Abstract
SummaryAn updated checklist of species of Ipomoea L. found in Cuba is presented with analysis of the different elements represented. I. alterniflora Griseb. is defined broadly to include I. obtusata Griseb. and I. excisa Urb. and its differences from the little-known I. cubensis (House) Urb. are discussed. I. calophylla C. Wright ex Griseb. is reinstated as the correct name for the species generally known as I. lacteola House. I. praecox C. Wright is recognised as a distinct species from I. argentifolia A. Rich. and images are provided to help distinguish the two species. I. flavopurpurea Urb. and I. dajabonensis Alain are shown to be conspecific with I. longeramosa Choisy, whose disjunct distribution is mapped and discussed. The little-known I. montecristina Hadač is described and illustrated and the cited collections show it to be locally common in the Guantánamo region. I. microdonta J. R. I. Wood & Scotland is described as new from Camagüey in central Cuba. Eight species endemic to Cuba collected by Ekman and described by Urban in 1924 – 25 are evaluated but only two, I. balioclada Urb. and I. erosa Urb., are deemed to warrant recognition as distinct endemic species. The origin and typification of I. horsfalliae Hook. are discussed and an epitype designated. Cultivated plants named I. horsfalliae occur in many tropical countries including Cuba but their extreme variation suggests hybrid origin. Four species from Jamaica, I. rubella House, I. lineolata Urb., I. carmesina Proctor and the Jamaican plant called I. horsfalliae are treated as synonyms of a variable I. lineolata, which is endemic to the island. I. saxicola Proctor is treated as var. saxicola J. R. I. Wood & Scotland of I. ternata Jacq. I. cyanantha Griseb. is treated as a synonym of I. lindenii M. Martens & Galeotti. Lectotypes are designated for I. cyanantha, I. lindenii, I. praecox, I. punctata C. Wright, I. geranioides Meisn. and I. grisebachii Urb.
Highlights
There are approximately 430 species of Ipomoea found in the New World, an estimate based on the list published by Austin & Huáman (1996), on various more recent publications and on our own on-going research as part of the Ipomoea “Foundation Monograph” project (Wood et al 2015, 2017; Wood & Scotland 2017a, 2017b)
Diversity is great around the 20 – 25° latitudes in Mexico and in the southern hemisphere in southern Bolivia, northern Argentina, Paraguay and south-central Brazil (Wood & Scotland 2017a, b)
The clade boasts a number of unusual features uncommonly or never found elsewhere in Ipomoea; several species are remarkable for developing leaves on brachyblasts (most obviously I. tenuifolia (Vahl) Urb., I. steudelii Millsp. and I. eggersiana Peter and I. microdonta J
Summary
There are approximately 430 species of Ipomoea found in the New World, an estimate based on the list published by Austin & Huáman (1996), on various more recent publications and on our own on-going research as part of the Ipomoea “Foundation Monograph” project (Wood et al 2015, 2017; Wood & Scotland 2017a, 2017b). Diversity is great around the 20 – 25° latitudes in Mexico and in the southern hemisphere in southern Bolivia, northern Argentina, Paraguay and south-central Brazil (Wood & Scotland 2017a, b). Another interesting feature is the presence of around 20 – 25 very widespread species in nearly every tropical country both in the Old and New Worlds. These species constitute 50% or more of the Ipomoea flora in countries where the genus is less diverse but usually amount to around 20% of the total even in the countries with the most diverse floras. None of the other smaller islands has a single endemic
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