Oxford Plant Systematics With news from Oxford University Herbaria (OXF and FHO), Department of Plant Sciences, Oxford OPS 12 March 2005 Editorial Contents Yesterday I organised a plant practical class for 100 first year biology undergraduate students. The task was to draw and compare Editorial the floral structure of a snowdrop and a Robert Scotland ……………… ……………………………. 2 hellebore. For the vast majority of students it was the first time in their lives that they News items …………………………………………………………. 3 had examined the anatomy of any flower and had explained to them what the parts were. This despite all of them having ‘A’ Student progress …………………… ………………………….….. 3 level biology. I argued that the flower, along Ruth Eastwood with microbes and leaves, were one of the Timothy Waters most important structures in all biology. Today, I gave my first ever lab talk in a ……………….... 4 molecular biology context as I’ve recently Abstract of systematic thesis submit ted in 2004 started a small project to understand the Alexandra Wortley genes involved in making the daffodil flower. Several people commented that it Publications 2004 ……………………………………………….…. 4 was useful to see some plants during the short talk. Next week, I and colleagues will take a number of third year students to Expeditions and visits ……………… …………………………….. 5 Portugal for two weeks to study the form and function of Mediterranean plants. In an Field trip report educational environment increasingly Ruth Eastwood ………………………………………….…. 5 dominated by molecular biology, student interest in whole-organism botany/biology remains healthy and will flourish given the Four new legumes in forty-eight hou rs opportunity and the odd enthusiastic Colin Hughes ……………… ……………………….……... 6 lecturer. Once again this year OPS reflects a wide range of systematic botany including The Oxford-Bolivia Darwin Project virtual field herbaria, monographic research and re-arrangement of the family beds at the John Wood ………………… …………………….…….….. 8 botanic garden to better reflect phylogenetic relationships. I would draw your attention to Continuing research on Aglaia three particular items in this year’s news- Caroline Pannell ………………………………………..… 9 letter. First, congratulations to Alex Wortley for winning the Irene Manton prize for her D.Phil thesis on Thomandersia. Second, the Classification and phylogeny at the Oxford Botanic Garden article by John Wood on our Darwin funded Timothy Walker ……………… …………………….……. 10 project aimed at capacity building of herbaria in Bolivia. John is to be The Oxford University Herbarium database congratulated for making this project totally in keeping with aims of the Darwin Stephen A. Harris …………… ……………………….….. 11 initiative which seeks to help safeguard the world's biodiversity by drawing on British Oxford’s Virtual Field Herbarium – strengths in this area to assist those bringing tropical plant life to the internet countries that are rich in biodiversity but William Hawthorne ……………………………….….….. 11 poor in financial resources. With the help of Darwin funding John has achieved this by living and working in Bolivia for much of News from the herbaria the time and then for several months each Fielding-Druce (OXF) year bringing a number of Bolivians to Serena Marner ……………………………….…….…… 12 Oxford for specific training. In terms of capacity building and training of personnel, Daubeny (FHO) the legacy of this project to Bolivian botany Alison Strugnell …………… ………………….………... 12 will be substantial. The front cover features an image from the Trees of Central America – exciting new initiative of a virtual field herbarium developed in Oxford by William a sourcebook for extension worker s Hawthorne. This is a valiant attempt to David Boshier and Jesus Cor dero …………….….....…... 13 grapple with problems associated with identifying plants using current technology. BRAHMS online Denis Filer ………………………………….………..….. 14 Robert Scotland Typesetting and layout of this issue by Serena Marner 2 Oxford Plant Systematics OPS 12 March 2005 work is focusing on the development of a more rapidly evolving nuclear region in an attempt to gain resolution between Andean Lupinus. Our lack of understanding of L. mutabilis is compounded by taxonomic problems caused by poor species delimitation and a surfeit of names. To address this I am undertaking specimen-based work to delimit L. mutabilis and its putative close relatives, in order to assemble a new taxonomic account of this group. Morphological studies based on herbarium specimens and field observations have led me to the hypothesis that L. semperflorens and L. eanophyllus are putative progenitors of L. mutabilis. These two species have similar distributions in the Province of Loja in Southern Ecuador and North-Central Peru. This suggests a possible origin of domestication for L. mutabilis in this part of the Andes where there is a rich history of sophisticated early civilizations. Professor Peter Raven at the re-opening ceremony of the Fielding-Druce Herbarium on 2 July 2004 During the year I visited herbaria at the British Museum, Cambridge and Kew, attended and presented seminars at The UK Legume Workshop in Reading and the News items Student progress Young Systematists Forum at the Natural History Museum and contributed to a joint paper entitled ‘Andean Lupinus – Barneby’s (D.Phil., third year). The Fielding-Druce Herbarium officially re- Ruth Eastwood Augean Stable’ at the BSA Botany 2004 systematics of Andean lupins and the origin opened meeting in Utah, USA. I also spent two of Lupinus mutabilis Sweet. Supervised by After completion of a major refurbishment months in the field in Ecuador and Peru (see of its facilities, the Fielding-Druce Dr Colin Hughes (Oxford) and Dr Julie fieldwork report on page 5). Herbarium was officially re-opened on 2 Hawkins (University of Reading). BBSRC studentship. July 2004 by Professor Peter Raven, The Andean region of South America was Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Timothy Waters (D.Phil., fourth year). one of a handful of independent sites of Preceding the re-opening of the herbarium, Systematics of Agathis Salisb. Supervised th early crop and animal domestication and the Professor Raven delivered the 25 by Stephen Harris (Oxford) and Aljos Lupinus Blackman Lecture to a capacity audience in origins of agriculture. The pulse Farjon (RBG Kew). NERC studentship. mutabilis is one of the “Lost Crops of the Plant Sciences which he entitled “Plants, Agathis is a genus of tropical conifers Incas”, a set of indigenous food plants sustainability, and our common future”. found in lowland and montane forest, and domesticated in the Andes. In common Following the lecture, Professor Raven was occasionally in scrublands, throughout much with other Andean domesticates little is presented with the Sibthorp Medal by of Malesia and in the southwest Pacific known about the origin of L. mutabilis in Professor Chris Leaver, Head of the islands. My doctoral work has been focused Department of Plant Sciences. The Sibthorp terms of likely progenitors and where, when on issues of species delimitation in the and how it was domesticated. Seeds of L. Medal is awarded by the Department for group, especially those of the southwest mutabilis have been found in Nazca tombs excellence in Plant Sciences. Pacific, and on the wider issues surrounding and the species is thought to be depicted on both the conceptual justifications and the Tiwanaku pottery thus suggesting a pre- operational utility of different approaches to Prizes Incan domestication. The aim of my D.Phil. the recognition of species. Congratulations to Dr Alex Wortley who is to investigate the origins of domestication Molecular data from samples collected in of L. mutabilis and the taxonomy of its has just been awarded the Irene Manton 2003 has been disappointing as DNA putative close relatives. Prize by The Linnean Society of London, extraction has continued to prove extremely In order to do this I am using a gene tree for her thesis entitled Systematics of challenging, but morphological data provide based approach to identify the close Thomandersia (see page 4). The Irene clear support for a taxonomic revision relatives of L. mutabilis. Throughout this Manton Prize is awarded for the best thesis which has been prepared. This reduces the year I have increased taxon sampling of in botany examined for a doctorate of number of species recognized in New non-Andean lupins by growing, extracting philosophy during a single academic year Caledonia in view of the variation within DNA and sequencing nrITS and nDNA (September to August). It is open to taxa previously regarded as separate, which GPAT from a range of Brazilian and North candidates whose research has been carried appear to be ontogenetic phases of the same American species. This has shown for the out whilst registered at any institution in the taxon. Furthermore, parallel investigations United Kingdom. This honour for Alex first time the phylogenetic position of a using datasets developed for the study of number of Brazilian taxa. To date the ITS, comes hot on the heels of her being awarded Quercus population genetics, in the context GPAT and nDNA LEGCYC1A gene trees the Brian Styles Memorial Prize from the of accepted morphological taxonomies for are highly congruent but all show low levels Department of Plant Sciences. The prize, in that group, is providing insights into the of resolution among Andean taxa. Lack of memory of the late Brian Styles, is both the relationship between morphological Lupinus presented for outstanding