Shrubby Habit Research Articles

Faurea recondita (Proteaceae): A new species from the Sneeuberg Centre of Endemism, South Africa

Faurea recondita (Proteaceae) from the Sneeuberg Mountains of the southern Great Escarpment of South Africa is described. It is distinguished by its shrubby, lignotuberous habit, small leaves, 30–55×5–15mm, and short, 30–60mm long, erect terminal inflorescences. The shrubby habit and occurrence in heath-like vegetation are shared with Faurea coriacea of Madagascar. As a consequence of its very limited distribution range, this species is allocated the IUCN conservation status of VULNERABLE.

Levantamento de plantas medicinais nativas da Fazenda Azulão em Dourados-MS

O presente trabalho teve por objetivo identificar as espécies medicinais nativas em um fragmento de mata situada na Fazenda Azulão, em Dourados/MS, baseando-se no conhecimento popular de mateiros da região, com intuito de gerar subsídios para perpetuar a preservação, a diversidade e variabilidade das espécies, bem como, incentivar populações locais a valorizar e preservar esses recursos naturais, retardando o impacto sobre a biodiversidade. Partes das plantas indicadas como medicinais foram coletadas, as quais foram identificadas mediante literaturas especializadas e por comparações com plantas depositadas no Herbário da Cidade Universitária de Dourados. Foram identificadas 61 espécies distribuídas em 35 famílias e 53 gêneros. As famílias Asteraceae (9), Fabaceae (5) e Piperaceae (4) foram as que apresentaram o maior número de espécies. Dentre as formas de vida encontradas na vegetação nativa do local, as espécies medicinais de hábito arbustivo (39,34%) foram as que apresentaram os maiores valores, seguido pelas herbáceas (27,86%), arbóreas (24,6%), e lianas (8,2%). As partes das plantas mais utilizadas são as folhas, seguidas da raiz e casca. Com base nos resultados obtidos nesse estudo, as indicações da utilização das plantas medicinais podem fornecer subsídios para estudos bioquímicos e farmacológicos, diminuindo os custos e o tempo na extração de princípios ativos, bem como, permitir o fortalecimento do conhecimento cultural da comunidade local, incentivando a preservação ambiental de diversas espécies medicinais utilizadas na região. Novos estudos devem ser conduzidos no Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul, a fim de se garantir o registro de dados mais precisos sobre as espécies medicinais ocorrentes.

Phylogenetic relationships of the Australasian shrubby everlastings Ozothamnus and Cassinia (Asteraceae: Asteroideae: Gnaphalieae).

The first comprehensive phylogenetic study of the Australasian shrubby everlastings Ozothamnus, Cassinia, and their satellite genera is presented based on the nuclear ribosomal external and internal transcribed spacer and three chloroplast spacer regions (matK-psbA, psbA-trnH, ycf6-pbsM). While the hypothesis of the monophyly of the sequence copies found in Cassinia cannot be rejected, sequences from Ozothamnus are found to be non-monophyletic in three possible taxonomic circumscriptions of that genus. Cassinia, Calomeria, Odixia and Haeckeria are nested in a narrowly circumscribed Ozothamnus. Ozothamnus section Hebelaena, a sub-shrubby group long recognized as potentially misplaced in the genus, is more heterogeneous than expected and is found to be potentially polyphyletic. Perhaps more surprisingly, a group of four species previously considered part of "core" Ozothamnus is found to be more closely related to other genera. It includes the subalpine "cascade everlastings" of south-eastern Australia. Although many characters traditionally used for the delimitation of genera are homoplasious, connivent involucral bracts and presence of paleae are synapomorphies for Cassinia. Except for the robust shrubby habit, no morphological synapomorphy for core Ozothamnus/Cassinia is currently evident. Future studies are needed to test these results with additional data, to identify morphological and anatomical synapomorphies for individual clades and to resolve species-level relationships with more extensive sampling to address the possibilities of incomplete lineage sorting or reticulate evolution.

Molecular phylogenetics and morphological evolution of St. John’s wort (Hypericum; Hypericaceae)

Phylogenetic hypotheses for the large cosmopolitan genus Hypericum (St. John’s wort) have previously been based on morphology, and molecular studies have thus far included only a few species. In this study, we used 360 sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) for 206 species representing Hypericum (incl. Triadenum and Thornea) and three other genera of Hypericaceae to generate an explicit phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus using parsimony and model-based methods. The results indicate that the small genus Triadenum is nested in a clade within Hypericum containing most of the New World species. Sister to Hypericum is Thornea from Central America. Within Hypericum, three large clades and two smaller grades were found; these are based on their general morphology, especially characters used previously in taxonomy of the genus. Relative to the most recent classification, around 60% of the sections of Hypericum were monophyletic. We used a Bayesian approach to reconstruct ancestral states of selected morphological characters, which resulted in recognition of characters that support major clades within the genus and a revised interpretation of morphological evolution in Hypericum. The shrubby habit represents the plesiomorphic state from which herbs evolved several times. Arborescent species have radiated convergently in high-elevation habitats in tropical Africa and South America.

A new species of Symplocos (Symplocaceae) from the Itatiaia Plateau of Brazil

Symplocos minima, a new species of Symplocos section Hopea from the Itatiaia Plateau in the Atlantic Rain Forest biome of southeastern Brazil, is described and illustrated. This species is distinguished by its densely compact shrubby habit, ascending leaves, fasciculate inflorescences with several persistent bracts, corolla with five to six erect lobes, pistillate flowers with the disc not thickened along the margin, fruiting calyx lobes obscuring the disc, and seeds sub-orbicular in cross section. The new species is morphologically related to S. itatiaiae and S. pentandra, but can be differenciated from them mainly due to the tree habit and fruiting calyx lobes not obscuring the disc in S. itatiaiae and the pistillate flowers with a disc that is thickened along the margin in S. pentandra.

Four new species of Adenocalymma (Bignoniaceae) and a key to the species from southeastern Brazil

Four new species of Adenocalymma (Bignoniaceae, Bignonieae) from southeastern Brazil are described and illustrated: A. aurantiacum, characterized by dark orange and infundibuliform corolla; A. cinereum, characterized by shrubby habit, greyish inflorescence, infundibuliform corolla, and exserted stamens; A. gibbosum, characterized by gibbous and orange corolla and an inflorescence with dendritic trichomes; and A. sessile, characterized by sessile leaves and gibbous corolla. A discussion on the relationships of the new taxa and a key to all 29 species of Adenocalymma reported from southeastern Brazil are provided.

Revisão taxonômica de Leptolobium (Papilionoideae, Leguminosae)

Este trabalho apresenta uma revisão taxonômica de Leptolobium Vogel, incluindo chave de identificação, descrições, ilustrações e mapas de distribuição dos táxons. Leptolobium, com 12 espécies aceitas, inclui árvores ou arbustos com flores de corola branca, actinomorfa a levemente zigomorfa, 10 estames livres, ovário estipitado multiovulado, legumes indeiscentes, samaroides ou nucoides, sementes compressas e eixo hipocótilo-radícula bulboso. Leptolobium é um gênero exclusivamente neotropical, ocorrendo desde o sul do México até o norte da Argentina. Onze espécies ocorrem no Brasil, sendo sete espécies endêmicas. O lectótipo de Sweetia glazioviana Harms é designado neste trabalho. Em adição, são apresentadas informações sobre usos, nomes populares, distribuição geográfica e habitats de cada espécie.

Two New Shrubby Species of the Genus Staelia (Rubiaceae) from Serra do Curral Frio, Bahia, Brazil

Abstract Two new shrubby species of Stadia (Rubiaceae) from northeastern Brazil are described and illustrated. Staelia glandulosa inhabits rocky fields on white sand areas, and differs from S. virgata in its shrubby habit, entirely glandular stipular bristles, large flowers, number of calyx lobes and large seeds. Staelia harleyi was found in the Cerrado biome on sandstone rocks at altitudes of 1,000 m, recognizably different from S. virgata because the plant is shrubby, its calyx is a conspicuous tube, the calyx lobe is longer than the corolla tube, the corolla lobes are internally pilose, the ventral face of seeds has transverse furrows and the bracteole is sagittate at the apex. Electron microphotographs of the fruit and seed and images of both species in their habitats are provided.

Systematics of the Japanese Macroclinidium and ×Macropertya (Asteraceae, Pertyoideae, Pertyeae) and their Phylogeny Inferred from Morphology

Abstract The small genus Macroclinidium, with five species, and the monospecific xMacropertya are endemic to Japan. Macroclinidium is characterized by unbranched stems with a few cauline leaves arranged near the middle part of the stem. xMacropertya, proposed as hybrid genus between Pertya ovata and Macroclinidium robustum, is characterized by having branched stems with many alternate leaves, and leafless basal portion. The cladistic relationships of Macroclinidium and xMacropertya based on 32 morphological characters were investigated. Catamixis, Ainsliaea and Pertya are the genera closest to Macroclinidium and xMacropertya. Oldenburgia from South Africa, is hypothesized to be sister to the latter five. Macroclinidium and xMacropertya are distinguished from Ainsliaea by their barbellate (vs. plumose) pappus, and from Pertya and Catamixis principally by their herbaceous (vs. shrubby) habit. The phylogenetic analysis resulted in four most parsimonious trees each with 80 steps. The analysis recovered Macroc...

Euphorbia (Subgen. Chamaesyce Sect. Anisophyllum) jaegeri, a Shrubby New Species from the Deserts of California, United States

Euphorbia jaegeri (Euphorbiaceae), an endemic to southeastern California, United States, is described as new and illustrated with photographs. It is known from two general locations, one in the Orocopia Mountains (Riverside County) and the other in the Marble Mountains and adjacent Bristol Mountains (San Bernardino County). The habitat is desert scrub on rocky hillsides and along arroyos, primarily in rock crevices or gravelly soils, at elevations from approximately 600 to 850 m. The new species belongs to Euphorbia subgen. Chamaesyce sect. Anisophyllum. It is distinguished by the combination of a shrubby habit and involucral appendages that are deeply parted into triangular to subulate segments. The exact affinities of the new species are not obvious, but it is compared with E. polycarpa and E. setiloba. With only four known occurrences, a fragmented distribution, and significant existing and potential threats to most of the populations, E. jaegeri is of high conservation concern.

Sexual morphs and colour variants of Aphis (formerly Toxoptera) odinae (Hemiptera, Aphididae) in Japan

Recent molecular studies have shown that the genus Toxoptera is polyphyletic, and in particular that the name of the aphid known since 1952 as Toxoptera odinae (van der Goot) should revert to Aphis odinae (van der Goot), stat. rev. In this paper oviparae, alate males and fundatrices of A. odinae are described for the first time, from Japan. A. odinae is common as a grey-brown or rust-brown aphid on numerous plant species of shrubby habit throughout the Old World tropics and subtropics, but in temperate east Asia much darker forms occur, and Japanese populations of A. odinae include a dark green form not found elsewhere in the world. Multivariate morphometrics were used to confirm that both colour forms of the aphid in Japan were conspecific with samples from other parts of the world. Pergandeida kalopanacis Hori 1927 is a new synonym of A. odinae.

Pittosporum halophilum Rock (Pittosporaceae: Apiales): Rediscovery, Taxonomic Assessment, and Conservation Status of a Critically Endangered Endemic Species from Moloka'i, Hawaiian Islands

Pittosporum halophilum Rock originally was known only from the type collections made in 1910 and 1911 along the windward sea cliffs of Moloka'i. In the most recent revision of Hawaiian Pittosporum it was treated as synonymous with the more common species P. confertiflorum A. Gray. Since 1994, several plants fitting the circumscription of P. halophilum have been discovered near the type locality. Careful studies of these individuals and of plants cultivated from their seeds clearly revealed that they are not only characterized by salt tolerance, but differ from P. confertiflorum also in several other characters (i.e., a small, shrubby habit; smaller leaves with cuneate bases and unique tan to golden yellow wooly dense tomentum on abaxial leaf surfaces; shorter petioles; subcuboid to ovoid capsules; and, in most individuals, functionally unisexual flowers). Based on these substantial differences we conclude that P. halophilum merits recognition on species level. In this paper we give a detailed description of P. halophilum including remarks on its conservation status.

The monotypic Andean genus Fulcaldea (Compositae, Barnadesioideae) gains a new species from northeastern Brazil

AbstractThe family Compositae has ca. 25,000 species and is estimated to have diverged approximately 45 Ma. Within the family, the small subfamily Barnadesioideae (91 spp.) is the sister group of the rest of Compositae. Four of its nine genera have only one species; one of these, Fulcaldea, is restricted to northern Peru and Ecuador as is its sister group, Arnaldoa (3 spp.). A new species, Fulcaldea stuessyi, is described from the Chapada Diamantina of Bahia, Brazil, a remarkable 4000 km disjunction. The new species is clearly a member of Fulcaldea sharing a number of important characters with the type, F. laurifolia, including a single‐flowered capitulum, "plumose" pappus, shrubby habit, and style with a unique swelling. It is distinguished from that species by its red corolla and pappus, greater number of series of phyllaries, and much greater length of the corolla, style, and pappus. The location of the new taxon may be the result of vicariance or long‐distance dispersal; it is named in honor of Professor Tod Stuessy.

Nueva especie arbustiva de Nasa Weigend ser. Carunculatae (Urb. & Gilg) Weigend (Loasaceae) de la Zona Amotape-Huancabamba

Nasa is the largest genera in the Loasaceae family and it is particularly speciose in the Amotape-Huancabamba Zone of northern Peru. Nasa ser. Carunculatae is a group of four species, three of them endemic to the Amotape- Huancabamba Zone. Species in this group are characterized by their shrubby habit, deciduous leaves, and typical tilt-revolving flowers with white to greenish petals. In this work, we describe a new species of Nasa ser. Carunculatae from the southern limit of Amotape-Huancabamba area, La Libertad, Peru. The species differs from others in having much smaller and notably narrower leaves. Unlike all the other species of ser. Carunculatae , the entire distal portion of the stem is densely glandular. It is apparently most closely related to Nasa carunculata, a species known from inter-Andean valleys of Ancash and Ayacucho.

Achyranthes coynei Santapau, 1949 (Amaranthaceae) - an addition to the flora of Karnataka, India

Achyranthes coynei Santapau (Amaranthaceae) is a rare species from India and was identified endemic to Maharashtra state. It was first reported by Santapau in 1949 from Khandala, Maharashtra. Profusely branched shrubby habit (3.0-3.5 m tall), first erect, later patent, finally deflexed nature of flowers on the inflorescence, opened flowers spreading up to 2.0cm in diameter and its rosy-purplish colour are the key feature which differentiate this from other species of Achyranthes. The taxon has been reported from 3 new localities from Belgaum district. The present investigation reports the extended distribution of A. coynei to Karnataka State

Tamarix duezenlii (Tamaricaceae) - a species new to science from southern Turkey

<em>Tamarix duezenlii</em>, belonging to <em>Tamarix </em>L. ser. <em>Leptostachyae</em> (Bunge) Baum, is described as a species new to science. It is related to <em>T. hispida </em>Willd. and <em>T. arborea </em>(Sieber ex Ehrenb.) Bunge. From the former species it differs by its dense inflorescences, white petals and paralophic disc; from the latter by a shrubby habit, elliptic petals and calyx abruptly narrowed at the base. The species occurs in saline areas of the Cukurova Deltas at the mouths of the Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers in southern Turkey.

Cladistic analysis of morphological characters in Hypericum (Hypericaceae)

AbstractHypericum is a worldwide‐distributed genus with almost 500 species, including the medically used, facultative apomictic species H. perforatum. It is one of the few large plant genera for which alpha taxonomy has been completed and most species have been described. To conduct a formal cladistic analysis of the genus, we coded 89 morphological characters for all described taxa and analyzed the data for the species using parsimony and Bayesian methods. The obtained trees indicate that Hypericum is monophyletic if the monotypic genus Santomasia is included, and that Lianthus is its sister. The arrangement of the remaining genera of Hypericaceae included in the analysis is in congruence with molecular phylogenies. Within Hypericum the cladistic analysis revealed a basal grade containing Mediterranean species and three big clades containing most of the diversity of the genus. In contrast to earlier assumptions, we found no indication for an African origin of Hypericum, but assume that the genus evolved in what today is the Mediterranean area. Our phylogenies indicate a shrubby habit to be the ancestral state within Hypericum from which species with tree‐like and herbaceous habit evolved, and that apomixis originated at least three times independently within the genus.

Dos nuevos taxa de Bursera (Burseraceae) de Baja California Sur, México

Se describen e ilustran dos nuevos taxa del género Bursera de la región de Los Cabos, en el extremo meridional de la Península de Baja California, México. Uno de estos es designado como B. littoralis y el otro como B. rupicola. El primero tiene cierta similitud con B. filicifolia y B. laxiflora del sur de la península e incluso con B. ribana del occidente del país, pero difiere de éstas por el menor tamaño de las hojas y folíolos, tiene también un porte arbustivo con ramificación compacta e intrincada, y particularmente porque habita en la duna costera. El segundo taxon se relaciona con B. epinnata del sur de la península, distinguiéndose de ésta por presentar hojas casi siempre unifolioladas con folíolos membranáceos, brillantes, las inflorescencias cortas con menor número de flores, y particularmente por su hábito arbustivo de ramas colgantes. Ambas especies pertenecen a la sección Bullockia por tener el ovario 2-locular, fruto 2-valvado, catafilos manifiestos, flores 4(5)-meras y corteza no exfoliante.

Diversity in obscurity: fossil flowers and the early history of angiosperms

In the second half of the nineteenth century, pioneering discoveries of rich assemblages of fossil plants from the Cretaceous resulted in considerable interest in the first appearance of angiosperms in the geological record. Darwin's famous comment, which labelled the 'rapid development' of angiosperms an 'abominable mystery', dates from this time. Darwin and his contemporaries were puzzled by the relatively late, seemingly sudden and geographically widespread appearance of modern-looking angiosperms in Late Cretaceous floras. Today, the early diversification of angiosperms seems much less 'rapid'. Angiosperms were clearly present in the Early Cretaceous, 20-30 Myr before they attained the level of ecological dominance reflected in some mid-Cretaceous floras, and angiosperm leaves and pollen show a distinct pattern of steadily increasing diversity and complexity through this interval. Early angiosperm fossil flowers show a similar orderly diversification and also provide detailed insights into the changing reproductive biology and phylogenetic diversity of angiosperms from the Early Cretaceous. In addition, newly discovered fossil flowers indicate considerable, previously unrecognized, cryptic diversity among the earliest angiosperms known from the fossil record. Lineages that today have an herbaceous or shrubby habit were well represented. Monocotyledons, which have previously been difficult to recognize among assemblages of early fossil angiosperms, were also diverse and prominent in many Early Cretaceous ecosystems.

Marbleseeds are gromwells – Systematics and evolution of Lithospermum and allies (Boraginaceae tribe Lithospermeae) based on molecular and morphological data

Phylogenetic relationships are complex within the Lithospermeae, a large subgroup of the Boraginaceae s.str. The relationships of New World Lasiarrhenum, Macromeria, Nomosa, Onosmodium, Perittostoma, and Psilolaemus to subcosmopolitan and much larger Lithospermum have not been critically investigated in the recent past. No molecular data on the phylogeny of these genera and Lithospermum have so far been published. We investigated the relationships within Lithospermeae using three loci (nuclear ITS plus 5.8S rRNA, chloroplast trnL -F-spacer, and trnS -G-spacer) and micromorphological character traits (pollen, nutlets). Lithospermum s.l. constitutes the sistergroup of Asian Ulugbekia and is monophyletic only when its American segregates “ Macromeria”, monotypic Nomosa, and Onosmodium are included. Both the African and the South American species groups of Lithospermum are monophyletic, but North American representatives are not resolved in a single clade. Morphological characters that have been considered as important for generic delimitation in the past (such as large, yellow corollas without faucal scales, particular pollen types, coarsely veined leaves, shrubby habit) have evolved in at least two only distantly related lineages within Lithospermum s.l. The reduction of American “ Macromeria”, Nomosa, and Onosmodium as well as Asian Ulugbekia under Lithospermum is proposed to render the latter monophyletic. This redefined Lithospermum s.l. appears to have undergone a type of recent “island radiation” in the Americas, reflected in a morphological diversity far exceeding that found in the Old World.