Rankin Rodríguez, R. & Greuter, W.: A study of differentiation patterns in Capparis sect. Breyniastrum in Cuba, with a nomenclatural and taxonomic survey of Cuban Capparis (Capparaceae). — Willdenowia 34: 259–276. — ISSN 0511-9618; © 2004 BGBM Berlin-Dahlem.
Capparis is represented in Cuba by six species of four sections. A key for their identification is provided, their nomenclature and that of the sections in which they belong is revised, and the intricate relevant typification problems are discussed. Three species, each of a different section, are not critical taxonomically. The other three, which belong to C. sect. Breyniastrum, have been poorly understood and often confused in the past. Microcharacters of trichome and leaf surface morphology (illustrated by SEM photographs) prove useful to tell them apart. In conclusion, two Macroantillean species are recognised, each represented in Cuba by a distinct, endemic subspecies (one new, one recombined); a third species, C. singularis, known from a single E Cuban gathering, is described as new to science. Distribution maps are provided of these three Cuban endemics, and the relevant specimen data are included, as a searchable database, in an electronic supplement to the present paper.
