Nuclear Ribosomal ITS Region Research Articles

Jurinea stenocarpa (Asteraceae, Cardueae), a new species from the north‐west of Iran

Jurinea stenocarpa, is described as a new species based on morphological characters. This species is a mountainous Irano‐Turanian element distributed in the north‐west of Iran, –the Azarbaijan region. Specimens of this species were collected from Aqdagh (type location) and Talesh Mountains in Ardabil Province, Pir‐Saqqa Mountain in Eastern Azarbaijan Province. The taxonomic position of the new species is assessed using sequence data from the nuclear ribosomal ITS region, and the findings are discussed based on a morphological background as well. The new species is morphologically close to its sympatric species, J. heterophylla by having linear‐lanceolate simple and more or less entire leaves, but differs mostly in the form of inflorescence and shape and status of phyllaries. The new species also has similarities to its allopatric species J. monocephala, mainly by having semi‐globose involucre and scapose stems, but differs in plant indumentum, the shape of phyllaries and features of achenes and size of pappus rays. Description, photos and a distribution map for the new species and closely related species are presented.

Range extension, taxonomic note, molecular-phylogenetic relationship, and conservation of Frullania iriomotensis S.Hatt. (Marchantiophyta, Frullaniaceae), a rare liverwort previously known only from the type locality in Japan

Frullania iriomotensis (Frullaniaceae), a rare liverwort previously known only from the type locality in Japan, was newly discovered in a rainforest in southern China. The first phylogenetic analyses based on the nuclear ribosomal ITS region and two chloroplast regions (rbcL, trnL–F) of F. iriomotensis reveal that it is sister to the tropical Asian F. repandistipula in the Diastaloba II group of F. subg. Diastaloba. Androecia and gynoecia are described and illustrated for the first time for this species and a proposal for conservation is presented.

The enchytraeid fauna (Enchytraeidae: Clitellata) of the Fanjing Mountain National Nature Reserve (China) with description of two new species

ABSTRACT The first ever survey of the enchytraeid fauna in the Fanjing Mountain National Nature Reserve (Guizhou, China) yielded a total of eight species, two of them new to science: Xetadrilus prolixglandus sp. nov. and Hemienchytraeus tenuiculus sp. nov. One unidentified and possibly new species of Fridericia and five additional species, Achaeta brevivasa, Enchytraeus buchholzi, Fridericia loretensis, Henlea perpusilla and Hemienchytraeus stephensoni, are recorded and described, based on the collected material. The species records include morphological descriptions and molecular data (the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene, the nuclear ribosomal ITS region and the nuclear histone 3 (H3) gene). http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:40F089F9-F332-438F-9A3F-4E25A877BDFE

Two new species of Entoloma (Entolomataceae) from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Cedar towering forests of Kumrat Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan were visited on several occasions to collect mushrooms and this resulted in the discovery of two novel species of Entoloma. Entoloma kumraticus is characterized by bluish-brown, centrally depressed pileus, serrulate lamellar edge, bluish-violet fibrillose stipe, dense clusters of cheilocystidia, and presence of abundant grayish-brown intracellular pigments in the terminal cells of pileipellis, and cheilocystidia. Entoloma dirensis is characterized by brownish olive to dull violet, finely fibrillose striate pileus with a violet-blue margin, slightly twisted violet-blue stipe, and blackish-brown lamellar edge, with groups of cheilocystidia which are often septate. The new species are presented based on the morphological and molecular study. Entoloma kumraticus and E. dirensis formed distinct phylogenetic lineages based on the sequences of nuclear ribosomal ITS and LSU gene regions. A key to the Pakistani species in sect. Cyanula is also provided.

Evolutionary history and patterns of geographical variation, fertility, and hybridization in Stuckenia (Potamogetonaceae).

Aquatic plant species are often widespread, even across continents. They pose a challenge to species delimitation and taxonomy due to their reduced morphology and high phenotypic plasticity. These difficulties are even more pronounced in the case of interspecific hybridization. We investigate the aquatic plant genus Stuckenia for the first time on a worldwide scale. Expert species determination is aided by sequencing of nuclear ribosomal ITS and 5S-NTS regions and the plastid intergenic spacers rpl20-5'rps12 and trnT-trnL. Nuclear markers are used to infer hybridization, and the maternal origin of hybrids is addressed with plastid markers. Pure species are subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Two main Stuckenia lineages are found: one consists of S. amblyphylla, S. filiformis, S. pamirica, and S. vaginata, the other includes S. pectinata and S. striata. The widespread species S. pectinata, S. filiformis, and S. vaginata show intraspecific genetic variation, which is structured geographically. Many intraspecific hybrids, which are usually fertile, occur between those genotypes. Interspecific hybrids, which are consistently sterile, are detected among all widespread species; some are reported for the first time in several countries and regions. They originated multiple times from reciprocal crosses and reflect the geographical origins of parental genotypes. Intraspecific genetic variation can be higher than interspecific differences between closely related species. Comparison of phenotypic variation in the field and in cultivation with genotypic variation shows that numerous conspicuous forms have been overestimated taxonomically. These are resolved as phenotypes responding to unusual environments, have recurrently evolved adaptations, or represent extreme forms of continuous variation of the recognized species. However, some specific regional lineages, which have evolved from variable species, may be interpreted as early steps of the speciation process. Hybridization has been underestimated in some regions as a source of Stuckenia diversity, and the respective hybrid plants have been misidentified as intraspecific taxa or even as separate species. Many erroneous entries in sequence databases are detected and summarized. This work provides a sound basis for species delimitation and hybrid recognition in this difficult genus.

<i>Corrigendum to</i>: Three new tribes in Myrtaceae and reassessment of Kanieae

The current tribal classification of Myrtaceae was based on analysis of the plastid <i>mat</i>K coding region within the <i>trn</i>K intron. The phylogenetic position of the genera <i>Cloezia</i> and <i>Xanthomyrtus</i> was poorly supported, and the original sequence for <i>Kania</i>, the type genus of the tribe Kanieae, was rather poor. To clarify relationships, we sequenced plastid <i>psb</i>A–<i>trn</i>H and an extended portion of the <i>trn</i>K intron, including the spacer regions flanking <i>mat</i>K, and nuclear ribosomal ITS and ETS regions for representative species across the tribes, including denser sampling of the three genera of interest. Analyses of these extended datasets show a strong relationship between <i>Kania</i> and the tribe Metrosidereae but not with other genera presently assigned to the Kanieae. The relationship between <i>Kania</i> and the tribe Metrosidereae is strongly correlated with morphological features recently documented in <i>Metrosideros</i> fossils. Consequently, a new tribe, Tristaniopsideae PeterG.Wilson, is described to accommodate most genera presently assigned to Kanieae. Furthermore, the morphological divergence and genetic distance shown by <i>Cloezia</i> and <i>Xanthomyrtus</i> are here considered as justifying their recognition as the tribes Cloezieae Peter G.Wilson and Xanthomyrteae Peter G.Wilson. Recognition of these tribes brings to four the number of tribes absent from present-day mainland Australia. Prior to this study, Metrosidereae was the only tribe in subfamily Myrtoideae that was absent from mainland Australia.

Integrative Taxonomy Reveals a New Species of the Genus Lejeunea (Marchantiophya: Lejeuneaceae) from Peninsular Malaysia.

Prior to the advent of molecular work, the observable variation in vegetative reproduction has been used to classify Lejeunea into subgenera and sections. Thereby, the ability of developing caducous leaves was regarded as major factor. A reexamination of several Lejeunea specimens revealed that L. cocoes with caducous leaves shows considerable morphological differences with non-caducous leaved plants of L. cocoes. Phylogenetic analyses based on a three-marker dataset (rbcL, trnLF and the nuclear ribosomal ITS region) indicated two independent and robust lineages of the morpho-species L. cocoes. We consider both clades as two distinct species and therefore describe the new species, L. malaysiana for L. cocoes morpho-species with caducous leaves. Lejeunea malaysiana is characterized by its caducous leaves with ribbon-like and plantlet regenerants, strongly reduced leaf lobules, distant and deeply bilobed underleaves, long-keeled obovoid perianth, and autoicy and ranges from tropical Asia to the Pacific region.

Phylogeny, Classification, and Character Evolution of Acalypha (Euphorbiaceae: Acalyphoideae)

Abstract— Acalypha (Euphorbiaceae: Acalyphoideae) is a large, monophyletic genus distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions, with a few species extending into temperate areas of southern Africa, Asia, and North and South America. We reconstructed phylogenetic relationships within the genus using DNA sequences from the plastid ndhF and trnL-F regions and the nuclear ribosomal ITS region, sampling 142 species to represent the geographic, morphologic, and taxonomic diversity with the genus, resulting in a 162 (158 in Acalypha) terminal and 3847 character combined dataset. Bayesian and maximum likelihood reconstructions based on the combined dataset yielded a tree with a generally well-supported backbone and several strongly supported clades. Our results strongly supported the monophyly of Acalypha subg. Acalypha as currently recognized but showed that A. subg. Linostachys and almost all other infrageneric taxa recognized in the most recent comprehensive classification of the genus were not monophyletic. We therefore propose a new subgeneric classification comprising A. subg. Acalypha, A. subg. Androcephala, A. subg. Hypandrae, and A. subg. Linostachys (s.s.). Our results also shed light on relationships within some species groups, including in what has been treated as a broadly defined A. amentacea, in which we recognize A. amentacea, A. palauensis comb. nov., and A. wilkesiana as distinct species. Bayesian ancestral state estimations based on the phylogeny of Acalypha demonstrated that inflorescence position and sexuality and habit show high homoplasy, especially within A. subg. Acalypha, and that inflorescence position and habit exhibit correlated evolution.

Reinstatement of the genus <i>Psorodendron</i> and related systematic novelties as revealed from phylogenetic analyses of the tribe Amorpheae (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae)

The legume tribe Amorpheae comprises eight genera and ca. 240 species exclusive to the New World. We performed parsimony and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses based on sequence data from the nuclear gene CNGC4, the chloroplast trnK/matK genes and the nuclear ribosomal ITS regions. Our goal was to infer the generic-level phylogenetic relationships of the tribe with an expanded sampling on Dalea, a genus that comprises nearly 70 % of the species of the tribe. We corroborated that the tribe Amorpheae is formed by the Daleoid clade, comprising Dalea, Marina, and Psorothamnus, and the Amorphoid clade comprising Amorpha, Apoplanesia, Errazurizia, Eysenhardtia, and Parryella. Additionally, Errazurizia resulted polyphyletic given that one of its species (E. rotundata) clusters with Parryella in the most inclusive combined datasets (CNGC4 + ITS, ITS + matK/trnK, and CNGC4 + ITS + matK/trnK); thus, we reinstate the existing name Parryella rotundata to render these two genera as monophyletic. We also corroborate that Psorothamnus is paraphyletic, with species falling into two non-sister subclades, one of them sister to Dalea + Marina, and the other corresponding to the former genus Psorodendron, making imperative the reinstatement of the latter. Dalea is also corroborated as paraphyletic given that D. filiciformis results sister to Marina; thus, this species is transferred to Marina in order to render monophyly of these two genera. Finally, the relationships of the Colombian species remain uncertain due to the incongruence between ITS alone versus matK/trnK and the combined ITS + matK/trnK datasets.

Three new tribes in Myrtaceae and reassessment of Kanieae

The current tribal classification of Myrtaceae was based on analysis of the plastid matK coding region within the trnK intron. The phylogenetic position of the genera Cloezia and Xanthomyrtus was poorly supported, and the original sequence for Kania, the type genus of the tribe Kanieae, was rather poor. To clarify relationships, we sequenced plastid psbA–trnH and an extended portion of the trnK intron, including the spacer regions flanking matK, and nuclear ribosomal ITS and ETS regions for representative species across the tribes, including denser sampling of the three genera of interest. Analyses of these extended datasets show a strong relationship between Kania and the tribe Metrosidereae but not with other genera presently assigned to the Kanieae. The relationship between Kania and the tribe Metrosidereae is strongly correlated with morphological features recently documented in Metrosideros fossils. Consequently, a new tribe, Tristaniopsideae PeterG.Wilson, is described to accommodate most genera presently assigned to Kanieae. Furthermore, the morphological divergence and genetic distance shown by Cloezia and Xanthomyrtus are here considered as justifying their recognition as the tribes Cloezieae Peter G.Wilson and Xanthomyrteae Peter G.Wilson. Recognition of these tribes brings to four the number of tribes absent from present-day mainland Australia. Prior to this study, Metrosidereae was the only tribe in subfamily Myrtoideae that was absent from mainland Australia.

<strong>A new species of <em>Pabstiella</em> (Pleurothallidinae, Orchidaceae) from Ecuador</strong>

Pabstiella elegans is newly described based on cultivated material originally collected near Chaucha in Ecuador. It belongs to the group of small, creeping species of Pabstiella section Mentosae and differs from its closest relatives by the two-times larger flower and unusual colour of its sepals, which are creamy white with red dots. It also differs in the genome size (1C-value = 0.537 pg), which is 10.5% higher than its sister species, P. aryter. Phylogenetic placement is supported by an analysis based on nuclear ribosomal ITS and plastid matK regions.

Long neglected diversity in the Accursed Mountains (western Balkan Peninsula):Ranunculus bertisceusis a genetically and morphologically divergent new species

AbstractSouthern European mountain ranges have long been recognized as important hotspots of genetic diversity and areas of high endemism. Reflecting the geographical complexity of these mountain ranges, many European high-mountain species exhibit disjunctions on a variety of geographical scales. One of the long-neglected, poorly investigated and unresolved taxonomic problems concerns Apennine and Balkan members of Ranunculus section Leucoranunculus. According to the most recent taxonomic treatment, this section includes Ranunculus crenatus, distributed predominantly in siliceous massifs of the Carpathians and the Balkan Peninsula, but with a highly disjunct partial distribution area in the eastern Alps, and Ranunculus magellensis, which is usually considered a calcicolous endemic of the central Apennines. However, R. magellensis has also been suggested to occur in the carbonate ranges of the Albanian Alps, which would render this species amphi-Adriatic. We used complementary molecular methods (sequences of the nuclear ribosomal ITS region and of plastid DNA and amplified fragment length polymorphisms), relative genome size measurements and morphometric analyses to elucidate the relationships in Ranunculus section Leucoranunculus. Specifically, we asked if it comprises only a single, widespread and morphologically variable species or several narrowly distributed species with constant morphology. The results of our study showed that populations growing on limestone in the Albanian Alps in northern Albania and southern Montenegro are divergent and should be recognized as a new species, Ranunculus bertisceus Kuzmanović, D.Lakušić, Frajman & Schönsw., sp. nov. These populations differ not only from R. crenatus s.s., which grows on silicates, but also from the calcicolous Apennine endemic R. magellensis. The eastern Alpine populations of R. crenatus, which occur very locally in the Niedere Tauern area, originate from immigration from the Bosnian mountains.

Hybridization and cryptic speciation in the Iberian endemic plant genus Phalacrocarpum (Asteraceae-Anthemideae)

Understanding the role and impact of reticulation in phylogenetic inquiry has improved with extended use of high throughput sequencing data. Yet, due to the dynamism of genomes over evolutionary time, disentangling old hybridization events remains a serious challenge. Phalacrocarpum (DC.) Willk. is one of the 27 Iberian endemic plant genera, currently considered monotypic but including three subspecies. Its uncertain phylogenetic relationships within tribe Anthemideae (Asteraceae) point to an Early Miocene divergence from its sister group, and its persistent taxonomic instability has been proposed to be due to hybridization. We aim at understanding the evolutionary history of this genus using SNPs called from a genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) analysis, Sanger sequences—from three plastid DNA regions (psbJ-petA, petB-petD, trnH-psbA) and the nuclear ribosomal ITS regions (cloned)—as well as leaf morphometric multivariate analysis. SNP data and Sanger sequences strongly support the unforeseen existence of a cryptic species in the eastern populations of P. oppositifolium subsp. anomalum. Broad molecular and morphometric patterns of variation found in conflictive populations from the Sanabria Valley region convincingly identify a recent previously undocumented hybrid zone. By contrast, evidence is less conclusive on relationships between subspecies hoffmannseggii, oppositifolium and a second conflictive group distributed along the Galician-Portuguese border (Orense massifs). Although genetic clustering analysis of SNP data suggests that the former subspecies was the maternal progenitor in hybridization events that gave rise to the other two groups, we found considerable uniqueness of ITS ribotypes and plastid haplotypes in them. This result, in the context of Pleistocene climatically-driven range shifts in NW Iberian Peninsula, can be due to periods of isolation, genetic bottlenecks and drift superimposed on old hybridization events. Our study confirms the idea that unravelling old hybridization events may be compromised by the suite of evolutionary processes accumulated subsequently, particularly in areas with a history of climatic instability.

Extending the geographic distribution of Bryodrilus ehlersi (Annelida, Enchytraeidae): morphological and molecular comparison of Korean and European specimens

Cryptic species are such evolutionary lineages that differ genetically but cannot or can only be hardly differentiated with traditional morphological methods, so they are classified as the same species. Several cryptic species have been discovered within the family Enchytraeidae and some of them have also been described formally. During the study of the enchytraeid fauna of South Korea, specimens were found which were identified as Bryodrilus ehlersi based on their morphological characters. This was an unexpected result, since this species is common in Northern and Central Europe but has not yet been found in the Far East. Sequence analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, the nuclear histone 3 gene and the nuclear ribosomal ITS region showed unambiguously that the specimens collected in South Korea represent a different species. In this paper the description of this new cryptic species, Bryodrilus deogyunensis sp. n., is given with its comparison with the morphologically almost identical B. ehlersi.

Biogeography and integrative taxonomy of Epipterygium (Mniaceae, Bryophyta)

AbstractA significant number of bryophyte species are thought to have transcontinental geographic ranges, often with multiple disjunct distribution areas. One of these cases is Epipterygium tozeri (Mniaceae), with a Holarctic distribution and disjunct ranges in western North America, the Mediterranean, Japan and central Asia. Collections from different geographic regions were lumped into E. tozeri based on morphology, but a molecular confirmation was lacking so far. Here, we tested species concepts in the genus Epipterygium, with a special focus on the E. tozeri species complex, combining morphological and DNA sequence data for the nuclear ribosomal ITS region and two plastid loci (trnG intron, trnT‐psbD spacer). In a second step, we reconstructed the historical biogeography of the genus. We found that Epipterygium most likely originated in Asia or North/Central America and that the alleged single widespread species E. tozeri with disjunct ranges is in fact a group of genetically and morphologically distinct taxa, including four overlooked species, for which we provide descriptions: E. atlanticum sp. nov., E. biauritum sp. nov., E. oreophilum sp. nov., and E. yunnanense sp. nov. The biogeographical history of these species is best explained by a step‐wise parallel colonization of the Eurasian and American continents followed by in‐situ speciation.

Preliminary insights into the molecular barcoding data of Turraea socotrana (Meliaceae) from Socotra (Yemen)

The relationship of two geographically and ecologically separated populations of Turraea socotrana Styles and F. White (Meliaceae), a vulnerable and scattered shrub from the island of Socotra (Yemen), was explored using preliminary molecular data. The nuclear ribosomal ITS region was used to screen the level of genetic divergence of T. socotrana from ecologically distant localities in comparison to a few other species of Turraea and closely related genera. The individuals from the inland (Diksam) differed from the western coastal ones (Ma’alah) by vegetative characters and by the rbcL gene. This may be due to the fact that the population from Ma’alah grows on lithosoil slopes directly exposed to moist winds coming from the sea, whereas the population of Diksam occurs on arid cliffs overlooking the inland of the island. The ITS sequences grouped the studied populations from Socotra together and separated them from other species of Turraea that are morphologically similar and occurring in East Africa. Considering the differences recorded in the rbcL gene, we suggest that the populations of T. socotrana investigated here on only a few specimens from two different areas on the island, deserve more research. Our preliminary study potentially indicates that there may be independent evolutionary significant units in this species, however, more research including a wider sampling and comparison to other taxa is needed.

Novel Laccaria Species From Juglandaceae Forest in Panama With Notes on Their Ecology.

Since 2013 there have been 22 new species of Laccaria described worldwide. Only three of these represent species from the neotropics. In Panama, Laccaria is abundant in monodominant Oreomunnea mexicana (Juglandaceae) forests based on sporocarps and environmental sequencing of roots. This study uses a combination of morphological and phylogenetic evidence to document up to seven species of Laccaria from these forests, one previously described, three described as new, and three requiring more data before being formally described. Molecular data used for phylogenetic analysis include the nuclear ribosomal ITS and 28S regions, along with TEF1 and RPB2. Laccaria stellata, has previously been reported from O. mexicana cloud forests of Panama. Laccaria dallingii sp. nov., L. nitrophila sp. nov., and L. fortunensis sp. nov. are described as new based on morphology and phylogenetic analysis of multiple collections. A taxon referred to as “PAN sp3” is resolved sister to L. stellata. Phylogenetic analysis also resolved two separate clades of Panamanian Laccaria as sister to L. roseoalbescens, a species previously described from Mexico. These three taxa are not described in this paper as there is too little material from which to make effective morphological descriptions even though their placement in phylogenetic analysis identify them as being unique. Ecologically, all described species except for L. fortunensis were amplified from O. mexicana ectomycorrhizal root tips. L. nitrophila was one of the most recovered species from the roots of O. mexicana in a previous study, and it has been shown to respond positively to long term nitrogen addition. Our results expand the knowledge of Laccaria diversity for Central America and highlight that at least some species of Laccaria are nitrophilic in neotropical Juglandaceae forests as well as in temperate forests.

The mouse bile duct tapeworm, Hymenolepis microstoma in free-living small mammals in Slovakia: occurrence and genetic analysis

SummaryThe mouse bile duct tapeworm Hymenolepis microstoma, is a potentially zoonotic species with a wide variety of reported definitive hosts of rodent genera. In the present study the occurrence of H. microstoma in free-living small mammals in selected areas of Slovakia and the retrospective analysis of epidemiological data published in Slovakia were performed. Hymenolepis microstoma was detected in two animal species, the common shrew (Sorex araneus) and the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus) of 186 small mammals examined from two ecosystems, urban and natural ecosystem of national park. No mention about the presence of this parasite in Slovakia in the past was found following a bibliographical search. Partial sequences of the nuclear paramyosin gene showed the shrew isolate placed in a subclade together with H. microstoma from Portugal, with high bootstrap value for its differentiation from the sister species Hymenolepis nana. Similarly, the analysis of the nuclear ribosomal ITS region placed the hamster isolate in the cluster composed of H. microstoma from Australia, Spain and Portugal. The Slovak isolate was the most distinctive sample among available H. microstoma, differing in 1.4 – 1.9% of nucleotides from the remaining isolates. The difference (seven of 17 nucleotide positions) was partially due to indel polymorphisms associated with two and five nucleotides. To our knowledge, these are the first reports of H. microstoma in Central Europe and also the first record of infection in the common shrew. A recently indicated zoonotic potential of H. microstoma along with a possibility of its direct transmission between animals and/or humans without the need of intermediate hosts pose a public health concern in contaminated areas of Slovakia. The use of molecular techniques may substantially facilitate more thorough understanding of the epidemiological situation of H. microstoma and related tapeworms in various ecosystems of the country.

Phylogeny and Floral Character Evolution of Mentzelia Section Bicuspidaria (Loasaceae)

Abstract—Mentzelia section Bicuspidaria (Loasaceae) is a monophyletic group of desert ephemerals that inhabit the complex, heterogeneous landscapes of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. To investigate species circumscriptions and evolutionary relationships in M. sect. Bicuspidaria, we employed phylogeny reconstructions based on DNA sequences from the plastid trnL-trnF, trnS-trnfM, ndhF-rpl32, and rpl32-trnL regions and the nuclear ribosomal ITS and ETS regions. Due to evidence of discordant relationships reconstructed from the plastid and nuclear partitions, we used coalescent-based methods in addition to concatenated data sets to estimate the species tree. Maximum likelihood reconstructions based on the combined plastid and nuclear data and coalescent-based reconstructions inferred congruent, fully-resolved species-level phylogenies of M. sect. Bicuspidaria. A monophyletic M. sect. Bicuspidaria was composed of two main clades, which corresponded to a clade of species endemic to the United States composed of M. reflexa, M. tricuspis, and M. tridentata that was sister to a clade of species at least partially distributed in Mexico, composed of M. hirsutissima and M. involucrata. Despite the unusual floral morphology of M. reflexa, molecular reconstructions placed M. reflexa sister to M. tridentata. All species of M. sect. Bicuspidaria were monophyletic, except for M. hirsutissima, which was composed of two distinct lineages and paraphyletic with respect to M. involucrata. The northern clade of M. hirsutissima from California and Baja California was sister to M. involucrata, and both, in turn, were sister to a geographically disjunct southern clade of M. hirsutissima from Baja California Sur and Cedros Island. These phylogeny reconstructions provide evidence for the inclusion of five species in M. sect. Bicuspidaria and have uncovered cryptic diversity that has been largely unrecognized. Character state reconstructions based on the phylogeny of M. sect. Bicuspidaria suggest innovative and, at times, homoplasious floral evolution.

<p><strong>A new species of <em>Andinia</em> (Pleurothallidinae, Orchidaceae) with unusual bearded flowers from Ecuador</strong></p>

Andinia barbata is newly described based on cultivated material originally collected near Shaglli in Ecuador. It belongs to subgenus Aenigma and differs from all others in this group by the lanceolate lip, 2.5 times longer than wide, and unusually long and thick projections from the synsepal which gives a bearded appearance to the flowers. Phylogenetic placement under the genus is supported with reconstruction of a molecular phylogeny using nuclear ribosomal ITS and plastid matK regions and the genome size estimation (1C-value = 1.38 pg) is provided.