the currently accepted name of each type, using an arrangement devised by former curator Dave Lellinger. This ar- rangement made types difficult to find and to file. Schuettpelz decided to arrange the pteridophyte types alphabetically by genus and species and this has proven to be a much easier arrangement to maintain. The grass types have similarly been filed alpha- betically. Based on the demonstrated ease and convenience of finding and filing types in these two groups, the Collections Com- mittee has given its approval to arrange all types alphabetically – a project for the fu- ture. Several tasks remain. First, we are working to update the taxonomic records Buffalo amble by on the prairie’s edge at the Niobrara plot. (photo by Sabrina E. Russo)
Page 10 The Digitized State New plant species named in honor of Plants of America Vicki Funk Smithsonian Learning Lab has up- loaded a set of postcards created by the A new species from the Ecuadorian first collected by Funk and Mauricio Digitization Program Office (DPO). Each Andes, Xenophyllum funkianum Bonifacino in the Mt. Chimborazo state and the District of Columbia is repre- J.Calvo, was recently described and area in April 2018. The species is sented by a herbarium sheet of a plant col- named in honor of Vicki A. Funk described in a recent publication lected in that state. The postcards are (1947–2019) who greatly contributed written by Joel Calvo and Vicki available at http://learninglab.si.edu/q/ll- to the understanding of the family Funk (Phytokeys 139: 29-38; 2020). c/oMrY7y1Wdt46GRwC. These were made Compositae worldwide. It grows in the The publication includes a second possible through the herbarium digitiza- dry superparamo at elevations of new species, Xenophyllum lorocha- tion project done at the National Museum 4100–4300 m in the provinces of Bolí- qui J.Calvo & V.A.Funk, endemic to of Natural History in partnership between var and Chimborazo. The species was the Argentianian Andes. the museum and the DPO. As of March 2020, the U.S. National Herbarium has digitized 3.7 million plant specimens, which are free to view and download from the Botany Collections webpage at https:// collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/botany/.
The Maryland postcard, represented by the state flower Black-Eyed-Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), is just one of 51 postcards made by the Smithsonian Digitization Program Office (DPO). Each postcard features a specimen from each state of the USA and the District of Columbia. The specimens were digitized as part of the Herbarium Digitization Illustration of Xenophyllum funkianum by Alice Tangerini. Tangerini Project by DPO and the National Museum corresponded multiple times over email with Joel Calvo to highlight key of Natural History. characters in the drawing. One key character she emphasized is the very dark involucres on the head.
Page 11 Highlights from a winter after-school botanical workshop
On the 16th, 23rd, and 30th of January, Students received a tour of the herbarium ditional plants, Epipremnum aureum and and the 6th of February, a botany after- led by Canty and Dube. During the tour, Philodendron hederaceum, and were asked school workshop was led by Gabe Caraballo showed his collections of para- to rewrite the key to include these taxa. Johnson, Liz Zimmer, Richie Hodel, sitic plants and explained how some spe- After discussing their creative solutions to Mónica Carlsen-Krause, Shruti Dube, cimens are bottled in alcohol. Radosavl- this problem, each group of students was Steven Canty, Erika Gardner, Julia Steier, jevic showed several new legume species assigned a different aroid species from Alice Tangerini, Marcos Caraballo Ortiz, that he described from collections housed which to collect tissue and press a voucher Aleksander Radosavljevic, Nicole Web- at the US National Herbarium. Tangerini specimen. ster, Heather Richardson, Juan Pablo Hur- explained the process of botanical illustra- The third class opened with an intro- tado Padilla, and Lee Coykendall in the tion using the drawings she made of Rado- duction by Carlsen-Krause, a world expert Q?rius Science Education Center at the savljevic’s new species as an example. In of Araceae, research associate in the Bot- National Museum of Natural History. This the Q?rius lab, students placed slices of any Department, and currently Assistant class was an introduction to botany for pineapple and malanga coco (Xanthosoma Scientist and Education Coordinator at the local teenagers across the greater Washing- sagittifolium), cooked and uncooked, onto Missouri Botanical Garden. Carlsen- ton, DC metro area. The overarching Petri plates of gelatin to observe protease Krause inspired students as she recounted theme of the class was ‘orphaned’ crops activity in the pineapple fruit and deter- how she chose to become a botanist and and floristic changes incurred by global mine if such protein digesting enzymes are the importance of botanical research in the climate change. The workshop was focused also present in the corm tissue of malanga 21st century. She taught the class the ele- around Araceae because it contains a coco. With a basket of local grocery store ments of a herbarium label and had them number of understudied crop plants that produce, the students learned the differ- write labels for the houseplants they are grown in areas threatened by sea level ence between a tuber, a bulb, and a corm; pressed the previous week. After mounting rise. each student received a taro (Colocasia es- their specimens on herbarium sheets, the On the first evening, students learned culenta) or malanga coco corm to plant in students observed the morphology of their about collections-based botanical research, a cup and watch sprout in the Q?rius assigned aroid species under the stereo- the value of voucher specimens, and the growth chambers during the course of the scope. Each group also prepared a wet importance of herbaria around the world. 4-week workshop. mount of macerated petiole tissue from The following week the stu- their plants to observe the raphide phyto- dents received an introduction to liths under polarized light microscopy. The the scientific process from a wider students met with teenagers taking the Mi- perspective. It was emphasized croscopy After School Workshop and used that scientific investigations are SEM to observe the subtle geometric dif- rarely a linear progression from ferences in raphides of different aroid problem and hypothesis through species. At the end of the class, they ob- results and discussion; rather, served their proteinase assay plates and science is a multifaceted approach observed the buds sprouting from their where ideas are tested in response potted taro and malanga coco plants. to discoveries made through ex- The workshop concluded the last week ploration and feedback from peers with a visit to the U.S. Botanic Garden. in the community to address is- Student groups were paired with a botanist sues ranging from everyday cu- mentor and given a dichotomous key (de- riosities to global social dilemmas. veloped by Carlsen-Krause, Dube, and Examples of this holistic view of Johnson) to the aroids of the Garden’s the scientific process were given by Tropical House. The name signs for the Hodel, a postdoctoral researcher various aroids in the garden were covered who just arrived at the Smith- with neon pink number signs, one through sonian one week prior. Hodel ex- forty-five, and the students were asked to plained the various challenges he correctly identify as many as possible. This encountered and the discoveries activity gave students a real opportunity to he made researching mangrove re- wrestle with the morphological concepts productive biology around the and characters used to identify aroids in Florida peninsula. Returning to the field. Afterwards, over a snack of taro Araceae, the students were given a chips and poi, the students discussed their Students from a winter botany after-school work- simple, six couplet dichotomous identifications and discoveries. USBG edu- shop visit the U.S. Botanic Garden to identify a key to identify some common cation specialist Coykendall explained the number of aroids using a dichotomous key. aroid houseplants. After doing so, garden’s history and mission as well as the (photo by Lee Coykendall, USBG). the students were given two ad- biology of one of its most charismatic, yet
Page 12 noisome, aroids, Amorphophallus titanium. workshops in Q?rius go on to become teen teen docents discuss botanical collections The students were invited to smell a jar ambassadors in the Q?rius space during with Q?rius visitors is in part thanks to the containing its saprocantharophilic scent. weekends and over the summer months. selfless dedication of staff members in the The students left this workshop with a Here, they interact with their peers and Botany Department who volunteered to deeper appreciation for plant diversity and orient visitors to the many wondrous col- make this After School Workshop happen. the methods scientists use to understand lections in its cabinets and display cases. them. Many who take these after school The fluency and accuracy with which these
STAFF ACTIVITIES
From February 1 to March 17, Robert Soreng traveled to South Africa and Leso- tho to collect grasses and study high el- evation grasslands in the Mulati- Drakensberg Mountains with Steven Sylvester (Nanjing Forestry University, China), Mitsy Sylvester, and Vincent Ralph Clark (University of the Free State, South Africa). The team made over 350 collec- tions of grasses from 41 genera. Sets were left for the South African National Bio- diversity Institute (PRE) and the Univer- sity of KwaZulu-Natal’s Bews Herbarium (NU); the U.S. National Herbarium (US) set is expected to be shipped to Plant Pro- tection and Quarantine (PPQ). They also conducted vegetation surveys of over 220 plots. The team visited PRE herbarium in mid-March. Soreng flew home early to the United States from South Africa the day before the airports closed down due to travel bans related to the COVID-19 virus. The Sylvester family is stuck in South Af- rica indefinitely.
NEW FACES
Richie Hodel started as a Peter with Doug and Pam Soltis, completed Buck Postdoctoral Fellow in the Botany in 2017. He recently finished his first Department in January 2020. Hodel is postdoctoral appointment at the Uni- working with Jun Wen and Liz versity of Michigan with Lacey Zimmer to use phylogenomic ap- Knowles and Stephen Smith studying proaches and collections-based deep the comparative phylogeography of learning technologies to resolve phy- montane sedges (genus Carex), and Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa, logeny, assess ancient polyploidy, and working on phylogenomic methods de- with a view of Sentinel Peak (right) and infer the biogeographic history of Pru- velopment. His research interests in- Devil’s Toothpick, (narrow pinnacle in nus (Rosaceae). Hodel studied the clude the comparative phylogeography center). A botanical team made over 350 comparative phylogeography of Neo- of island taxa, biogeography and niche collections of grasses from this area, a tropical mangroves (genera Avicennia, evolution, and tropical-to-temperate place that was used in filming the fictional Laguncularia, Rhizophora) for his doc- transitions. land of Wakanda in the 2018 movie Black toral work at the University of Florida Panther.
Page 13 Krissa Skogen, Chicago Botanic Garden & Caroline Mitchell, Manaaki Whenua TRAVEL Northwestern University; Onagraceae Landcare Research, New Zealand; Plant (1/17). population genetics (3/16-3/20). Manuela Dal Forno traveled to Berlin, Fabian Michelangeli, New York Botanical Germany (2/29 – 3/28) to attend the 9th Garden; Melastomataceae (1/20-1/23). Programming for Evolutionary Biology Course at the Freie Universität Berlin and Emily Beech, Botanic Gardens Conserva- to visit the Botanischer Garten und Bota- tion International, United Kingdom, H. nisches Museum to work on lichen spe- David Clarke, University of North Caro- cimens from the Philippines and revise lina Asheville, Neil Cox, IUCN District of PUBLICATIONS Dictyonema (Hygrophoraceae) material Columbia, Bruce Hoffman, Amazon Con- servation Team, Suriname, Nina Marshall, with Robert Lücking. Abiem, I., G. Arellano, D. Kenfack and H. Laurence Dorr traveled to Philadelphia, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, and Sara Oldfield, IUCN SSC Global Tree Spe- Chapman. 2020. Afromontane forest di- Pennsylvania (2/28 – 3/1) to visit the her- versity and the role of grassland-forest barium of the Academy of Natural cialist Group, United Kingdom; Global tree assessments (1/21). transition in tree species distribution. Di- Sciences of Drexel University to search for versity 12(1): 30. https://doi.org/10.3390/ type material. Yubing Wang, Three Gorges University, d12010030 Laurence Skog traveled to Sarasota, Flor- China; Herbarium research (1/28-2/26). ida (1/27 – 1/31) to continue working at Appelhans, M.S. and J. Wen. 2020. Phy- the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens on the Rafal Gutaker, New York University; logenetic placement of Ivodea and biogeo- Wiehler collections of Gesneriaceae and to Oryza (Poaceae) (2/6-2/10). graphic affinities of Malagasy Rutaceae. examine specimens for Flora Mesoameri- Plant Syst. Evol. 306(1): 7. http://doi.org/ Marc Baker, Arizona State University, and cana. 10.1007/s00606-020-01633-3 Michelle Cloud-Hughes, Desert Solitaire Robert Soreng traveled to South Africa Botany and Ecological Restoration; Cylin- Bezerra, L.M.P.A., W. de Vargas, E.S. Can- and Lesotho (2/1 – 3/17) to collect grasses dropuntia, Grusonia, Echinocereus, other dido, T. Cobra e Monteiro, M. Vatanparast and study high elevation grasslands in the assorted Cactaceae (2/10-2/15). and A.P. Fortuna Perez. 2019. Rhynchosia Mulati-Drakensberg Mountains. mineira (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae), a Ken Wurdack traveled to St. Louis, Mis- Bertrand Black, University of Vermont; new and critically endangered species souri (1/22 – 1/28) to do research in the Ferns (2/14-2/18). from Minas Gerais, Brazil. Kew Bull. 74(4): herbarium of the Missouri Botanical Gar- 62. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-019- den. Nelson DeBarros, Fairfax County Park Authority; Juncus (Juncaceae) and Pota- 9852-z mogeton (Potamogetonaceae) (2/14). Calvo, J. and V.A. Funk. 2020. Two new VISITORS Jacques Florence, Museum National species of the Andean genus Xenophyllum d’Histoire Naturelle, France; Flora of (Senecioneae, Compositae). Phytokeys 139: French Polynesia (2/18-3/9). 29-38. http://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys. Peiwu Xie, Guangdong Academy of For- 139.47872 estry, China; Herbarium research Thomas Heller, Royal Botanic Gardens (8/28/19-8/28/20). Kew, United Kingdom; Caribbean Zan- Canelón, D.S., S.M. Niño, L.J. Dorr and thoxylum (Rutaceae) (2/18-2/19). M. Caraballo-Ortiz. 2020. Two new Myoughai Kwak, National Institute of Bio- species of Dendrophthora (Viscaceae) from logical Resources, South Korea; Her- Nareerat Boonchai, Florida Museum of the Venezuelan Andes. PhytoKeys 140: 1- barium research (9/3/19-3/3/20). Natural History; Fossil and modern woods 10. http://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.140. (2/19-2/21). 48865 Santos Miguel Nino and Daniela Cane- lón Barraez, Universidad Nacional Ex- Paul Berry, University of Michigan; Eu- Caraballo-Ortiz, M. and P. Acevedo-Rod- perimental de los Llanos Ezequiel Zamora, phorbiaceae (2/26-2/27). ríguez. 2019. Clarifying the identity of the Venezuela; Flora of Guaramacal (10/29/19- Jonathan Flickinger, Florida International enigmatic mistletoe Cladocolea biflora (Lo- 1/31/20). University & Fairchild Tropical Botanic ranthaceae). Harvard Pap. Bot. 24(2): 119- 120. http://doi.org/10.3100/hpib.v24iss2. Steven Sylvester, Royal Botanic Gardens Garden; Neotropical Myrtaceae (2/26- 2019.n5 Kew, United Kingdom; Poaceae (12/4/19- 2/28). 1/4/20). Ivan A. Valdespino, University of Panama; Chan, P.T.W., J. Halfar, W.H. Adey, P.A. Lebednik, R. Steneck, C.J.D. Norley and Fred Barrie, Missouri Botanical Garden; Ferns (3/2-3/12). D.W. Holdsworth. 2020. Recent density Flora Mesoamericana (1/6-1/17). Diane Winters, Academy of Natural decline in wild-collected subarctic crustose Amanda Chunco and five students, Elon Sciences; Melosira complexa (Melosira- coralline algae reveals climate change sig- University; Plant conservation and her- ceae) (3/10). nature. Geology 48(3): 226-230. http://doi. barium tour (1/14). org/10.1130/G46804.1
Page 14 Dal Forno, M., L. Kaminsky, R. Rosen- Lorence, D.H. and W.L. Wagner. 2019. phylogenetic relationships of the Austral- treter, R.T. McMullin, A. Aptroot and R. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. Volume 1: asian tribe Ricinocarpeae. J. Syst. Evol. Lücking. 2019. A first phylogenetic assess- Lycophytes, ferns, and monocots. National http://doi.org/10.1111/jse.12581 ment of Dictyonema s.lat. in southeastern Tropical Botanical Garden, Kalahoe. 411 North America reveals three new basidio- pages. Wang, H.X., M.J. Moore, R.L. Barrett, S. lichens, described in honor of James D. Landrein, S. Sakaguchi, M. Maki, J. Wen Lawrey. Plant Fungal Syst. 64(2): 383-392. Lu, Z.H., Y.K. Liang, J. Wen and Z.M. and H.F. Wang. 2019. Plastome phyloge- http://doi.org/10.2478/pfs-2019-0025 Ren. 2020. Complete mitochondrial ge- nomic insights into the Sino-Japanese nome of the witch-hazel leaf gall aphid Ha- biogeography of Diabelia (Caprifoliaceae). Duan, L., AJ Harris, W. Ye, S.W. Deng, mamelistes spinosus (Hemiptera: J. Syst. Evol. http://doi.org/10.1111/jse. Z.Q. Song, H.F. Chen and J. Wen. 2019. Aphididae: Hormaphidinae). Mitochon- 12560 Untangling the taxonomy of the Cladrastis drial DNA B 5(2): 1388-1389. http://doi. clade (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae) by org/10.1080/23802359.2020.1735965 Wen, J., Z.L. Nie and S.M. Ickert‐Bond. integrating phylogenetics and ecological 2019. Advances in biogeography in the age Lücking, R., M. Dal Forno and S. Will- of a new modern synthesis. J. Syst. Evol. evidence. Taxon 68(6): 1189-1203. http:// ‛ doi.org/10.1002/tax.12155 Wolf. 2019. James Donald ( Jim’) Lawrey: a 57(6): 543-546. http://doi.org/10.1111/jse. tribute to a unique career in lichenology. 12550 Funk, V.A. 2019. James Lee Zarucchi Plant Fungal Syst. 64(2): 117-135. http:// (1952-2019). Taxon 68(5): 1143-1144. doi.org/10.2478/pfs-2019-0014 Wood, J., S. Yasmin-Karim, M. Moreau, R. http://doi.org/10.1002/tax.12136 Kumar, J. Akwanwi, A. Derek, F. Atoneche, Niño, S.M. and L.J. Dorr. 2019. Una nueva J. Kress and W. Ngwa. 2020. Characteriza- Hubau, W., S.L. Lewis, O.L. Phillips, K. especie de Hedyosmum (Chloranthaceae) tion of isolated extracts from Justicia plant Affum-Baffoe, H. Beeckman, A. Cuní-San- para los Andes de Venezuela. Harvard Pap. leaves used as remedy for anemia. Mole- chez, …D. Kenfack…, et al. 2020. Asyn- Bot. 24(2): 269-273. http://doi.org/10. cules (Basel, Switzerland) 25(3): 534. http:// chronous carbon sink saturation in 3100/hpib.v24iss2.2019.n12 doi.org/10.3390/molecules25030534 African and Amazonian tropical forests. Nature 579: 80-87. http://doi.org/10.1038/ Pei, N. and W.J. Kress. 2020. Research in Zhang, R., Y.H. Wang, J.J. Jin, G.W. Stull, s41586-020-2035-0 forest biology in the era of climate change A. Bruneau, D. Cardoso, L.P. de Queiroz, and rapid urbanization. Forests 11(1): 26. M.J. Moore, S.D. Zhang, S.Y. Chen, J. Kirkbride, J.H., Jr. and J.H. Wiersema. http://doi.org/10.3390/f11010026 Wang, D.Z. Li and T.S. Yi. 2020. Explora- 2019. (81-84) Requests for binding deci- tion of plastid phylogenomic conflict sions on the descriptive statements associ- Peterson, P.M., K. Romaschenko, R.J. So- yields new insights into the deep relation- ated with Cinchona cordifolia, C. lancifolia, reng and J. Valdés Reyna. 2020. Eriocoma ships of Leguminosae. Syst. Biol. http:// C. oblongifolia, and C. ovalifolia (Rubia- valdesii, a new species from México (Poa- doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syaa013 ceae). Taxon 68(4): 877-878. http://doi.org/ ceae, Stipeae). PhytoKeys 139: 21-28. http: 10.1002/tax.12115 //doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.139.47373 Kirkbride, J.H., Jr. and J.H. Wiersema. Robinson, H. and V.A. Funk. 2020. Two 2020. Nomenclatural anomalies among new species for Gochnatia Kunth (Astera- Kunth’s Rubiaceae. Taxon http://doi.org/ ceae, Gochnatieae) and an extension of the 10.1002/tax.12183 tribal range into Ecuador. PhytoKeys 139: 51-62. http://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys. Liu, B.B., G.N. Liu, D.Y. Hong and J. Wen. 139.38354 2020. Eriobotrya belongs to Rhaphiolepis (Maleae, Rosaceae): Evidence from chloro- Skog, L.E., F.R. Barrie and J.L. Clark. 2020. plast genome and nuclear ribosomal DNA A hitherto Chirita (Gesneriaceae) can now data. Front. Plant Sci. 10: 1731. http://doi. be identified as a Monopyle. Novon 28(1): org/10.3389/fpls.2019.01731 35-39. http://doi.org/10.3417/2019045 Liu, B.B., G.N. Liu, D.Y. Hong and J. Wen. Skog, L.E., F.R. Barrie, J.L. Clark and R.E. 2020. Typification of 23 names in Eriobo- Gereau. 2020. A third, new species of Cre- trya (Maleae, Rosaceae). PhytoKeys 139: mosperma (Gesneriaceae) from Panama. 99-118. http://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys. Novon 28(1): 29-34. http://doi.org/10. 139.47967 3417/2019044 Liu, G.N., B.B. Liu, J. Wen and Y.B. Wang. van Welzen, P.C., S.A. Guerrero, D. Arifi- 2020. The complete chloroplast genome ani, T.J.F. Bangun, R.W. Bouman, M.C.M. sequence of Magnolia mexicana DC. Eurlings, I. Gushilman, P.B. Phillipson, I. (Magnoliaceae) from Central America. Tabak, E. Winkel and K.J. Wurdack. 2020. Mitochondrial DNA B 5(1): 798-799. http: Weda, a new genus with two new species //doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2020.1715854 of Euphorbiaceae-Crotonoideae from Hal- mahera (North Maluku, Indonesia) and
Page 15 ART BY ALICE TANGERINI
Prunus polystachya (Hook.f.) Kalkman
Prunus polystachya (Rosaceae) is a tree that grows up to 35 m high with deeply hollowed leaf glands. A species from the Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia region, it has the common name “bat’s laurel”, yet field observations show pollination by hover flies. Alice Tangerini drew this illustration of Prunus polystachya for a forthcoming Prunus taxonomic revision. It was pointed out to Tangerini the importance of the arrangement of stamens in the flower, so a longitudinal section of the flower was included to show the arrangement.
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