Phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Pseudotrimezia (Iridaceae)

Diversos estudos filogenéticos moleculares em Iridaceae confirmam o monofiletismo de Trimezieae. Entretanto, a tribo é pobremente caracterizada e carece de sinapomorfias morfológicas que a sustentem. Por outro lado, o gênero Pseudotrimezia, apesar de morfologicamente bem caracterizado, nunca teve seu monofiletismo investigado. Estudos envolvendo a tribo Trimezieae demonstram que caracteres anatômicos podem contribuir para a taxonomia do grupo além de auxiliar na sua reconstrução filogenética. No presente estudo foram realizados estudos filogenéticos envolvendo caracteres morfológicos e moleculares, separadamente e em análise de evidência total. Foram levantados 50 caracteres morfológicos, incluindo anatomia foliar, em Pseudotrimezia e nos gêneros relacionados, Neomarica e Trimezia. Os caracteres moleculares foram obtidos de três regiões plastidias (trnG, trnH-psbA e trnK) e uma nuclear (ITS). A análise de parcimônia com os dados morfológicos resultou em uma filogenia com Pseudotrimezia monofilético, sem sustentação, enquanto Neomarica e Trimezia emergem como polifiléticos. Assim, os caracteres morfológicos mostraram-se insuficientes para a compreensão da história evolutiva do grupo. A análise de evidência total apresenta Pseudotrimezia monofilético em um clado bem caracterizado morfologicamente sustentado por 10 sinapomorfias homoplásticas. Não obstante, Trimezia e Neomarica emergem agrupados em quatro clados distintos, a maioria sem sustentação, revelando que os gêneros reconhecidos na tribo Trimezieae não correspondem a grupos monofiléticos. As análises filogenéticas fornecem um arcabouço para discutir a sistemática de Pseudotrimezia, gênero endêmico dos campos rupestres da porção mineira da Cadeia do Espinhaço. Apesar de sua distribuição restrita e morfologia floral relativamente uniforme, 24 nomes surgiram desde sua criação em 1945, e muitas das espécies são endêmicas de localidades restritas. É apresentada a revisão de 16 espécies reconhecidas, respectivos mapas de distribuição, ilustrações e chave de identificaçãoSeveral molecular phylogenetic studies focusing on Iridaceae contribute to confirm Trimezieae as a monophyletic group. Despite that, the tribe is poorly characterized and lacks morphological synapomorphies as support. On the other hand, Pseudotrimezia is morphologically well characterized, but its monophyly has never been investigated. Anatomical studies carried out with tribe Trimezieae indicates that this kind of data can be a good source for taxonomic and phylogenetic analyses. This study performed phylogenetic analysis using morphological and molecular data, separately and combined in a total evidence approach. Molecular data were obtained from three plastid regions (trnG, trnH-psbA and trnK), and one nuclear (ITS). Fifty morphological characters, including leaf anatomy, were selected within Pseudotrimezia and the related genera Neomarica and Trimezia. Parsimony morphological analysis results in a monophyletic Pseudotrimezia with no support, and, Neomarica and Trimezia aspolyphyletic; therefore, morphological characters were insufficient to help understand the evolutionary history of this group.The total evidence analysis shows Pseudotrimezia monophyletic in a morphologically well-characterized clade, suppported by 10 homoplastic synapomorfies. Nevertheless, Trimezia and Neomarica arise mixed together in four distinct clades, most of them with no support, suggesting that tradicionally recognized genera in the tribe do not correspond to monophyletic groups. Neverthless, phylogenetic analyses provide an important framework for systematic studies of Pseudotrimezia (Iridaceae), an endemic genus from \"campos rupestres\" in Espinhaço Range, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Despite its restricted distribution and quite uniform morphology, 24 names have been created since the genus was first described in 1945, and many species are endemic of particular localities. The revision of 16 recognized species, their distribution maps, illustrations, and identification key are presented

Flora das cangas da Serra dos Carajás, Pará, Brasil: Caryophyllaceae

Resumo O presente estudo taxonômico inclui as espécies de Caryophyllaceae encontradas nos ambientes de afloramentos de canga na Serra dos Carajás, Pará, Brasil. Apenas uma espécie foi registrada: Drymaria cordata. O trabalho apresenta descrição detalhada, comentários morfológicos e de distribuição geográfica da espécie, além de ilustrações de caracteres diagnósticos

Flora das cangas da Serra dos Carajás, Pará, Brasil: Onagraceae

Resumo Este estudo consiste no levantamento das espécies de Onagraceae que ocorrem sobre canga na Serra dos Carajás, estado do Pará, Brasil. O trabalho compreende descrições detalhadas, comentários sobre as espécies, distribuição, ilustrações e chave de identificação. Foram encontradas sete espécies pertencentes ao gênero Ludwigia, todas associadas a ambientes úmidos ou alagados

New insights into Trimezieae (Iridaceae) phylogeny: what do molecular data tell us?

The Neotropical tribe Trimezieae are taxonomically difficult. They are generally characterized by the absence of the features used to delimit their sister group Tigridieae. Delimiting the four genera that make up Trimezieae is also problematic. Previous family-level phylogenetic analyses have not examined the monophyly of the tribe or relationships within it. Reconstructing the phylogeny of Trimezieae will allow us to evaluate the status of the tribe and genera and to examine the suitability of characters traditionally used in their taxonomy. Maximum parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses are presented for 37 species representing all four genera of Trimezieae. Analyses were based on nrITS sequences and a combined plastid dataset. Ancestral character state reconstructions were used to investigate the evolution of ten morphological characters previously considered taxonomically useful. Analyses of nrITS and plastid datasets strongly support the monophyly of Trimezieae and recover four principal clades with varying levels of support; these clades do not correspond to the currently recognized genera. Relationships within the four clades are not consistently resolved, although the conflicting resolutions are not strongly supported in individual analyses. Ancestral character state reconstructions suggest considerable homoplasy, especially in the floral characters used to delimit Pseudotrimezia. The results strongly support recognition of Trimezieae as a tribe but suggest that both generic- and species-level taxonomy need revision. Further molecular analyses, with increased sampling of taxa and markers, are needed to support any revision. Such analyses will help determine the causes of discordance between the plastid and nuclear data and provide a framework for identifying potential morphological synapomorphies for infra-tribal groups. The results also suggest Trimezieae provide a promising model for evolutionary research.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (Fapesp)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT)International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT

Iron islands in the Amazon: investigating plant beta diversity of canga outcrops

The world’s largest mineral iron province, Serra dos Carajás, is home to an open vegetation known as canga, found on top of isolated outcrops rising out of the Amazon rainforest. Over one thousand vascular plants species have been recorded in these canga sites, including 38 edaphic endemics. A new survey adds to our investigation of biogeographic relationships between sixteen canga outcrops and the effect of the distance between site pairs on the number of shared species, regional species turnover and species distribution patterns. Plant collecting expeditions to the westernmost site, the Serra de Campos of São Félix do Xingu (SFX), were carried out followed by the identification of all collected specimens and the creation of a species database, built to perform biogeographical analyses. Floristic relationships among the sites were investigated regarding their similarity, using multivariate analyses. The correlation between canga areas and species richness was tested, as well as the geographical distance between pairs of outcrops and their shared species. Vascular plants at SFX total 254 species including 17 edaphic endemics. All canga sites are grouped with 25% of minimum similarity, and the SFX falls within a large subgroup of outcrops. The total species number shared between site pairs does not change significantly with geographical distance but is positively correlated with the area of each outcrop. Meanwhile, shared endemic species numbers between site pairs decline when geographical distance increases, possibly imposed by the barrier of the rainforest. Our data suggest higher shared similarity between the largest and species-richest sites as opposed to geographically nearby sites, and provide useful insight for drafting conservation and compensation measures for canga locations. The size of the canga outcrops is associated to higher floristic diversity but connectivity among islands also plays a role in their similarity

Telling the Wood from the Trees: Ranking a Tree Species List to Aid Urban Afforestation in the Amazon

The vast Amazonian biome still poses challenges for botanists seeking to know and recognize its plant diversity. Brazilian northern cities are expanding fast, without considering the regional biodiversity, and urban plantings of almost exclusively exotic species are taking place. It is paramount that the correct identity of such trees is ascertained before procurement of the seeds and young plants, as the use of popular names may lead to importation of plant material from elsewhere, with potential introduction of invasive species. The abundant local diversity also leads to the need to score the most suitable species within a given region. Following the preparation of authoritatively named floristic lists in Southeastern Pará state, we proceeded to score and rank the most suitable trees for urban planning using different characteristics such as size, ornamental value, ecologic role, resilience and known methods of propagation. From an initial 375 species list, 263 species were ranked according to their suitability for street and urban area plantings and visualized using a Venn diagram. A final list with the 49 of the highest-ranking species was further analysed regarding their pollination and phenology period and two types of dissimilarity analyses were provided to aid practitioners in matching and choosing groups of species. Different local vegetation types mean that similar floristic lists must be used to extract cohorts of suitable plants to increase the urban richness in the eight Brazilian states that are included in the Amazonian biome

Telling the Wood from the Trees: Ranking a Tree Species List to Aid Urban Afforestation in the Amazon

The vast Amazonian biome still poses challenges for botanists seeking to know and recognize its plant diversity. Brazilian northern cities are expanding fast, without considering the regional biodiversity, and urban plantings of almost exclusively exotic species are taking place. It is paramount that the correct identity of such trees is ascertained before procurement of the seeds and young plants, as the use of popular names may lead to importation of plant material from elsewhere, with potential introduction of invasive species. The abundant local diversity also leads to the need to score the most suitable species within a given region. Following the preparation of authoritatively named floristic lists in Southeastern Pará state, we proceeded to score and rank the most suitable trees for urban planning using different characteristics such as size, ornamental value, ecologic role, resilience and known methods of propagation. From an initial 375 species list, 263 species were ranked according to their suitability for street and urban area plantings and visualized using a Venn diagram. A final list with the 49 of the highest-ranking species was further analysed regarding their pollination and phenology period and two types of dissimilarity analyses were provided to aid practitioners in matching and choosing groups of species. Different local vegetation types mean that similar floristic lists must be used to extract cohorts of suitable plants to increase the urban richness in the eight Brazilian states that are included in the Amazonian biome

Table_4_A wide range of South American inselberg floras reveal cohesive biome patterns.xlsx

Inselbergs are azonal formations found scattered in different biomes globally. The first floristic list focusing on an inselberg in the Brazilian Amazon is presented here. We aimed to investigate floristic and phylogenetic connections among Neotropical inselbergs and analyze whether environmental variables act as a filter of plant lineages. We used a database compiled from 50 sites spanning three main Neotropical biomes (Amazon, 11 sites, Atlantic Forest, 14 sites, and Caatinga, 25 sites) comprising 2270 Angiosperm species. Our data highlight the vastly different inselberg flora found in each biome. The inselberg floras of the Atlantic Forest and Caatinga show closer phylogenetic ties than those seen in the other biome pairs. The phylogenetic lineages found in all three biomes are also strongly divergent, even within plant families. The dissimilarity between biomes suggests that distinct biogeographical histories might have unfolded even under comparable environmental filtering. Our data suggest that the inselberg flora is more related to the biome where it is located than to other factors, even when the microclimatic conditions in the outcrops differ strongly from those of the surrounding matrix. Relative to the other biomes, the flora of the Caatinga inselbergs has the highest level of species turnover. There is a possibility that plants colonized these rather distant inselbergs even when they were found under very different climatic conditions than those in the Amazonian and Atlantic Forest biomes. It is worth noting that none of the studied inselbergs found in the Caatinga biome is protected. In view of the uniqueness and drought-resilient lineages present in each group of inselbergs, along with their vulnerability to destruction or disturbance and their strong connection with water availability, we stress the need to protect this ecosystem not only to conserve plants potentially useful for ecological restoration but also to preserve the balance of this ecosystem and its connections.</p

Table_3_A wide range of South American inselberg floras reveal cohesive biome patterns.docx

Inselbergs are azonal formations found scattered in different biomes globally. The first floristic list focusing on an inselberg in the Brazilian Amazon is presented here. We aimed to investigate floristic and phylogenetic connections among Neotropical inselbergs and analyze whether environmental variables act as a filter of plant lineages. We used a database compiled from 50 sites spanning three main Neotropical biomes (Amazon, 11 sites, Atlantic Forest, 14 sites, and Caatinga, 25 sites) comprising 2270 Angiosperm species. Our data highlight the vastly different inselberg flora found in each biome. The inselberg floras of the Atlantic Forest and Caatinga show closer phylogenetic ties than those seen in the other biome pairs. The phylogenetic lineages found in all three biomes are also strongly divergent, even within plant families. The dissimilarity between biomes suggests that distinct biogeographical histories might have unfolded even under comparable environmental filtering. Our data suggest that the inselberg flora is more related to the biome where it is located than to other factors, even when the microclimatic conditions in the outcrops differ strongly from those of the surrounding matrix. Relative to the other biomes, the flora of the Caatinga inselbergs has the highest level of species turnover. There is a possibility that plants colonized these rather distant inselbergs even when they were found under very different climatic conditions than those in the Amazonian and Atlantic Forest biomes. It is worth noting that none of the studied inselbergs found in the Caatinga biome is protected. In view of the uniqueness and drought-resilient lineages present in each group of inselbergs, along with their vulnerability to destruction or disturbance and their strong connection with water availability, we stress the need to protect this ecosystem not only to conserve plants potentially useful for ecological restoration but also to preserve the balance of this ecosystem and its connections.</p