Twelve taxa of the genus Chara (Characeae, Chlorophyta) are decribed and illustrated based on specimens from southern Brazil. The taxonomic survey in the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul recorded seven, one, and nine species for each state, respectively. Chara guairensis was the most common species in the area, followed by C. rusbyana. The species Chara guairensis, C. martiana, C. rusbyana, Chara hydropitys, C. braunii and its varieties were recorded for the first time in Rio Grande do Sul, and the following six for Paraná: C. angolensis, C. diaphana, C. guairensis, C. kenoyeri, C. martiana, and C. zeylanica.

To better understand biogeographic patterns in the Southern Hemisphere, infraspecific molecular patterns were compared in two species of the moss genus Calyptrochaeta with contrasting distributions. One, C. apiculata, has a disjunct distribution encompassing South America and Australasia, and the other, C. asplenioides, occurs from South Africa northward to Rwanda and eastward into the Indian Ocean Islands. Nucleotide sequence data from two plastid loci (trnL-F and trnG) and nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS1–2) were gathered from 62 samples representing the genera Calyptrochaeta and Daltonia (the latter as an outgroup), and subjected to phylogenetic analyses using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. The phylogenetic analyses revealed strong, geographically correlated structure within C. asplenioides in which populations from southern Africa are sister to those from eastern Africa, Madagascar, and the other Indian Ocean islands. Continental plants are further differentiated from island plants to the east. Divergence times suggest that C. asplenioides diversified in a time frame that does not support vicariance associated with continental drift, but rather dispersal, to explain the disjunct distribution of this species. Sequences of C. apiculata disjunct between Chile and Australia are nearly identical, which strongly suggests recent and/or ongoing gene flow. Our dating suggests that the South American-Australian disjunction of C. apiculata is also not old enough to reflect vicariance associated with continental drift. Thus, in both cases, recent long distance dispersal best explains their distributions in the Southern Hemisphere.

Convergent evolution driven by adaptation to arid habitats has made it difficult to identify monophyletic taxa in the cheilanthoid ferns. Dependence on distinctive, but potentially homoplastic characters, to define major clades has resulted in a taxonomic conundrum: all of the largest cheilanthoid genera have been shown to be polyphyletic. Here we reconstruct the first comprehensive phylogeny of the strictly New World cheilanthoid genus Argyrochosma. We use our reconstruction to examine the evolution of farina (powdery leaf deposits), which has played a prominent role in the circumscription of cheilanthoid genera. Our data indicate that Argyrochosma comprises two major monophyletic groups: one exclusively non-farinose and the other primarily farinose. Within the latter group, there has been at least one evolutionary reversal (loss) of farina and the development of major chemical variants that characterize specific clades. Our phylogenetic hypothesis, in combination with spore data and chromosome counts, also provides a critical context for addressing the prevalence of polyploidy and apomixis within the genus. Evidence from these datasets provides testable hypotheses regarding reticulate evolution and suggests the presence of several previously undetected taxa of Argyrochosma.

Adiantopsis radiata has long been regarded as the only species with palmately compound laminae in the fern genus Adiantopsis (Pteridaceae). Here, three new species, A. dactylifera, A. timida, and A. crinoidea, with palmate laminar architecture are described. Additionally, a new combination is formalized for A. trifurcata, a typically ternate species originally assigned to Cheilanthes and frequently misidentified in herbarium collections as A. monticola, which is a pinnately compound species endemic to the states of Goiás and Tocantins, Brazil. Adiantopsis ternata is affirmed as a distinct and valid species that should not be placed in synonymy with A. radiata. These six palmately compound species differ from each other in the form of their pseudoindusia, the position of attachment of the pinnules to the costae, the form of the adaxial carinae, the shape of the pinnae apices, as well as spore size and ornamentation. All six Adiantopsis species with palmately compound laminae are illustrated, and a distribution map and key are provided.

The complexity of ovulate cones and their preservation as fossils makes them promising material for reconstructing the evolutionary history of gymnosperms, but phylogenetic analyses of cone morphological characters of Pinaceae have been inconclusive. We describe the ovulate cone anatomy of Pinus nelsonii, a rare and phylogenetically isolated pinyon pine endemic to Mexico, and add the species together with Pinus ponderosa and the fossil Pinus belgica to a recoded and expanded ovulate cone morphology matrix for fossil and extant Pinaceae. The cone anatomy of Pinus nelsonii conforms to previous generic concepts of Pinus. Despite its phylogenetically isolated position among the soft pines (Pinus subgenus Strobus) and thus potential for displaying plesiomorphic features, the cone of Pinus nelsonii is unlike the oldest Pinus fossil cones in possessing enlarged, functionally wingless seeds partially embedded in scale tissue, and in lacking sclerenchyma in the cortex of the axis, in the bract, and in the scale. Cladistic analysis of cone morphology characters recovers several Pityostrobus species in a clade with Pinus. Although the inferred relationships among living species do not coincide in several respects to molecular studies, adding taxa and further exploration of characters promise to clarify relationships.

Schisandra macrocarpa , a new species of subgenus Sphaerostema found in Yunnan Province, China is described. A morphological comparision to related species, and a key for the subgenus is provided. In addition, a detailed description, distribution map, habitat, and line drawing including morphological details of leaf epidermis are provided for this new species.

A new species of Caryota, endemic to north and central Sulawesi, is described and illustrated. A key is provided to distinguish Caryota angustifolia from the other five species of Caryota occurring to the east of Wallace's line.

Two new species, Eriocaulon cylindratum and Eriocaulon araguaiense, from the Tocantins-Araguaia River basin in the Brazilian Cerrado, are described and illustrated. The species are similar, but they differ mainly in both the shape of the capitula and the floral bracts. Eriocaulon araguaiense has hemispheric heads, and obovate, concave floral bracts. Eriocaulon cylindratum is characterized by ovoid or cylindrical heads, and obtrullate, carinate floral bracts. A key to all known Eriocaulon species from Tocantins-Araguaia river basin is presented.

Five new species of Paepalanthus section Diphyomene are described and illustrated: P. brevis, P. flexuosus, P. longiciliatus, P. macer, and P. stellatus. Paepalanthus brevis, similar to P. decussus, is easily distinguished by its short reproductive axis, and pilose and mucronate leaves. Paepalanthus flexuosus, morphologically related to P. urbanianus, possesses a distinctive short and tortuous reproductive axis. Paepalanthus longiciliatus, morphologically similar to P. weddellianus, possesses long trichomes on the margins of the reproductive axis bracts, considered a diagnostic feature. Paepalanthus macer shares similarities with P. amoenus, differing by its sulfurous capitula and adpressed reproductive axis bracts. Paepalanthus stellatus also has affinity with P. decussus, but possesses unique, membranaceous, reproductive-axis bracts and a punctual inner-capitulum arrangement of pistillate flowers. Four of the described species are narrowly distributed in the state of Goiás, whereas P. brevis is endemic to Distrito Federal. All are considered critically endangered. Detailed comparisons of these species are presented in tables. Comments on phenology, distribution, habitat and etymology, along with an identification key, are provided.

Two new species from western Mexico, Urochloa olivacea and U. pauciflora (Paniceae; Panicoideae; Poaceae) are described and illustrated here. An updated checklist and a key for the 21 species of Urochloa occurring in Mexico are presented.

A revision of the generic and infrageneric taxonomy of Podalyria (Fabaceae, Podalyrieae) is presented. The genus comprises 17 species, of which 16 are endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa and one extends eastwards to southern KwaZulu-Natal. Morphological, cytological and chemical characters are briefly discussed. A cladistic analysis of 19 morphological characters and one chemical character resulted in a partially resolved topology with two main clades. These two groups are described as sections, namely Villosae and Podalyria. Two new species are described: P. leipoldtii and P. variabilis, and one new combination P. rotundifolia is made. Historically, the application of names in Podalyria has been variable and unreliable, so that considerable effort was required to unravel the intricate nomenclature, synonymy, and typification of the species. This revision (the first since 1862) also includes full descriptions, diagnostic characters, photographs, illustrations, and distribution maps. The red data list status of five of the threatened species is given.

Most perennial species of Erodium have medium to high pollen/ovule (P/O) ratios and are dichogamous mixed-mating species endemic to the mountain ranges of the Mediterranean. In contrast, the annual species of this genus, which are often adapted to disturbed sites, are adichogamous selfers with low P/O ratios and wide distributions. According to the present reconstruction of the evolution of Erodium, recurrent perennial to annual shifts occurred from a time earlier than the establishment of the Mediterranean climate during the Pleistocene. The diversification of the terminal clades containing annuals and perennials is dated to 6.4–2 Mya, between the onset of the Messinian (Miocene) and the end of the Pliocene. By adapting to several types of breeding systems (mixed-mating and selfing), many species of Erodium were able to meet the challenges of climatic deterioration and the changes in pollinators that took place at the end of the Tertiary. High selfing and an annual lifespan seem to have evolved multiple times together, but reversions may also have occurred. Within-plant variation of herkogamy and dichogamy may represent adaptations to variation in the pollinator community during dry or cold periods.

Four species of Eugenia are newly proposed for Madagascar. Eugenia ardyceae and Eugenia louisae occur in the southeast region near Tolagnaro; Eugenia nosibensis is restricted to Nosy Be off of the northern coast; and E. lacerosepala occurs in the northeast. Eugeina ardyceae and E. nosibensis each are known from several gatherings, E. louisae is known from two collections, and E. lacerosepala is known only from the type collection. Eugenia nosibensis is relatively common in the Lokobe Réserve Intégrale, and its fruits are eaten by black lemurs (Eulemur macaco). The recommended conservation status for the species based on the IUCN criteria is Endangered for Eugenia lacerosepala and E. louisae, and Vulnerable for E. ardyceae and E. nosibensis. The importance of noting and reporting the local relative abundance of species when they are collected is discussed, particularly in remote, biodiversity-rich areas that are rarely visited. Such information helps later workers formulate conservation recommendations and aids in the prioritizing of later field trips that target rare taxa for further study.

Molecular and morphological data have shown that Bombacoideae and Malvoideae together form a well-supported Malvatheca clade. Phylogenetic relationships in Bombacoideae have been studied, but some genera in Bombax s. l. have not been adequately sampled for sufficiently variable molecular markers. The relationships of Eriotheca, for example, have yet to be resolved. Here, nuclear (ITS) and chloroplast (trnL-F and matK) sequence data from 50 exemplars of Bombacoideae and seven additional taxa from other genera of Malvatheca were used to test monophyly of Eriotheca and its relationships with related genera of Bombax s. l. Parsimony and Bayesian analyses of individual and combined sequence data suggest that Eriotheca is not monophyletic as currently circumscribed but forms a paraphyletic grade containing Pachira s. l. The newly discovered Eriotheca Pachira clade has a probable synapomorphy of striate seeds. In addition, two other moderately supported clades emerged within the core Bombacoideae: Pseudobombax Ceiba s. l. and Bombax Spirotheca Pachira quinata. These three clades, and the African Rhodognaphalon together constitute the major clade of core Bombacoideae, whereas Adansonia appears to be more closely related to Catostemma, Scleronema, and Cavanillesia. The phylogenetic results imply three independent migrations from the New to Old World and homoplasy in staminal morphology.

Recent phylogenetic work has increased our knowledge of the relationships within Polygonaceae. However, few studies have explored the generic relationships within Eriogonoideae. Two understudied genera are Triplaris and Ruprechtia (tribe Triplarideae), a group of approximately 55 Neotropical species of trees, shrubs, and lianas. The generic classification of Triplaris and Ruprechtia has been unstable mostly due to different taxonomic interpretations and the difficulty of characterizing each genus morphologically. Although some studies have proposed diagnostic morphological characters for each, most have exceptions. In this study, we explored the phylogenetic relationships of 32 species of Triplaris and Ruprechtia using four chloroplast (matK, ndhF, rpsl6-trnK, ndhC-trnV), and two nuclear regions (ITS, second intron of Leafy). Results confirm the monophyly of Triplaris, but Ruprechtia is polyphyletic. To maintain monophyletic genera, two new names are proposed: Magoniella and Salta. The two new genera are formally described and morphological synapomorphies are proposed for the four genera of Triplaridae. Three species are transferred to these new genera, Salta triflora, Magoniella laurifolia, and M. obidensis.

Taxonomic problems in Mentzelia section Bartonia (Loasaceae) are addressed using phylogeny reconstructions based on nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences from the ITS and ETS regions. Our results indicate sect. Bartonia is monophyletic and consists of two well-supported, species-rich clades. One of these two deepest clades consists of the Great Plains M. decapetala and a group of species centered in the North American intermountain region that have been described as subshrubby; whereas, the second deepest clade is more widespread and includes taxa from the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts as well as the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and intermountain region. Hypothesis tests applying the Shimodaira-Hasegawa (SH) test and Bayes factors (BF) rejected unequivocally the monophyly of (1) the ‘subshrubby’ group, suggesting multiple origins of the ‘subshrubby’ form; (2) M. multicaulis s. l., which consists of disparate clades we propose as separate species; and (3) M. multiflora s. l., which was recovered as highly polyphyletic. Hypothesis tests were equivocal, however, in regard to the monophyly of (1) M. marginata, M. paradoxensis, and M. cronquistii; (2) M. oreophila s. l.; and (3) M. pumila s. l. We suggest following narrow taxonomic approaches to the circumscriptions of M. multicaulis, M. multiflora, and M. pumila and advocate further studies of M. oreophila and the complex including of M. marginata, M. paradoxensis, and M. cronquistii. Our results provide the most comprehensive phylogenetic hypothesis of sect. Bartonia to date, however, more variable markers will be needed to resolve a well supported phylogeny.

A new species, Impatiens shimianensis (Balsaminaceae), is described and illustrated. Impatiens shimianensis is morphologically most similar to I. delavayi in having ovate or ovate-orbicular leaves, crenate leaf margins, and bilobed spurs. The two species differ in that I. shimianensis has an orbicular upper petal of lateral united petals and shortly clawed lateral united petals while I. delavayi has a subtetragonous upper petal of lateral united petals and conspicuously clawed lateral united petals. The upper portion of the lower sepal of I. shimianensis is yellow and the lower portion of the lower sepal has brown stripes, whereas the whole lower sepal of I. delavayi is dark purple or pink. In addition, the petals of I. shimianensis are yellow or whitish yellow, whereas those of I. delavayi are dirty yellow or pink. Phylogenetic analyses based on DNA sequences from the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the chloroplast atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer showed that I. shimianensis fell within a well-supported clade composed of I. barbata, I. corchorifolia, I. delavayi, and I. poculifer. In addition to these species, a few other morphologically similar species that were not sampled for the molecular phylogenetic component of this study were compared with the species newly discovered. Impatiens shimianensis can easily be distinguished morphologically from all these species by its yellowish white flowers, dark red spur tip, and purple abaxial leaf surface.

The last treatment of Gonolobinae (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae) in the West Indies is over a hundred years old and a number of new species have been described since. Although Fischeria and Gonolobus s. s. were revised recently, a complementary, comprehensive, recent regional treatment of Matelea s. l. is lacking. Considering the rarity of taxa of Matelea s. l. in the West Indies, thirty-three of thirty-six taxa are endemic to a single island each, and that nearly half of the known species have been described since Schlechter's treatment of 1899, the objective of the present study is to provide a synopsis of the genus in the area to facilitate field recognition and future collections. The treatment is based on critical study of ca. 250 specimens of the fifty-some known species in Caribbean Gonolobinae, fieldwork in the region, and molecular analyses. In addition to a comprehensive key and descriptions, illustrations of the complex gynostegial coronas are provided here for the first time for numerous taxa. A new combination is made in Matelea for Gonolobus haitiensis: Matelea haitiensis.

Phinaea, in the currently accepted circumscription, is a genus in the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae with three widely disjunct species. These species are known from small populations in Mexico, northern South America, and the West Indies (Cuba and Haiti), respectively. Phinaea pulchella is one of the few members of the tribe Gloxinieae that occurs naturally in the West Indies and it is the only member of the tribe endemic to that region. It was rediscovered in Cuba in 2008, more than fifty years after it was last documented. Results from molecular data generated from the nrDNA ITS and cpDNA trnL-F regions strongly support that P. pulchella does not group with other Phinaea species and instead shares a recent common ancestor with Diastema vexans in a clade that is sister to Pearcea and Kohleria. The phylogenetic placement of P. pulchella suggests that radial floral symmetry and buzz-pollination is autapmorphic in this taxon. Our results strongly support convergence of radial symmetry and associated characters with buzz-pollination in the following taxa in the tribe Gloxinieae: Niphaea, Phinaea s. s., Phinaea pulchella, and Amalophyllon. New generic circumscriptions based on the results presented here are not suggested until more complete taxon sampling includes additional species currently recognized in Amalophyllon.

Two new species of Capsicum from the Caatinga Biome (Brazil) are described and illustrated. The two species are endemic to the north-eastern states of Brazil (C. caatingae: Bahia, Pernambuco, and north of Minas Gerais; C. longidentatum: center of Bahia and Pernambuco) and are morphologically similar to another caatinga species, C. parvifolium. Lectotypification and a complete description for C. parvifolium, which has been confused in the literature and herbaria, are also provided. The karyotype for the three species (2n = 2x = 24) is analyzed and discussed, and a key to differentiate the endemic Capsicum species from Brazil is included.

A new species of Chevreulia (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) from southern Brazil is described in this work. Chevreulia revoluta A. A. Schneid. & R. Trevis. is characterized by leaves larger than seven mm long, opposite, divergent, linear, with upper surface glabrous and rostrate cypselae. A description is provided as well as a detailed illustration and taxonomic comments. In addition an analytical key to distinguish the species of the genus is included.

Allocephalus gamolepis is newly described here for the tribe Vernonieae (Compositae). The new genus, placed in subtribe Dypterocypselinae, is clearly distinct from other genera of subtribe by its capitula in axillary glomerules or spikelets, involucres with fused phyllaries and a biseriate pappus with an outer series of short setae and an inner series of longer flattened bristles. A key for the genera of Dypterocypselineae is provided.

The genus Lilaeopsis (Apiaceae subfamily Apioideae) comprises 15 species and exhibits both American amphitropic and amphiantarctic patterns of disjunction. The group is difficult taxonomically because of its simplified habit, phenotypic plasticity of vegetative characters, and extensive variation in fruit characters. Sequence data from the nrDNA ITS and cpDNA rps16 intron and rps16-trnK intergenic spacer regions were obtained for 60 accessions, representing 13 species of Lilaeopsis and five closely related outgroup genera from the North American Endemics clade of tribe Oenantheae. These molecular data were subjected to maximum parsimony, Bayesian inference, and dispersal-vicariance analyses in an effort to reconstruct evolutionary relationships and infer biogeographic scenarios. The results suggest that: (1) L. macloviana, L. masonii, and L. occidentalis, distributed in western South America and western North America, collectively represent a single, polymorphic species of amphitropic distribution; (2) The Australasian species L. brisbanica, L. novae-zelandiae, L. polyantha, and L. ruthiana comprise a well-supported clade. However, L. novae-zelandiae is not monophyletic, but may be rendered so by the inclusion of all Australasian taxa into one polymorphic species; (3) L. mauritiana from Mauritius is closely related to L. brasiliensis from South America and may even be subsumed under the latter pending further investigation; and (4) Lilaeopsis probably originated in South America following a dispersal of its ancestor from North America. A minimum of seven dispersal events is necessary to explain its present-day distribution, including one dispersal from South America to Australia or New Zealand, two dispersals between Australia and New Zealand, and three dispersals from South America to North America.

The pantropical genus Schefflera is represented by ca. 300 species in the American tropics, but due to limited sampling of the Neotropical species in previous phylogenetic studies of the genus, the monophyly of this group has remained tentative. To test this, an existing family-wide dataset of ITS and trnL—trnF sequences was expanded, and relationships were explored further by assembling new ITS and ETS datasets using a representative sampling from most of the morphological and geographical diversity of the group. These results were also used to test an informal, morphology-based classification of Neotropical Schefflera. Results of the phylogenetic analyses confirm the monophyly of Neotropical Schefflera, and its placement in the Asian Palmate clade of Araliaceae. Four clades were consistently recovered from all analyses, informally called the Calyptrate, Tremula, Jahnii, and Eastern South American clades, each of which corresponds closely to the previously recognized morphological groupings. The Eastern South American clade includes species from the Crepinella and Didymopanax groups, forming two geographically centered subclades (the Guayana Shield and Brazilian subclades, respectively). The composition of the Calyptrate clade overlaps considerably with the Neotropical elements of the Sciodaphyllum group, excluding S. tremula. That species, an Hispaniolan endemic, was instead sister to a Puerto Rican species from the Crepinella group (S. gleasonii), providing a third example of geographic structuring among Neotropical Schefflera species.