Revisión taxonómica de Ornithogalum subgen. Cathissa (Salisb.) Baker (Hyacinthaceae)

As a part of a taxonomic revision of the Iberian taxa of Ornithogalum, results corresponding to O. subgen. Cathissa are reported. Quantitative and qualitative characters are studied in detail, and they are evaluated for the taxonomic value of morphological characters of the three considered taxa: O. concinnum, O. broteroi, and O. reverchonii. A complete description is presented for all accepted species, and data on their biology, habitat, and distribution are also included. Moreover, a key is provided to facilitate identification.En el marco de una revisión de las especies ibéricas de Ornithogalum, se presentan los resultados correspondientes a los táxones de O. subgen. Cathissa. Se estudian con detalle y se evalúa cualitativamente y cuantitativamente el valor taxonómico de los caracteres morfológicos de los tres táxones considerados: O. concinnum, O. broteroi y O. reverchonii. Para cada especie se presenta una descripción completa, y datos sobre su biología, hábitat y distribución. Además, se aporta una clave para facilitar la identificación de los táxones aceptados

Nuevos datos sobre el endemismo balear Daucus carota L. subsp. majoricus A. Pujadas (Apiaceae) en el archipiélago de Cabrera

Daucus carota L. subsp. majoricus A. Pujadas es un endemismo balear que sólo se conoce del archipiélago de Cabrera y del oeste de Mallorca (incluyendo Dragonera). Este taxon pertenece al grupo de D. carota L. sensu lato, un agregado taxonómico que incluye un gran número de subespecies y que se considera muy problemático debido a su marcada variabilidad morfológica (tanto inter- como intrapoblacional). En este artículo se aportan datos morfológicos complementarios a los ya existentes, con la intención de ofrecer, en conjunto, una caracterización morfológica de la población presente en el archipiélago de Cabrera con el máximo detalle. Dicha caracterización será útil para establecer comparaciones con otras poblaciones mediterráneas que resultan problemáticas en su taxonomía. Por otro lado, también se presentan datos sobre ecología, fitosociología y conservación del taxon.Daucus carota L. subsp. majoricus A. Pujadas is a Balearic endemic plant which is only present in the Cabrera archipelago and west of Majorca island. This taxon belongs to the D. carota L. sensu lato group, a taxonomic aggregate that includes a large number of taxa and that is considered very problematic due to its remarkable morphological variation (both interand intrapopulation). New complementary data are reported to characterize the Cabrera population in a more detailed extent. This will be useful for further morphological studies we are undertaking with other related Mediterranean populations that are still not well resolved taxonomically. Moreover, ecological, phytosociological and conservation data are also presented

Austérité et gestion dans les universités québécoises: une analyse des perceptions de directeurs de département

This article discusses different aspects of the management of budgetary austerity in higher education. Its database consists of in-depth interviews with twenty-five department chairpersons from six Québec universities. In general, strategic choices imposed by university administration are reactive and aimed at meeting short-term government objectives. Among the strategies more dependent on departmental choice, some are proactive. Nevertheless, the range of choices is limited by overall constraints. Longer term solutions to cope with the crisis in higher education proposed by chairpersons are problematic since they stem from somewhat contradictory views on the major role of the university as an institution.Cet article présente différents aspects de la gestion de l'austérité budgétaire dans l'enseignement supérieur à partir d'entrevues en profondeur effectuées auprès de vingt-cinq directeurs de département de six universités québécoises. En général, il apparaît que les mesures imposées par la direction de l'Université pour faire face aux compressions budgétaires sont plutôt réactives et visent à rencontrer à court terme les objectifs gouvernementaux. Parmi les stratégies relevant plus directement des choix des départements, quelques unes sont proactives. Le poids des contraintes limite, cependant, les choix. Les solutions à plus long terme proposées par les directeurs pour surmonter la crise actuelle de l'enseignement supérieur sont problématiques car elles se basent sur des visions contradictoires de la mission institutionnelle de l'université

Sinopsis del género Tamarix (Tamaricaceae) en la Península Ibérica y Baleares

A taxonomic revision of the genus Tamarix for the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands is provided, updating the Flora iberica account published in 1993. A new dichotomous key for the Iberian and Balearic species is also included. The presence of certain number of species previously cited for the study area (T. arborea, T. canariensis, T. dalmatica, T. mannifera, T. mascatensis, T. meyeri, T. octandra, T. rosea, and T. tetragyna) is discarded or considered doubtful. Seven species are accepted: three of them are native (T. africana, T. boveana, and T. gallica) and one species (T. parviflora) was probably introduced over a century ago. Three more species (T. aphylla, T. chinensis, and T. ramosissima) have been introduced more recently. Two of them, Tamarix chinensis and T. ramosissima, are grouped as T. gr. ramosissima due to their high morphological resemblance. A new hybrid between T. boveana and T. gallica is also described under the name of Tamarix × verae.Se presenta una revisión taxonómica del género Tamarix para la Península Ibérica e Islas Baleares, actualizando el tratamiento de Flora iberica publicado en 1993. Se incluye también una nueva clave dicotómica para las especies ibéricas y baleares. Se descarta o considera dudosa la presencia de algunas de las especies citadas anteriormente para el área de estudio (T. arborea, T. canariensis, T. dalmatica, T. mannifera, T. mascatensis, T. meyeri, T. octandra, T. rosea y T. tetragyna). Se aceptan siete especies, tres de ellas nativas (T. africana, T. boveana y T. gallica) y una especie, T. parviflora, probablemente introducida hace más de un siglo. Otras tres especies (T. aphylla, T. chinensis y T. ramosissima) han sido introducidas más recientemente. Dos de ellas, Tamarix chinensis y T. ramosissima, son agrupadas como T. gr. ramosissima debido a su gran parecido morfológico. Se describe también un nuevo híbrido entre T. boveana y T. gallica bajo el nombre de Tamarix × verae. &nbsp

Sobre la circunscripción y posición taxonómica de Centaurea caballeroi (Compositae)

Se aportan datos sobre algunos táxones del grupo de Centaurea linifolia presentes en las sierras de la Comunidad Valenciana y áreas limítrofes. Como resultado se propone reconocer en C. antennata tres subespecies, con síndromes de caracteres propios, que ocupan áreas geográficas bien delimitadas y presentan un comportamiento ecológico diferenciado. Según esto, se propone la nueva combinación C. antennata subsp. caballeroi para las poblaciones del sur de Tarragona y norte de Castellón, seleccionándose además un lectótipo. Para cada taxon aceptado se indican sus caracteres morfológicos diferenciales, distribución y ecología. Además, se aporta una clave de identificación.Data are reported on several taxa of the aggregate of Centaurea linifolia that grow in the mountains of the Valencian Community and neighboring areas. As a result, in the complex of C. antennata three taxa are accepted at the subspecific rank, which have their own syndrome of morphological characters, occur in well-defined territories and show different ecological behavior. The new combination C. antennata subsp. caballeroi is stated to name populations from southern Tarragona and northern Castellón provinces. Moreover, a lectotype is selected for the latter name. For each accepted taxon, its diagnostic morphological traits, distribution and ecology are commented. An identification key is also presented

Distribution maps of marine algae from the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. XXVIII. "Dasya" ("Ceramiales", "Rhodophyta").

Se presentan los mapas de distribución en la Península Ibérica y las islas Baleares de las especies del género Dasya, correspondientes a D. baillouviana, D. corymbifera, D. hutchinsiae, D. ocellata, D. rigescens, D. rigidula y D. sessilis.The distribution maps of the species of Dasya found along the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, D. baillouviana, D. corymbifera, D. hutchinsiae, D. ocellata, D. rigescens, D. rigidula and D. sessilis, are shown

Born in the Mediterranean: Comprehensive Taxonomic Revision of Biscutella ser. Biscutella (Brassicaceae) Based on Morphological and Phylogenetic Data

Biscutella L. ser. Biscutella (= Biscutella ser. Lyratae Malin.) comprises mostly annual or short-lived perennial plants occurring in the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East, which exhibit some diagnostic floral features. Taxa in the series have considerable morphological plasticity, which is not well correlated with clear geographic or ecologic patterns. Traditional taxonomic accounts have focused on a number of vegetative and floral characters that have proved to be highly variable, a fact that contributed to taxonomic inflation mostly in northern Africa. A detailed study and re-evaluation of morphological characters, together with recent phylogenetic data based on concatenation of two plastid and one nuclear region sequence data, yielded the basis for a taxonomic reappraisal of the series. In this respect, a new comprehensive integrative taxonomic arrangement for Biscutella ser. Biscutella is presented in which 10 taxa are accepted, namely seven species and three additional varieties. The name B. eriocarpa DC. is reinterpreted and suggested to include the highest morphological variation found in northern Morocco. Its treatment here accepts two varieties, one of which is described as new (B. eriocarpa var. riphaea A. Vicente, M. Á. Alonso & M. B. Crespo). In addition, the circumscriptions of several species, such as B. boetica Boiss. & Reut., B. didyma L., B. lyrata L., and B. maritima Ten., are revisited. Nomenclatural types, synonymy, brief descriptions, cytogenetic data, conservation status, distribution maps, and identification keys are included for the accepted taxa, with seven lectotypes and one epitype being designated here.The FPU grant program (Mº de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, Spanish Government) is kindly thanked for supporting A. V. This research was partly supported by the I+D+i research project CGL2011-30140 from Dirección General de Investigación, MICINN (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spanish Government), and the grants ACIE13–08, ACIE14–01, ACIE17–01, ACIE18–03, and PPI-2015 from the University of Alicante

Reinstatement of Squilla Steinh., a priority name against the illegitimate Charybdis Speta (Hyacinthaceae, Urgineoideae)

Squilla Steinh. was considered to be an orthographic variant of Scilla L., and therefore the new genus Charybdis Speta was created to include Scilla maritima L. and related taxa occurring in the Mediterranean. Molecular phylogenetic studies recovered Charybdis as distant from Urginea; this finding was also supported by morphology and phytochemistry data. However, after typification of Scilla using S. maritima by Rafinesque, Charybdis became illegitimate under Art. 52 of the Shenzhen Code as its name became superfluous when published. A binding decision was requested from the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants (NCVP) on whether Scilla L. and Squilla Steinh. are sufficiently alike to be considered orthographic variants and, hence, to be confused. Most members of the committee favour treating Squilla as not confusable with Scilla, which leaves the former name available for the current concept of Charybdis. In this context, we reevaluate the taxonomy of the genus, accepting 12 species of which eight are accommodated in Squilla as new combinations. Conversely, one of the species of Charybdis is transferred here to Urginavia. Nomenclatural types (including designation of 13 lectotypes, one neotype and one epitype) and the most relevant synonyms are given for each accepted taxon. An identification key is also presented for Squilla to assist future taxonomic studies in this group. We also include a revision of the taxonomic circumscription of the taxa related to S. undulata.This work was partly supported by the grants ACIE18-03, UAUSTI18-02 and UAUSTI19-08 from the University of Alicante

At Least 23 Genera Instead of One: The Case of Iris L. s.l. (Iridaceae)

Background: Iris L. s.l. is one of the most diverse and well-known genera in the Asparagales, with approximately 250–300 circumscribed species and significant economic impact. The taxonomy of the genus has suffered dramatic changes in the last century, particularly in the last decades after the application of molecular techniques. As a result several contrasting systematic arrangements are currently available to taxonomists. Many genera that were split from Iris s.str. in the past, on the basis of morphology (e.g., Hermodactylus, Iridodictyum, Juno, Pardanthopsis, and Xiphion, among others), are now a priori re-included in a very widely circumscribed Iris s.l. (incl. Belamcanda). This resulted in a more heterogeneous genus that is more difficult to define on morphological grounds. Testing congruence between taxonomic treatments and the results of recent molecular studies of Iris has never been performed, mostly due to the lack of proper taxonomic context. Results: We generated several conventional phylogenies for Iris & outgroups using extensive sampling of taxa (187) and characters (10 plastid loci). We demonstrate that the natural history of Iris, written either as conventional molecular phylogenies or, if viewing in the context of the comparative approach, as a nested most parsimonious hierarchy of patterns, appear to be fully congruent with the narrow taxonomical treatment of the genus, restricted to the rhizomatous "bearded" taxa. The resulting topologies place Belamcanda, Pardanthopsis, and Gattenhofia as sisters to Iris s.str. and genus Siphonostylis as sister to Iris s.l. Conclusion: The present study clearly justifies the splitting of Iris s.l. into at least 23 genera, 18 of which have already been accepted in the past by numerous authorities. These genera are characterized by unique combinations of partly overlapping morphological characters and biogeography. Moreover, nearly the same entities, which we here recognize at a generic rank, were for centuries frequently referred to by horticulturists as "working-name" groups

Botánica y Biodiversidad vegetal (Grado en Biología): revisión y evaluación preliminar de resultados

Una vez implantados todos los cursos del Grado en Biología, es un buen momento para realizar una revisión del desarrollo de las asignaturas que se imparten en su totalidad desde el área de Botánica del Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales y Recursos Naturales (Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad de Alicante). Las asignaturas en revisión son Botánica y Biodiversidad Vegetal, respectivamente del tercer y cuarto semestre (2º curso) del Grado. Los datos que se analizan son los que se han recogido durante los años que se han estado impartiendo. Los aspectos que se tienen cuenta son de muy distinta naturaleza, incluyendo recursos humanos, tipos de materiales, facilidad del alumno para acceder a la información botánica, el uso de las TIC en ambas asignaturas, idiomas en que se imparten las asignaturas, el rendimiento y, por supuesto, la eficacia de la evaluación. Todo ello se comparará con la eficacia de otras asignaturas impartidas en los mismos semestres. El análisis preliminar de los datos ayudará a detectar las fortalezas y debilidades de ambas asignaturas para poder reforzar los puntos más frágiles